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Injuries are a daily reality in professional football. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have been hit by a number of significant roster challenges before the first snap of the regular season. It would be understandable if the timing and severity of the injuries had everyone in the organization crying uncle.

There are no punchlines for Hamilton’s one- and six-game injured lists. They are sobering and long, peppered with marquee names like Brian Bulcke, Luke Tasker, Eric Norwood and C.J. Gable. Each injury is seemingly more bewildering than the last.

The team should probably be devastated, but instead there are signs of excitement and hope. The positivity displayed by Hamilton players in the face of adversity speaks to the character and composition of the 2015 Tiger-Cats. More specifically, it shows how a coach can affect a team’s mental disposition.

Head coach and general manager Kent Austin has shaped this team in his own image. He continually preaches the value of preparation, putting the team first and the meaningless nature of depth charts in the CFL game. 

Reiterating the same message and tone over and over again has cost more than a few head coaches their jobs in professional sports, as players have a tendency to tune out. Austin’s has avoided becoming predictable and stale through his eternal optimism, and the team has followed suit.

The true measure of a coach’s ability to connect with players and shape a team’s identity cannot be quickly understood. It takes years to fully implement a culture and approach across an entire organization. Many coaches are not given the time to see their vision through, but there is no question Austin has the sway to make it happen in Hamilton.

He has taken a roster full of players signed by previous administrations to appearances in consecutive Grey Cups. Now in his third year, Austin continues to mould the team’s roster and ideology, aiming to get closer to the finished product he imagined when he took the job in December of 2012. 

A vital part of that ideology is to understand football is a game predicated on the idea each and every player on the roster must be ready to play. As Austin stated Monday, “Our guys are good. They understand it’s next guy up, and the expectations for everybody that plays here are the same. We don't make excuses because of mishaps or bad things that occur in life or happen in football.”

Running backs C.J. Gable, Mossis Madu Jr., and Nic Grigsby all out injured? Ray ‘Buddy’ Holley to the rescue. Defensive linemen Hasan Hazime, Michael Atkinson and Brian Bulcke all hurt at the start of camp? Insert emerging sack master Adrian Tracy and play on.

Through the ups and downs of terrible injury news, Austin has kept his wits about him while supplying a sort of dry humour on the grave diagnoses.

“I may have said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ once or twice, then tried to laugh about it and moved on,” he said. “I don’t believe in being snake bitten. It is what it is. Welcome to the game of life, things happen.”

Austin’s realistic and well-natured approach to life and football doesn’t allow him to accept excuses. He lives in the now, which is exactly what this team needs to make it to a third straight Grey Cup.