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John Chick’s hectic life away from the football field hasn’t slowed him down on it.

Chick has found a balance between his off-field challenges and his status as one of the CFL’s elite defensive ends with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

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Chick and his wife Catherine are the parents of eight children from one to 11 years of age. He’s also a Type I diabetic and controls the disease while wearing an insulin pump on and off the field.

“I have a saint for a wife so that’s No. 1,’’ Chick said in advance of Saturday’s game at Mosaic Stadium against his former team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders. “For me it has always been a grind. When we had one kid, it was tough. You always work hard and you get through it and somehow the Lord provides, but it doesn’t get easy.

“There is a lot of time and effort and pain on my part and especially on my wife’s part. At the end, I wouldn’t take away one second of any of the tough times we’ve had because it has made us who we are as a family.”