Beyond the game

I am Jeff Hecht, a defensive back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders ( Editor’s note: This article was written in 2017. Jeff now plays for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers). I was born in Edmonton, Alberta. I started playing football in high school and just continued on from there.

I played 3 years of high school ball at WP Wagner in Edmonton then continued onto the Edmonton Wildcats Junior football program and played 5 years there.

In my third and fourth season I started to hear from coaches and such that I would maybe be able to reach the pro level. After my fifth year I went to Saint Mary’s University for the sole reason of getting an opportunity and the exposure necessary to get a shot in the CFL. I went undrafted in 2011. School suffered in high school but that wasn’t because of football — unfortunately I didn’t have much interest in school at that time.

In university I did well, but my only goal was to remain academically eligible for 2.5 years so in that sense I was successful. I had played junior football while working full time prior to going to university so the workload was easily manageable. I’ve always been a workaholic and rarely become overwhelmed by a full plate.

After University I moved home to train for the E-Camp in 2011, which didn’t go as well as I had hoped and I fell through in the draft. Thankfully the Montreal Alouettes called me 2 days later and I got the opportunity that I needed.

My CFL life has been great. I was fortunate to end up in Calgary for my second season and remain there for 4 years. It is close to home and great for family and friends attending games. As long as you can handle an extremely high stress and highly physically demanding job coupled with the variable that you could lose that job any single day of the week, then the CFL is a breeze.

I would say most players do not have any sort of thought beyond their football playing careers. Most guys, in my experience, believe they will play forever and are constantly “blindsided” by the news that they are no longer on a roster. However this is not specific to football. I know many people who have lost jobs in Alberta over the last 18 months and have absolutely no Plan B to provide for their family. The difference is a football career is known to be short when you start it, so we are expected to have a grand alternate career ready to go. Whereas the non-player who is out of work gets a free pass for his comparable naiveté.

I don’t know specifically what I want to do when I am finished playing — that is when someone else decides that I am finished playing. I have a trade ticket as a scaffolder, along with the possibilities of joining the police or fire services.

I find myself leaning towards the desire to start a small business and control my own employment future. I just finished an accounting course with AU and am working in the direction towards a certificate in finances. The financial sector has taken most of my attention in the last 4 years and the more you learn the more you earn in that realm.

What is great about AU for advancing my education is the free scheduling primarily. With a CFL schedule we end up having a good amount of down time, however, with travel and games, the hours are inconsistent. Taking courses (days or nights) would be almost impossible to schedule properly, so the online format is great for being able to work when I have the time and be able to take a few days hiatus when it becomes necessary.

The new stadium in Saskatchewan is amazing. I tell everyone that if they can, to get here in person as soon as possible. It is really is extravagant. I’m excited for another season and excited for the direction the team is going. My personal goals are mainly to just stay healthy and stay on the field and contribute. I think I have 17 or 18 regular season games to go to hit the 100-game milestone, so that is one of my main personal goals for this season. Consistency has been a staple of my career I believe.

The football fans in Regina are great. It really is crazy when you think of how small the city of Regina actually is and how easily they seem to fill the stadium every single game. It’s still close enough to home that it is manageable for my girlfriend and family to attend games that they want to. This was another key factor in choosing to be back in Saskatchewan.