He was known as one of the more insightful and quotable players during his time with the BC Lions. Rarely was he caught spitting out the endless clichés of ‘one game at a time’ or ‘we just have to play our game and we’ll be fine.’
Simply put, Angus Reid was the perfect sound bite. Blunt, yet honest. Sometimes brutally honest. When he devoted most of his time after football to being a regular on the motivational speaking circuit, nobody batted an eye. That was also the case when he announced he was writing his first book, dedicated to the player and coach relationship and based on his personal experience with legendary Lions offensive line coach Dan Dorazio.
Thank You Coach: Learning How To Live By Being Taught How To Play is now available for purchase on amazon.com and season members can get their limited edition, signed copies at either of the next two Lions home games.
In a chat with bclions.com on Wednesday morning, Reid said his public speaking experiences gave him the idea to undertake this special project.
“Whether it was speaking to teams, schools or businesses, I found myself leaning on Dan’s lessons more and more,” explains the two-time Grey Cup champion.
“Everything I was telling them, I had learned from Dan. I started talking to my wife saying ‘these are my talks; there’s a lot here. There might be a full story that I can make into a book. Then I would start mentioning it to more people around me, kind of like a litmus test, to see if they would call me out on it and say ‘go ahead and do it.’ And then at that point, my wife said ‘just go and write the damn book.’”
Many pro athletes have written a book in retirement, whether it is a personal memoir or stories about their playing days. However, it’s rare that they have been done without the help of a ‘ghostwriter.’ Thank You Coach was all Angus.
“I had no idea how to write a book, but I just started writing everything in my head that I was using today that I learned from Dan,” says Reid.
“Everything I was using in the real world I would just start writing out, having no idea of the order of things and just scribbling down all my thoughts. That’s what started this whole journey and honestly, it only really started in January.”
It’s no secret just how dedicated Dorazio is to the craft. Known as one of the best tacticians, he has been coaching men three times his size for the better part of four decades. Yet Reid thought it was just as important to highlight some of Dorazio’s better traits.
“Two things about this story that is unique,” explains the three-time West Division All-Star.
“First, we were together for 11 years. Not too many people can say that they had a positional coach for 11 consecutive seasons that they had a positional coach for 11 consecutive seasons, who they worked every single day with, especially in the sport of football where there is a high turnover rate. So that forged a bond that was deeper than what most people get to experience.
Second, I think the real beauty of Dan is that he cares about the people before he cares about the player. If you didn’t play well, it wasn’t a reflection on you as a human. It was just a technique that needed to be improved. It came through with everything he did how much he cared about you. He would do anything to help you in life, on or off the field, and I can speak to that.”
Each chapter in the book is dedicated to a particular experience Reid shared with his offensive line coach and also shared in many of his keynote speeches. And although it is packed with CFL stories, the former centre out of Simon Fraser University says Thank You Coach has already garnered some attention from coaches and leaders in other lines of work south of the border. He was scheduled to appear on a Twitter live chat with some coaches from Texas later in the day.
It’s a reminder to both coaches and players of the lasting impact an interaction can have if you allow it too. Initially, I thought it was a book just for coaches and then Farhan Lalji (of TSN and New Westminster High School Football fame), gave me some nice advice when he read most of it that it wasn’t just a book about how to be a coach, it was a book about how to be coached,” adds Reid.
“It takes the player opening up to that too. If you get coaches that understand this is a lot more than just sports you’re teaching and if you get players that understand that this interaction with a coach can be far more meaningful than just teaching you how to play, then you can get these special relationships, that I’ve been lucky enough to have with Dan, that last a lifetime and teach things far beyond how to block a nose guard or how to pass protect with a blitz coming. That’s what I hope this book gets across.”
And although he has been making the rounds throughout the media circuit and held his book launch party with family and friends last weekend, signing copies for fans this Saturday is when it will really start to hit home that he pulled it off.
“I’m a Lion for life and the fans are hopefully fans for life,” says Reid.
“Being a part of this great organization and wonderful sport I’m just happy to give back to it with the wonderful stories I have to share.”
**** Reminder to Lions season members to check their emails and bring their free book voucher this Saturday. Your Limited Edition copy can be picked up outside section 245 or 219 starting at 3 PM. Fans without vouchers can purchase a copy for a discounted price of $16.95, plus taxes. Fans hoping to get a photo or have their book signed with Angus can head to section 245 from 3:30 PM until the end of halftime.