Throughout the years, Chris Getzlaf has demonstrated leadership skills both on the football field and off — skills which have translated to a role on the sidelines for the upcoming 2025 Canadian Junior Football League season.
It was announced at the start of the year that the former Saskatchewan Roughrider and two-time Grey Cup champion has joined the Regina Thunder coaching staff as an offensive consultant.
It’s a reunion for the Thunder and Getzlaf who played for the club from 2001 to 2004 before his playing days with the University of Regina Rams and eventually the Roughriders.
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“I was lucky enough to play in multiple levels where you did have veterans on those teams that you could look up to and that are mentors that can help mould your game,” said Getzlaf.
Born and raised in Regina, Getzlaf played two years with the Rams, graduating from the University of Regina with a double minor in finance marketing. Getzlaf couldn’t attend his graduation ceremony because he was off to his first Canadian Football League (CFL) training camp after getting drafted by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
He went on to play 11 years in the CFL and spent nine-and-a-half of those seasons with the Roughriders.
In addition, Getzlaf spent the majority of his CFL career working as a financial advisor, which is now his full-time career under his company CG Wealth Management.
Over 20 years since his time with the Thunder, Getzlaf returns to the team with a wealth of football knowledge that he can pass onto the next generation of promising football stars.
“In this game, you have to be able to keep advancing and understanding playbooks and take that to the next level,” Getzlaf added.
“I was able to have a lot of different mentors and being able to go out and share my experiences and some of the knowledge that I’ve learned over the years I think is pretty valuable to the [Thunder].”
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