Mills manages laundry 'blow-ups' at Argos camp
James Paddle-Grant Photo: Fred Mills holds the down marker on the field at York University during the Argonauts Training Camp this month.
I returned to the Toronto Argonauts Training Camp at York University again, this time for the full three weeks.
I helped the equipment staff, including manager Danny Webb, the longest Argonaut employee with 30 years, assistant manager Tom Bryce and assistants David Sillberg and Mathew Wheatle. I was again the manager of laundry for more than 120 players, coaches, scouts and staff. The five of us helped each other anytime it was needed.
A day consisted of breakfast at 6 a.m. Tom or I would check the coaches and scouts floor, where there was a bin placed and they would put their laundry bags in the bin. We would bring it down in a travel bag and put it in the Kubota. After breakfast, I would go to the trainer’s room to collect their laundry (towels from treatments or trainers’ clothing – 10 of them in total).
Afterward, we headed to the stadium with the first wave of trainers, where I started the final load of towels that were left, as well as any coaches’, trainers’ or staff bags that needed to be done. I then would finish folding the remainder of the towels with help from the rest of the equipment staff. All practice clothing for players (shorts, T-shirts, socks, etc.) and any clothing staff, coaches and scouts would use are in mesh bags. As the players come in to get ready for practice, some clothes can go missing from the bag because it “blew up” (meaning the zipper ripped or the bag wasn’t done up all the way). As the manager of laundry, I would be required to remember what bag had “blown up” and I would have it put aside to make it easier and quicker to find.
Practice started at 7:30 a.m. After all the locker rooms were emptied, I would reorganize the chairs in front of the lockers, pick up any athletic tape and hang their mesh bags on their hooks to make the rooms look nice and clean. I would then place a towel in each of their lockers – 88-plus in total. Then, it was time to head out to the field and help and or watch the practice or help. I helped with the yards sticks and Down Marker (even though it was taller than me) during practices along with anything else that needed to be done. With 10 minutes left in the practice, I would unlock the locker rooms and get ready for the onslaught of laundry. I quickly went between the three locker rooms on two floors to separate the white jerseys (defence) from the blue jerseys (offence), as well as bags and towels, into four bins. I got the washer spinning, with a load of bags as they took the longest to dry. Being a part of the Argos and on the equipment staff is all about teamwork. I would like to thank Danny Webb and the rest of the equipment staff and the Toronto Argonauts for letting me come back and help out. I would also like to thank my incredible bosses at The Creemore Echo for letting me go for the three weeks.
