The COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed many people's lives, forcing adjustments both personally and professionally. In the case of the Manitoba Bisons football team, they were forced out of the David Asper Bison Football Centre, and were unable to interact and train with each other in that space for the better part of a year-and-a-half.

For veteran running back Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette, though, not having access to the locker room was the least of his worries.

Late in November 2019, around the time that the Vanier Cup was being played, the fourth-year ball-carrier was left reeling due to the death of his mother — a single parent who'd raised him and his four other siblings. Understandably, he needed to take some time for himself.

St. Pierre-Laviolette came back to school in the summer, fully intent on re-upping the six-credit hour course required to remain eligible. As he was doing this, his life flipped upside down yet again as his brother committed suicide.

"I had to quit school again," the Brandon native recalls. "I was just done. I needed to take some time to wrap my head around everything and how to figure out how to move forward with two huge pieces of my life missing."

The speedy back spent many nights alone during this time. He considered quitting the sport entirely, but when his mind started shifting to negative thoughts, he was brought back to grade eight – when his football journey in the wheat city started. The game offered a sense of normalcy within occasional chaos and was an opportunity to grow and mature as a person. Even better, he was darn good at it, as evidenced by his 2,426 career yards over two years playing high school ball for the Crocus Plains Plainsmen.

The game also took him to Saskatchewan, where he earned All-Canadian status as a running back for the CJFL's Regina Thunder. Better yet, he got to travel to Sweden where he played pro ball for the Uppsala 86ers. And now, he's back in his home province, representing Manitoba and doing his family proud. With that in mind, it was only right that he finished what he started.

 "The one constant I had was football," he says.

"I would not be where I am today if I didn't play ball. it just took sitting there one night realizing that I left Brandon, I left my family to come chase my dreams. If I didn't pursue this, then I missed all that time with them for nothing. I just don't think I could sleep right at night knowing that I wasted all of that time that I had left with them doing something that didn't even end up mattering."

So the man they call VSP went back to work. He trained as hard as he could in the weight room and on the field while also working with head coach Brian Dobie and the school to get eligible. The work paid off, as he's back with his team, enjoying every minute of training camp as if it's his last.

"You just really need to be appreciative of any good things that come your way, wherever you are in life," he noted. "Even just being here is a blessing. Doing hard work is a blessing, dying out in the heat is a blessing – the fact that we get to do it."

Ritchott back with a point to prove

Fifth-year back Mike Ritchott is also no stranger to adversity. When he was going into grade six, he, along with his siblings were taken to Child and Family Services, as his mom was struggling to provide for the entire family. Unfortunately, the home that he was put in until grade eight was less than ideal.

He didn't have access to a fridge, wasn't allowed to make his own food and was forced to do chores regularly. He coped with his surroundings by taking up football. It was a getaway for him, and thankfully, right when it started to take off, he was able to move back in with his mom.

As a 5'9", 180-pound ball-carrier for Grant Park, Ritchott earned Player of the Year status in back-to-back seasons, an unprecedented feat at the high school level. Despite this, he didn't receive any U SPORTS offers. Instead of being sour, Ritchott took his talents to the CJFL with the Vancouver Island Raiders and then the Winnipeg Rifles. He was an instant playmaker for both teams, racking up a ridiculous 3,173 combined all-purpose yards with the latter.  

In 2018, Ritchott was invited to the CFL's Western Regional Combine in Winnipeg but didn't get the nod to advance to the national event. Despite this, the mature athlete stayed focused. He proved himself at the U SPORTS level in 2019, earning All-Canadian status as a kick returner for the Bisons — setting a program record with 636 total yards.

His performance earned him a nod to the 2020 national combine, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everything was done locally and virtually. Even though he didn't have his coaches available or UM's facility to train in, Ritchott made things work. His friend had a gym available, and he utilized it often. Once it came to April, he started shovelling outside so he could have access to the turf for speed work and positional drills.

Ritchott was prepared on draft day but didn't get his name called. He once again chose to use the setback as motivation.

