By François Ferland
MontrealAlouettes.com
Montreal – At the age of 16, and because a friend told him that physically, he was built for football, Montreal-North native Jean-Marc Edme allowed himself to be taken by the idea of trying his luck at the sport from which he now makes a living. Years after getting his first taste of football via the Sun Youth organisation, Edme has since made a career for himself working for the Alouettes.
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Montreal-Native Jean-Marc Edme |
Edme, who is currently in his fourth year with the Montreal team, recently detailed some of the tasks which make up his role within the organisation. “I help our defensive coordinator (Tim Tibesar) with his pre-game preparations, I participate in the strategic planning for our defensive line, and on game days, I’m linked-up with Defensive Line Coach Mike Sinclair from my spot in the press gallery. I also have a specific job to do on special teams, in that I work on establishing tactics to block our opponents’ field goal attempts.”
This task within the Alouettes’ special teams unit is new to Jean-Marc, given that it was former Defensive Coordinator Tim Burke who was in charge of it last season.
What a strong vote of confidence towards Edme then, on the part of the Alouettes’ coaching staff, who have no doubt noticed how hard the former has been working since arriving with the team to find his place in the sun.
Inspired by Marcel Desjardins
In 2007, Jean-Marc had just completed his Bachelor’s degree in Sports Administration at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, when he got the idea to go knocking on the door of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the hopes of pursuing an internship that would complement his studies. “I had sent my CV to the team’s recruiting department and received a favourable response from then-General Manager Marcel Desjardins,” remembered Edme.
Edme’s candidature caught the eye of Desjardins, who had also studied at Laurentian University, where he completed a Commerce degree with a specialisation in Sports Administration.
Never could Jean-Marc have imagined that the door that Marcel was opening for him would one day lead to a job with Alouettes. One year later however, in 2008, Desjardins returned to the Alouettes as assistant General Manager, and was quick to offer Edme a job with the team — almost as quick as Edme was to pack his bags to return home to his native Montreal, the decision being an easy one to make for Jean-Marc.
After his time with Sun Youth, Edme wore the colours of the Vanier Cheetahs, playing in the Quebec Collegiate AAA League, with whom he earned a scholarship from Alcorn State University in Mississippi, where he played as fullback. After two injury-plagued years at Alcorn State however, Edme decided to return to Quebec to pursue his studies at the University of Sherbrooke. As it turned out though, his love for football still remained strong enough that he ended up playing for the Vert et Or following the team’s return to the CIS in 2003.
“It was a shoulder injury that finally convinced me to stop playing,” recounted Edme. “So I got the idea of pursuing a degree in Sports Administration.” Acting on that idea, he enrolled himself at Laurentian University, where he learned of Marcel Desjardins, “who inspired me a lot,” said Edme.
If the above was the turning point that led Edme to the Tiger-Cats and Desjardins, the scholarship from Alcorn State was the catalyst that got his life on track. “For a kid from Montreal-North, whose parents left Haiti to build a better life in Quebec, it’s an accomplishment that I’m extremely proud of,” underlined Edme with a smile.
Now 31 years-old, Jean-Marc Edme is the second from a family of three children, all boys. His younger brother Alexandre also played football, namely as a running back for the Laval Rouge et Or. Today he works in the computer industry.
