March 18, 2014

Montreal Coaches Clinic: Alouettes Noel Thorpe to speak on ‘Team Defense’

Montreal, Quebec – Montreal Alouette defensive coordinator to speak Friday night

Noel Thorpe will headline the 2014 CFC Montreal Coaches Clinic. The veteran CFL coach, from Vancouver, will speak on ‘Team Defense’ and looks forward to helping the Canadian coaching fraternity.

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BIO (http://en.montrealalouettes.com)

	Noel Thorpe Assistant Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Backs Coach



2013 was Thorpe’s first season as the Alouettes’ defensive coordinator after spending the previous two seasons with the Université de Montréal Carabins in the CIS. In 2012, with Thorpe as the team’s first-year defensive coordinator, the Carabins finished the season with an impressive 8-1 record while boasting the top defence in the country, allowing only 102 points in nine games. He was also the head coach of the gold-medal-winning Team Canada squad IFAF U19 World Championship that same year in Austin, TX. During his first stint with the Alouettes, the now 42-year-old was appointed special teams coordinator, a position he held from 2002 to 2007. His responsibilities also included coaching defensive backs from 2003 to 2007. While in Montreal, the Vancouver native helped the Alouettes reach the Grey Cup on four separate occasions, winning it in 2002, marking the team’s first championship since 1977. Thorpe also honed his skills in the CFL,serving as the Edmonton Eskimos’ special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach from 2008 to 2010. During his two seasons with the Esks, he served also as the team’s assistant head coach. Before joining the Alouettes in 2002, Thorpe helped the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds win the Vanier Cup in 1997. He held different positions with them, including defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach from 1996 to 2000. He coached the defensive backs for at Simon Fraser University in 2001. Thorpe lives in Montreal and takes part in various coaching clinics across Canada, most recently the 2012 Football Nova Scotia Coaches Clinic.