Beginning the Quest

Concordia Quarterback Trains with Alouettes in Off-Season

SportsAndrew Maggio — Published June 8, 2012

Quest, who will be entering his second season as a Stinger after coming over from the Canadian Junior Football League’s Regina Thunder, has brought it upon himself to get the most out of this offseason as he prepares for the 2012 campaign.

The Stingers quarterback stayed in Montreal this summer to train, sacrificing time off in his hometown of Regina.

“I wanted to be with my teammates,” said Quest. “If I would have gone back to Regina for the summer it would have been detrimental to my development as a quarterback, specifically because I’d have no one to throw to or to work out with and push me.”

His preparation also received a huge boost when Quest learned about the Canadian Football League’s Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Initiative program from his coaches. In an effort to promote the game in Canada and to give CIS quarterbacks more exposure to Canadian teams (there hasn’t been a Canadian starting quarterback since Giulio Caravatta played for the Toronto Argonauts in 1996), each CFL team was mandated to bring in at least one CIS quarterback for a mini-camp last week.

The Montreal Alouettes brought in a quarterback from each of the six university football programs in Quebec, Quest representing Concordia. He spent three days participating in the Alouette’s training camp activities at Bishops University in Lennoxville, Quebec.

Last year our defense did a fantastic job and we were one of the best in the country, but our offense wasn’t up to par with them; if we can get on the same level as them, then I think we can be one of the scariest teams in the CIS.” – Reid Quest

“Basically our role there was to learn,” said Quest. “I got to learn from [starting quarterback] Anthony Calvillo, I got to understand what it means to be in a CFL camp and that kind of sets a bar of where you need to get to, to push you to put in the extra time and effort to be part of a competitive team.”

“Being there with Calvillo and [head coach] Marc Trestman in meetings, you understand why this team has been so successful. The amount of knowledge Trestman has is unbelievable.”

But, like any athlete, Quest drew greatest inspiration from watching one of the greatest of all time at his position.

“Just watching Calvillo, the way he knows everything about the offense is incredible,” said Quest. “His pocket awareness and his footwork were absolutely incredible, and that’s something I need to take out of this experience, along with working on getting the ball out of my hands quicker. Watching Calvillo do it last week gives me more incentive to work on those things.”

Quest and the rest of the Stingers offense hope that the time and effort put into next season’s preparations will lead to a more dynamic, explosive offense, something the team lacked at times last year.

“I think with the amount of work we’ve put in this summer on the football field and in the weight room, it’s definitely going to be beneficial for this team and this offense. Last year our defense did a fantastic job and we were one of the best in the country, but our offense wasn’t up to par with them; if we can get on the same level as them, then I think we can be one of the scariest teams in the CIS.”