One chapter ends, another begins.
So it is in the life of Kelly Bates.
The Humboldt native announced his retirement from professional football last week, then accepted a position as assistant coach with his former team, the B.C. Lions.
Bates actually retired as a Lion, with the team signing him just long enough for that to occur.
"I know it's symbolic, but it still means a lot to me," Bates told the Vancouver Sun last week. "It probably speaks to my personality, of who I am. I always had that goal or dream, no matter how much of a long shot it was, that I wanted to play for the same team my whole career."
The 35-year-old Bates spent nine seasons as a CFL offensive lineman, including seven in Vancouver, playing with the Lions from 2002-08. He won the Grey Cup with B.C. in 2006, and was named a CFL all-star in 2007.
He joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2009, and split time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Edmonton Eskimos last year, although he did not actually see any game time with the Riders.
The Eskimos released him in February.
Bates suited up for 115 games as a Lion, but injury problems plagued him throughout his career.
"I've had four surgeries on my left knee, and three surgeries on my right elbow," he told the Humboldt Journal on April 30. "It's a bit of a degenerative issue that's come about over the years. And it's not going to get better. Eventually it's going to lead to getting replacements, and it's to the point now where I just didn't know if I could have myself physically prepared to be able to play the way I wanted to play.
"You have to be honest with yourself, because at some point your body doesn't do what you want it to do anymore. I'd gotten to that point and I knew it, and luckily Wally (Buono, the Lions' head coach and general manager) and the whole B.C. Lions organization have treated me like gold, and have given me this opportunity. I'm very fortunate in that."
Bates spent much of his time with Winnipeg and Saskatchewan on injured reserve, although he did start for the Eskimos following his trade there last September.
"I was very pleased with the way it went (in Edmonton last season)," he said. "Once I got back on the field, and back to the side I'm accustomed to playing, which is the left side of the line, things just fell into place. I felt good out there, and that's not the issue. I felt I could still do the things I've always done on the football field, but the issue was recovery time, and being able to do that week after week through an 18 game season. I don't know if I could have done that anymore.
"There is a very select group of people who can continue to do this past my age. Evidence that in the CFL where you've only got two or three guys who are real phenoms who are still going strong, but I just don't have the skills or stamina that they have."
Bates said the move into coaching was a "natural progression" for him. He has hosted his Kelly Bates Football Camp here in Humboldt for the past six years, and now holds an aboriginal football skills camp in Saskatoon as well. He has also routinely helped out with spring training at his alma mater, the University of Saskatchewan.
"I think it was just (an extension) of what I've done over the past 10 to 15 years in football," he said. "My degree is in teaching, and it's what I love to do. And being able to teach the sport I love to play just seemed like a great fit.
"One of the nice things in football is there's always someone younger coming up who wants to learn, is eager to learn, and that's another factor about coaching," he added. "Because I know I enjoy helping those guys. And when you see the effect it has, and it makes you feel the way you do, I knew coaching was definitely for me."
Calgary Stampeders offensive coordinator Dave Dickenson played with Bates for five seasons in B.C., from 2003-2007. The two remain good friends.
"The last couple years I was able to be a bit of a sounding board for Kelly, with some of the stuff he's been through," Dickenson told the Humboldt Journal. "You want to keep playing but you're bouncing cities, and I know it was very hard for him to leave Regina last year. But he wanted to keep playing and I supported him in that. I like what he does. And I'm happy he's still in the business because I know he loves football."
Dickenson said Bates definitely has the key ingredients to be a successful coach in the CFL. As someone who has made the jump from playing to coaching himself, he also understands the challenges Bates will face.
"The challenge will be that he's coaching guys he's played with, and that's hard," Dickenson said. "But he's in the right place with a solid guy to learn from (Lions offensive line coach Dan Dorazio). And knowledge-wise he definitely knows enough. And he's got the kind of personality that the other guys will respond to.
"My advice to him is to soak it up and learn the first year - not even a year, but the first little while, and really study... I think Kelly's strength will be that he's played for different programs and different teams, he understands systems, and he knows there isn't just one way to do it. If something's not working, he's got the experience and the knowledge to find something else that does work."
Dickenson acknowledged that Bates' background in teaching will also be an asset.
"Coaching is teaching, there's no doubt in my mind," he said. "And when you're dealing with highly motivated people it's a lot of fun.
"I would think schoolteachers sometimes get students who don't want to be there; well our guys want to be there. We're working with highly motivated people - but obviously with very different backgrounds, levels of ability and levels of knowledge. So as a coach you've got to make sure you're coaching everybody. Good teachers do that, too."
Bates counts his two trips to the Grey Cup (in 2004 and 2006) as career highlights, with the Grey Cup win in 2006 as perhaps the pinnacle of his achievements as a pro. He also counted his participation in the CFL's "Huddle for Haiti" campaign as a particularly special memory. Bates joined several other CFL players on a trip to that earthquake-ravaged country last year.
"I'm very thankful, not just for having had the opportunity to play football, but for the avenues that the game opened up to me, such as Huddle for Haiti," he said. "It was an amazing and eye-opening experience, (and) something I will never forget."
