While it’s a common practice for a lot of people to get out of Edmonton during the winter months, Sean Whyte has been enjoying his first off-season in the Alberta capital.
“I’m a sports guy,” said the Eskimos 32-year-old place-kicker. “When it’s summertime, I’m playing summer sports and when it’s winter time, I want to play my winter sports.
“I like to play a lot of hockey and I like to curl,” he continued. “I’ve been a spare on four or five different (curling) teams this winter. Back home in B.C., it’s more of an older person thing whereas here I can play with my buddies and they all curl. This is the most fun I’ve ever had curling, so it’s made me enjoy the sport even more.
“And then you’ve got the outdoor rinks for hockey and they’ve been in great shape. I’ve played lots of hockey and just stayed active … so being in Edmonton has been great.”
Whyte had always gone back to White Rock, BC, for the off-seasons since he was traded by the BC Lions to the Montreal Alouettes in May 2011. He also travelled between the Vancouver area and Edmonton after joining the Eskimos in 2015, but decided to move here full-time after signing a three-year contract with the Green and Gold in December.
“I’m getting kind of tired of moving back-and-forth during the off-season,” he said. “I did it in Montreal, every off-season going home and then moving back is just a pain in the butt.
“I wanted to sign the three-year deal here just so I could stay more permanent somewhere. I love playing here and everything is going really well for me so I decided to stay and try out it out for the winter and it’s been great.”
Whyte played pretty much every sport he could find while growing up – starting with hockey, soccer and baseball when he was around five years old, moving into golf and tennis as he got older, and competing in rugby once he hit high school.
“Football kind of showed up when I was 19 because (BC head coach and then-GM) Wally Buono found me pretty much kicking a rugby ball,” he said. “As long as I’m playing sports, I’m happy.”
While his parents played the game, Whyte used to hate watching curling because he thought it was “super boring” and didn’t understand how it was played. Ironically, he ended up with a part-time job as an assistant to the ice-maker/manager at a local curling rink in 2008 after he got home from Santa Monica Junior College in California and joined the Lions as a territorial exemption.
“I actually said no a couple of times (to his parents) and then I caved in because I did need a job,” he said. “I usually got there at 3 or 3:30 p.m. right after football practice and then I had ‘til 6:15 p.m. to get the ice ready. All it needed was a scrape, a pebble and a nip, so I had hours to sit around so I would go out and curl on my own, just throw shots. I was kind of self-taught. We had a bunch of older guys and they’d give me tips (along with his manager). Eventually, my manager said I could play while I worked.”
Whyte played as much as he could as a spare on the two evening draws and started to enjoy the game.
“The technique part of it I got,” he said. “I’m starting to get the touch part now because I’m playing a lot more so I’m enjoying it more because I’m making more shots.
“The other reason I like curling is it’s a mental game, too. It’s like making a kick in football. You’ve got to mentally see yourself make the shot before you actually do it. If you have any doubt, you’re going to miss.
“It’s a long shot. That’s the fun thing about curling. When you make that shot and you’re so far away, it’s a lot tougher than the pros make it look. When I actually make it, I get pumped up.”
Whyte recruited one of Canada’s top women’s skips – Chelsea Carey of Calgary – to play with him in the Thistle Curling Club’s Monty Open bonspiel in February.
“We always stay in touch,” Whyte said. “She’s a good buddy of mine. She messaged me when she got knocked out of the Wild-Card game for the Scotties (Tournament of Hearts Canadian women’s curling championship). I said, ‘What are you doing?’ She goes, ‘Well, I’m on a plane. I just wish it kept on going to someplace hot that didn’t have TSN’ so she didn’t have to watch the curling.
“I told her I was in the Monty. I recruited Graeme Scott, our other equipment guy. They said it was a mixed ‘spiel. Well, the best girl I know is Chelsea and she wanted to get her mind off things. I said to come here and be our skip. She didn’t hesitate.
“We had a rough start because she’s used to arena ice and we didn’t really give her much help. And every single guy really showed up to play against her. Everyone wanted to beat Chelsea. We lost our first two games and then won out, winning the D Event.
“A lot of fans came up to her and she took a lot of pictures with people and, at the same time, she can go up and have a beer with somebody, too,” Whyte continued. “I think a lot of people have a new respect for Chelsea as well as a person and not just an athlete. They can see how cool she really is.
“That was one of the most fun ‘spiels she’s ever played in.”
Whyte also took in games at the men’s world curling championship in Edmonton in the spring of 2017 and watched a Grand Slam event at Camrose in January.
“I met Kevin Koe and Brent Laing and the Jacobs guys (at Camrose),” said Whyte. “I get people don’t like me as an athlete sometimes; they just look at you on TV and say, ‘I don’t like that guy’ and not really have a reason. I kind of had that with Brad Jacobs and those guys. I felt like maybe they were kind of jerks, hitting the brooms on the ice and getting all mad. But I met those guys and went out and had some drinks together and now they’re my favourite team just because I’ve met them and they’re great, great guys. They admit, ‘Yeah, we’re passionate, but if you talk to us off the ice, I think we’re good guys.’ It’s good to have a newfound respect for them.”
Whyte, who intends to be a regular member of a couple of different curling teams so he can play at least two games a week next winter after football season ends, was also planning to enter a couple of end-of-the-year bonspiels in the Edmonton area at the time of this interview.
His hockey playing in Edmonton has been a little more casual. Apart from the outdoor rinks, he’s also played drop-in hockey at the Kinsmen Arenas.
“I’m not going to play competitive because you have those guys who still think they’re in ‘The Show’ or something,” he said. “I don’t need to get hurt. These guys all know I play football and they’re not going to hit me or trip me or do something stupid to get me hurt. It’s just for fun, so it’s good to get out there.”
Whyte was hurt for the first time in his football career and missed 12 games and more than three months of the 2017 CFL season after partially tearing a tendon that connected his quadriceps muscle to his hip while kicking a 19-yard field goal against the BC Lions on July 28.
While there’s still a little soreness in the leg, he said his quad feels great and “my pop is back” on his kicks. He recently posted a video on Instagram showing him kicking field goals at the Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre Field House.
“In two months, I’ll be back to 100 per cent for sure,” he said.
Whyte was good on 15 of 16 field goal attempts last year, including a career-high 55-yard field goal “that was fun to do” because it came against the Montreal Alouettes, who opted to go with a younger kicker in 2015.
He also made 12 of 14 converts, set a record with 25 consecutive successful field goal attempts (over two seasons) and also handled the punts and kickoffs until he was injured. He led the CFL in accuracy, making 45 of 48 field goal attempts (93.8%) in 2016, including all 43 attempts from up to 49 yards. It was the third-highest percentage in CFL history.
Another special moment for Whyte was kicking the 53-yarder to beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers only three weeks after joining the Eskimos in ‘15.
“It made me feel like I was back because I was ready to retire,” he said. “Then we win the Grey Cup.”
The game-tying kick against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and former head coach Chris Jones in 2016 was also memorable. The Esks won that game in overtime.
While Whyte started last season as a punter/place-kicker, he’ll just be kicking field goals and converts when he plays his favourite summertime sport this year.
“I grew up playing a lot of different sports so I enjoy doing everything, but in the long run, this will be better for me in my career,” he said. “When you only have to do one motion and one technique, it is easier.
“Obviously, my field goals are my bread-and-butter. I’m more of a rugby style positional punter. I’m not going to hit a huge, high, five-second punt, but I can hit it pretty accurately wherever I want it.”
Hugh O’Neill is scheduled to be the Eskimos punter this season.