Saskatchewan Roughriders’ general manager Jeremy O’Day has made some crucial hires this offseason, but one of the organization’s biggest additions has largely flown under the radar.
In an appearance on 620 CKRM‘s The SportsCage this week, O’Day revealed that the new head of strength and conditioning Dan Farthing will play a significant role in shifting the franchise’s current culture.
“Talking to him in the interview, I probably didn’t tell him this but his motivation to come back and help the club get back to winning ways made the hair stand up on my arms,” he said. “It was just awesome. I wish I could have recorded it and shown it to the players. He’s just excited to be back. I think he takes a lot of pride in the organization and when you struggle for a couple of years, that’s hard on everyone.”
A former second-overall draft pick out of the University of Saskatchewan, Farthing played 169 games over 11 seasons with the Riders as a receiver. He retired fourth all-time in franchise history with 384 receptions and eighth all-time in receiving yards with 5,097, while also adding 19 touchdowns and 34 special teams tackles.
Since stepping away from the game in 2001, Farthing has dedicated his life to strength and conditioning. The 54-year-old received the President’s Medal as the outstanding graduate from the College of Kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan in the fall of 2002 and has since gone on to secure multiple post-graduate degrees from the University of Regina. He launched his own successful training business, Level 10 Fitness, and has previously assisted the Riders as a trainer, but insisted that his past affiliation with the team not be taken into account during this hiring process.
“When I asked him about whether he’d be interested in coming back and being our strength guy, he actually wanted to go through the process just like everyone else. He wanted to be interviewed and wanted to turn in his resume,” O’Day laughed. “I don’t know when the last time Dan would have had to use a resume but he turned it in.”
The Plaza of Honour inductee will be charged with altering the training strategy for an organization that has battled the injury bug and suffered late-season collapses in back-to-back years. His previous experience as a player ensures that he commands respect in the locker room and will be able to drive change forward, from the top down.
“I’m looking forward to it, just the energy that he brings. He’s another guy that you gravitate to because of his experience and his expertise in what he does,” O’Day said.
“The players are loving it and along with that, we’ll make some changes to how we do things. Whether that’s how we stretch the players, how we feed the players, nutrition and how we do that. That’s been a positive thing that Dan’s been doing is really working through all the aspects of trying to prepare players and when the majority of them get here, I’m sure they’re gonna be excited to work with him.”
O’Day cited Farthing’s vision and people skills as some of the reasons he was perfectly suited for the role, noting that he’s already been in the building putting any local players through the paces this offseason. That approach has extended beyond just the athletes, with the new hire taking a holistic approach to improving the team’s fitness.
“He’s even got us on the staff going through and doing some workouts, which is always a good thing,” O’Day chuckled.
The Riders will open their 2024 regular season on Saturday, June 8 when they visit the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium.