"I don't put that on anyone else but myself. I truly believe that I have the capabilities to play and that's why I'm here. I'm trying to show people that I can do that and that I can be a difference-maker," he noted.

"I'm basically on the wait list for a few trades that I want to get, and I'm pursuing social work here as well. For me it's a no-brainer [to return]. It really is an easy decision. I get the opportunity to have better education towards something that I want to do in life, and I get to play football. Football as well might not be done for me. I get the opportunity to showcase my skills and to show people that I'm serious about this craft that I've worked my whole life towards."

Always evolving

For VSP and Ritchott, proving their abilities as U SPORTS backs isn't really necessary. They finished third and fourth in the conference in rushing yards in 2019 respectively and are without question one of the conference's most dangerous 1-2 tandems due to their speed and ability to bounce off first contact.

In their eyes, though, there's still lots to improve on.

"I want to show people my game speed. I want to show that I'm almost untouchable on the football field and that if you get your hands on me, it's going to be tough to take me down," says Ritchott.

"With what we have out there right now with our coaching staff and player-wise, we're going to have a great opportunity to showcase those skills, it's just about being in the right place at the right time."

"I'm working to not be seen as a one-dimensional back," added VSP. "I worked a lot on my blocking and catching. I understood that coming into this season, coach [Vaughan] Mitchell's playbook wasn't exactly run-heavy, so I want to be able to contribute in any way that I can on this field."

Serious running back depth

Manitoba's backfield depth extends far beyond two.

Take Breydon Stubbs for example. The product of the Vincent Massey Trojans got his feet wet with the program in 2019 and has high expectations for 2021. Seen as one of the team's best pass blockers, the physical runner has impressed during camp and is looking to evolve his game this year to also become an all-purpose back.

"I learned my pass pro from coach [Ryan] Karhut during the U18 Canada Cup. Since he was our running backs coach, he emphasized how blocking was important, and he's the reason why my physicality is up there," he says.

"Playing [St. Vital] Mustangs I wasn't really much of a pass pro or physical guy, but after U18, that's kind of been part of my package as a running back. Growing up and learning, pass pro is what's going to get you the ball, so that's kind of been my mentality here.

We do carry three backs, so I know I will be travelling. I'm not sure where they have us placed on the depth chart right now, but I will be getting more reps than I did in 2019, I know that for sure. I'm honestly just excited to get back on the field. I'm ready to put work in and I'm confident enough to be on this starting roster. I'm ready to put it all out on the field."

All three athletes, along with Vincent Massey products Ishe Matange and Negus Lewin (Stubbs' cousin) make up a stacked group of local ballers who've benefited from year-round training.

"To me it just exemplifies what this province has done in football in terms of developing the high school athletes. Football here is all year round. It's become a 365-day type of deal," says Ritchott.

"I have to give a huge shoutout to Recruit Ready. They really developed me when I was graduating high school. That was the first year that they became a public operation. I worked out with them in grade 12 and a few years after high school. They were a huge part of my development. They definitely helped develop my hands and my pass protection and a lot of route-running. The progression of football in Manitoba is definitely amazing. It's really taken off and it's fun to be a part of that progression."

The list doesn't stop there though. The dynamic Drey Blair, a 2020 commit from North Langley, as well as Noah Anderson — a 5'11", 190-pound Team Canada alum out of Surrey BC who stayed in Manitoba to train during the pandemic — bolster the group even more. The depth at the position is certainly not lost on the Herd's head coach.

"In our entire program I don't know if there's two young men that have had more on their plates than those two guys, and here they are doing their work and pursuing their passion and going after it. Good on them, I want them both to have great seasons. They deserve it," noted Brian Dobie on Ritchott and VSP.

"Not to mention Breydon Stubbs. Look at him out of Vincent Massey. The starting tailback for Team Manitoba who had a great national tournament which feels like 100 years ago, and Noah Anderson, Team BC's starting running back. I looked at Noah the other night just in our walk and talk and just went oh boy, there's a man on a mission. He's jacked up and looks great. The running back position is going to be crazy competitive."