Rick Sowieta Rick Sowieta ( born March 10 , 1954 in Heusden , Belgium ) is a former CFL linebacker who played ten seasons in the Canadian Football League , mainly for the Ottawa Rough Riders , for whom he played eight years . He was a CFL Eastern All Star in 1980 , 1983 , and 1985 . Early life . Although born in Heusden , Belgium , Sowieta emigrated to Canada in 1957 and grew up in Ottawa , Ontario , where he attended Glebe Collegiate for high school . While at the school , he played linebacker for the football team , who were City Jr . Junior Football Champs in 1969 . He later played in the Canadian Junior Football League for the local Ottawa Sooners and , in 1971 , they were the Eastern Canadian Finalists . University . Sowieta attended the University of Richmond in Virginia , where he earned a BA in Economics and graduated in 1977 . While attending , he played linebacker for the Richmond Spiders , a Division 1 football team in the NCAA , which won Southern Conference Championship for the NCAA in 1975 . Careers . Professional football career . Sowieta began his professional football career in 1977 when he was a first - round draft pick for the Toronto Argonauts CFL team , for whom he played two seasons , from 1977 to 1979 . In 1979 he was traded to the Ottawa Rough Riders CFL team , for whom he played from 1979 to 1986 . During his time with the Rough Riders he won three Eastern All - Star Selections ( 1980 , 1983 , 1985 ) , was nominated as Ottawa ' s Choice for Outstanding Canadian Citizen in 1980 , and played in the 69th Grey Cup game in 1981 . During his ten - year career he played 157 games , ten of which were playoff games and one of which was a Grey Cup game . Football Coaching Career . Following the end of his career in the CFL , he coached on and off with various National , Junior League , University , and High School Football Teams . In both 1989 and 1990 he coached the Semi - Professional Ottawa Bootleggers to Championship Finals . In 1991 he coached the Ottawa Sooners to the Canadian Bowl finals . In 2001 he coached the St . Mark ' s , an Ottawa high school , to the City Championship finals . In 2002 , the University of Ottawa Gee - Gees football team was coached by Rick and they were finalists in the 2002 Yates Cup . In both 2008 and 2009 , the St . Pat ' s , a local high school , football teams were coached to victory at the Tier 2 City Championships . Rick is coaching the National Senior Women ' s Team for 2010 . Football Management Positions . Rick has formerly served as the President of both the Ottawa Rough Riders Alumni Association and of the Ottawa Sooners Football Club . Rick has also served as a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame selection committee , of the International Federation of American Football , and as the High Performance Director Junior National Team ( U20 ) in 2009 . Rick was the General Manager of Canada ' s Team World ( U20 ) for 2010 . Currently , Rick works as the Director of Sports for Football Canada and has done so since 2004 . Careers Outside of Football . In addition to playing for Rough Riders in the 80 ' s , Rick also worked for Bacardi Rum as the sales manager for Eastern Ontario from 1980 - 89 . From 1989 - 2003 Rick was the co - owner of various Mexican - themed restaurants , namely Las Palmas , Rick ' s Cantina , and the Salsa Shack . From 2003 - 2005 Rick was an instructor at the Nowy Sacz University Business School in Poland , primarily teaching English as a second language .