After a well-deserved bye week, your BC Lions will square off with the REDBLACKS once again on Saturday, this time back home at BC Place. It is also a family rematch of sorts, as Lions’ offensive assistant Trysten Dyce will be on the opposing sideline from his father, Bob Dyce.
The last father and son reunion took place before the game on Aug. 28, when Bob Dyce, the special teams coordinator for the Ottawa REDBLACKS. enjoyed a wholesome moment with his son, Trysten in pre-game warmups. After being away from each other before the season even started, they finally had the time to eat dinner together.
They leave out the X’s and O’s on the dinner table because it’s family time.
“Especially now, we mostly just talk about personnel stuff,” Trysten said.
“It was really nice to see my dad. I’ve had the opportunity to see my whole family. My mom and little sister came out to our game in Regina, and then my older sister is out here for work. She was able to come to one of our games. It was cool to have seen my whole family so far this season,” he added.
The Lions 24-12 win at the nation’s capital in week four was led by another stellar performance from the defence. Rookie linebacker, Jordan Williams earned himself the league’s Top Performers of the Week. On offence, Michael Reilly earned a CFL Top Performer of the Month honour, while Bryan Burnham and Lucky Whitehead remain in the front pack amongst all receivers in yardages.
The younger Dyce took on the coaching gig earlier this year when Lions president Rick LeLacheur and head coach Rick Campbell agreed to explore the possibility of bringing Dyce on board to join the Lions’ coaching staff for the 2021 season.
“I’ve always known coaching is something I’ve wanted to do in my whole life,” he said.
Before that, he was working at a COVID-19 hotel in Manitoba.
“From there, I was attending some of the player meetings when I could because I was still working. During my lunch break, I’d attend meetings on Zoom. When it got announced in June, then I was fully starting 100 per cent on football. It’s been a blast, I’ve been learning so much and it’s been a really good learning experience for me,” Dyce said.
The former receiver for the University of Manitoba was supposed to be on the Bisons’ coaching staff in 2020 but the season was cancelled due to the pandemic. His father also has a close bond with the Bisons’ football program. Bob Dyce was the Bisons’ receivers coach from 1996-2002 before he started coaching in the CFL.
Growing up, Trysten watched his father spent countless hours dedicated to football. Although they’ve never been a part of the same team, he said his father had always been supportive throughout his playing years.
“If I’ve ever had a question, he would answer them and gave me more than I needed to know. When I was switching to a receiver, that was when he was the receivers coach, he really helped me with my techniques on how to break and cut,” he recalled.
“Grade 11, he took me down to Oakland for a Nike SPARQ camp, which was a cool experience. I lived with my dad in 2013 when he was coaching the Riders, that year will always be in my memory because I won the junior national championship, and he won his first Grey Cup that year both on the same field. That was special.”
Although Dyce grew up surrounded by many mentors from the league such as Milt Stegall, Arjei Franklin, Derek Armstrong and Romby Bryant, there is one thing Dyce plans to live by now he has entered the coaching stage from his dad.
“That success isn’t guaranteed. But if you put in the required effort, it makes being successful easier.”
When Bob Dyce was coaching the Roughriders. Trystan would help out at practices. He witnessed the countless hours his dad spent prepping for games. And this year, he’s been living through the same routines with the Lions.
Dyce said before meeting the players and coaches prior to this year’s training camp, he was nervous.
“I wasn’t 100 per cent sure what I was supposed to expect and what I was going to be asked to do. After training camp, I felt way more comfortable with the team and coaches. The first week did come really fast and I still can’t believe we’re four games into this season,” he added.
Since the start of training camp, Dyce has been working with a solid group of running backs who are making his transition to coaching slightly easier.
“They’ve been very helpful and I’m really appreciative of those guys,” he said.
Last game, lead back Shaq Cooper took 14 carries for 71 yards. His biggest gain of the night was a 30-yard run down the sideline before being forced out of bounds. This week, the Lions are looking to even their home record to 1-1 since the home opener against the Elks.
Some exciting matchups are also up ahead over the next four weeks for the Lions, including a road trip to face a strong Montreal side. While the Roughriders and Blue Bombers games in a few weeks will test how tough the Lions’ are this year.
Meanwhile, the Lions defence may be dealing with a different REDBLACKS quarterback this week, as Dominique Davis subbed out Matt Nichols this past weekend and threw for two scores and ran for one touchdown against Montreal.
Dyce wants Lions fans to bring the same energy as the home opener so the club can close off the Ottawa series with another win.
“Fans should continue to be loud like they were in the first game. It was tough to communicate. We need to make sure we’re loud when Ottawa’s offence is on the field. And when our offence is on the field, we need to make sure we can communicate with Michael,” Dyce added.
And let the offence work their magic.