Very few people have studied change to quite the degree that Charles Darwin did.
He came to the conclusion that, “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
At 6’4″ and roughly 300 pounds, Zach Annen has always been one of the strongest. As an aerospace engineering student, Annen has always been one of the most intelligent, yet it has been his ability to manage change that may be Annen’s most important quality.
In a way, the London Minor Football (LMFA) graduate has made use of all three on his way to the Montreal Alouettes.
In less than a month he has been drafted and signed by Montreal and is now in the process of trying to make their 2017 roster as a centre.
For more than a decade, through the LMFA, high school and the start of Annen’s university career with the Carleton Ravens, it had been his job to find a way past the guy snapping the football. He was a defensive lineman. It never had to enter his mind that his way to the professional ranks was to become the guy with the football in his hand at the start of every play.
That changed.
“Coming into university with Carleton, I was an OK defensive lineman … but I don’t think I would have ever been drafted to play it.”
The Ravens coaching staff looked at the St. Thomas native and decided he might be better suited to play on the other side of the ball. Then they took note of Annen’s intelligence and decided, he should be a centre. Suddenly, he had all of the offensive plays and line calls and snap counts to worry about.
That might sound complex, but for a guy studying aerospace engineering, it just seemed to come naturally.
“I mastered the things that I could pretty early, like the playbook. Some people learn by doing things, but I can learn by just going over it with other players or the coaches. Once I had learned the playbook, I was able to get on the field and work on my technique.”
Anyone subscribing to Malcom Gladwell’s philosophies will tell you that truly being able to master something takes more than just stepping into the position.
That’s where Annen credits his girlfriend, Claire.
To become a good centre takes an unbelievable amount of repetition. You want the motion that fires the ball back into the hands of the quarterback to become as natural as breathing. The moment you can’t notice yourself doing it is the moment you are doing it right.
“By yourself, it’s hard. You can snap the ball against a wall, but you have no idea where it goes or whether it’s good or not,” says Annen. “We’ve been dating for about five years now, so when I switched positions … I asked her if she could help me with it and she agreed.”
People walking their dogs through various parks in Ottawa have become used to seeing the sight of a 6’4″, roughly 300-pound guy snapping a football to a female quarterback who doesn’t drop back to look for a receiver (even though the dogs might be hoping) and hands the ball back for what Annen says is “probably about 100 or 150 reps at a time.”
Annen began to feel good and began to realize that he might have a shot at something special, which may have stepped up the park workouts with Claire.
“I told her, ‘Next year, if I’m good at it, I could get drafted.’”
In the fifth round, Annen’s name was called by Montreal. Unfortunately, he was in a hotel room at the time fighting with wonky wifi and a computer that wouldn’t refresh, so he didn’t see it right away.
“My roommate was at an event (with the Ravens) and he texted me congratulations … then my phone started going crazy and finally the stream updated and I saw that the Alouettes had drafted me.”
Things have happened quickly for Annen. With training camp and the CFL pre-season ahead, there isn’t much chance that they will slow down anytime soon.
But, given how quickly he has been able to make the transitions that have led him to this point, there is little doubt that he will have any trouble adjusting to his latest change.
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