At home, in Mexico, he played in front of crowds of 5,000 people. It’s not quite the 25,000 seats that surround the field at McGill Stadium.
Resting on the player’s bench after his first practice with the rookies, kicker Enrique Yenny – who was selected through the international drafts – is contemplating the stands with admiration. He’s eager to hear the Montreal fans.
His motivation
“I heard the crowd gets pretty loud here. I’m really looking forward to that.”
His discovery
Since he stepped foot in the city a few days ago, Enrique learned a couple of French words, ate poutine and walked from one end of Sainte-Catherine to the other. Classic. He also had the pleasure to find out that equipment managers take care of players’ laundry.
His challenge
Enrique wants to be here. He has a strong desire to learn – particularly from Boris Bede who, according to him, has an amazing form. So far, at rookie camp, he worked on getting accustomed to the location of the goal posts as well as the location of the city, in general.
“Where I’m from, we play at an altitude of approximately 2,000 meters. Here, we’re at sea level. It makes a difference when we kick. Weight training becomes even more important.”
But the kicker came prepared. Knowing this day would come, he increased his volume of workouts in the gym in the past few weeks.
His comforter
He also stashed a few photos and letters from his fiancee in his suitcase in case times would get rough.
“I brought the photos and letters to remind myself of the reason I’m here. I want to honour my family and fiancee.”
Enrique will take part in the training camp that officially kicks off on Sunday. Come see how hard he strikes at the team’s first practice on Monday at 2pm, in the nest.
