Last week's Edmonton Eskimos rookie camp was a time for player orientation to get them used to the ins and outs of what's expected of them.
Only it turns out it wasn't just for players.
"(On Day 1), I was like, 'What do I do?' You walk around and (Eskimos GM) Danny (Maciocia) was teasing me because you're so used to coaching a position," said Eskimos head coach Richie Hall, who was the defensive co-ordinator with the Saskatchewan Roughriders for eight seasons before coming to Edmonton in the off-season.
"Now everyone else is coaching a position and my job is to observe and just to oversee.
"So far, it's been a good experience and it's been a lot of fun. I think anything that you do different is a new challenge, but it's also a sense of excitement because it is different and I hadn't experienced this before."
But when main camp opens today, it will be nothing new for the veterans on the Eskimos roster.
"When the vets come in, there's no introduction and it's about going forward. When the vets come in here, you're at a more accelerated tempo," said Hall, who remembers his first camp as a rookie out of Colorado State University.
"As rookies, you start developing a bond with one another because that's who you're with for the next three or four days," said Hall, an all-star defensive back with the Calgary Stampeders and the Roughriders from 1983 to 1991. "But then all of a sudden the vets come in.
"The reality of the game (sets in) because the tempo does change and they know each other and they have that sense of confidence when they come out there.
"They just step on the field and they're ready to go because there's no learning curve for them, per se, as far as how they react to the football field," he said.
"I do remember where - not saying that we felt big and bad - but we felt pretty good and then all of a sudden the vets come in and it's like, 'Oh, so this is what real pro ball is like.' "
