Training camp 2024

[don corleone]

Whoever was the one to suggest Kamloops as host to Lions training camp had a great idea. Good for the team and good for the community. Win / win and nice to see people having fun.

Nice the weather has been good this year for those in attendance.

[Hambone]

Whoever was the one to suggest Kamloops as host to Lions training camp had a great idea. Good for the team and good for the community. Win / win and nice to see people having fun.

Nice the weather has been good this year for those in attendance.

The setup in Kamloops is absolutely purrfect for holding a training camp. Everything needed to run a first class professional football training camp is there in one neat, tidy package. As the crow flies it's 586 yards from the front doors of the TRU Residence & Conference Centre where players and staff stay, dine & meet and the front doors of the front doors to the facility containing the locker rooms, gym and weight rooms. Playing and practice fields are in between.

And oh yes the weather! Kamloops likely presents the best weather for any CFL camp in terms of temperature and lack of precipitation. However for the 5 days I was in Kamloops this year it was quite a bit cooler than recent years. Mostly it was in the mid teens and windy whereas it was often in the mid to high 20s previously. The players might prefer the cooler temps.

Certainly with Hillside being a field turf facility they've come a long was from the good old days of practicing on often wet, sometimes muddy grass fields down on the coast in places like Courtenay's Lewis Park, Victoria and Chilliwack. If I recall one year in Chilliwack they lost at least 2 sessions due to weather and field conditions. Back in those days all fields were grass.

[B.C.FAN]

And oh yes the weather! Kamloops likely presents the best weather for any CFL camp in terms of temperature and lack of precipitation. However for the 5 days I was in Kamloops this year it was quite a bit cooler than recent years. Mostly it was in the mid teens and windy whereas it was often in the mid to high 20s previously. The players might prefer the cooler temps.

Certainly with Hillside being a field turf facility they've come a long was from the good old days of practicing on often wet, sometimes muddy grass fields down on the coast in places like Courtenay's Lewis Park, Victoria and Chilliwack. If I recall one year in Chilliwack they lost at least 2 sessions due to weather and field conditions. Back in those days all fields were grass.

After clear skies and 30-degree-plus temperatures greeted players on the opening weekend of camp, the weather has been unseasonably cool and damp by Kamloops standards, but it rained only briefly during one practice before the sun reappeared. I attended Lions' camps at UBC, Langley, Chilliwack and Abbotsford before the team moved camp to Kamloops in 2010. All were held on grass fields, with many weather-related washouts due to the potential for injury. The Lions' contract with the City of Kamloops runs out this year, but both parties show every indication of wanting to renew it.

[Hambone]

After clear skies and 30-degree-plus temperatures greeted players on the opening weekend of camp, the weather has been unseasonably cool and damp by Kamloops standards, but it rained only briefly during one practice before the sun reappeared. I attended Lions' camps at UBC, Langley, Chilliwack and Abbotsford before the team moved camp to Kamloops in 2010. All were held on grass fields, with many weather-related washouts due to the potential for injury. The Lions' contract with the City of Kamloops runs out this year, but both parties show every indication of wanting to renew it.

The other great thing about Kamloops is it's far enough away from Vancouver that the players are in a situation where they can totally concentrate on the task at hand while building bonds with each other. They get to eat, sleep & drink football without the distractions they might have if they were in the lower mainland. I don't know if when camps were held in the locations you mentioned that staying in any sort of residence/team hotel was mandatory or players could choose to live at home if Vancouver was where they resided.

[B.C.FAN]

After clear skies and 30-degree-plus temperatures greeted players on the opening weekend of camp, the weather has been unseasonably cool and damp by Kamloops standards, but it rained only briefly during one practice before the sun reappeared. I attended Lions' camps at UBC, Langley, Chilliwack and Abbotsford before the team moved camp to Kamloops in 2010. All were held on grass fields, with many weather-related washouts due to the potential for injury. The Lions' contract with the City of Kamloops runs out this year, but both parties show every indication of wanting to renew it.

The other great thing about Kamloops is it's far enough away from Vancouver that the players are in a situation where they can totally concentrate on the task at hand while building bonds with each other. They get to eat, sleep & drink football without the distractions they might have if they were in the lower mainland. I don't know if when camps were held in the locations you mentioned that staying in any sort of residence/team hotel was mandatory or players could choose to live at home if Vancouver was where they resided.

As far as I recall, players stayed together in dorms at UBC (late '60s), dorms at Trinity Western University in Langley (early 1990s), a motel in Chilliwack (1990s) and dorms at a bible college in Abbotsford (early 2000s). None of those had the amenities that Kamloops offers, from weather to locker room and training facilities at the Tournament Capital Centre, including use of the weight rooms and Canada Games pool.

[Qman]

After clear skies and 30-degree-plus temperatures greeted players on the opening weekend of camp, the weather has been unseasonably cool and damp by Kamloops standards, but it rained only briefly during one practice before the sun reappeared. I attended Lions' camps at UBC, Langley, Chilliwack and Abbotsford before the team moved camp to Kamloops in 2010. All were held on grass fields, with many weather-related washouts due to the potential for injury. The Lions' contract with the City of Kamloops runs out this year, but both parties show every indication of wanting to renew it.

The other great thing about Kamloops is it's far enough away from Vancouver that the players are in a situation where they can totally concentrate on the task at hand while building bonds with each other. They get to eat, sleep & drink football without the distractions they might have if they were in the lower mainland. I don't know if when camps were held in the locations you mentioned that staying in any sort of residence/team hotel was mandatory or players could choose to live at home if Vancouver was where they resided.

As far as I recall, players stayed together in dorms at UBC (late '60s), dorms at Trinity Western University in Langley (early 1990s), a motel in Chilliwack (1990s) and dorms at a bible college in Abbotsford (early 2000s). None of those had the amenities that Kamloops offers, from weather to locker room and training facilities at the Tournament Capital Centre, including use of the weight rooms and Canada Games pool.

If ubc ever rebuilds their facilities here .. lions would be there in a heartbeat. It’s been in planning stages for while though. Until then, it’s Kamloops.

Other option is if lions build new facility out by twu, they just hold it there. Issue is every time they hold it in the valley, it rains.

[Hambone]

As far as I recall, players stayed together in dorms at UBC (late '60s), dorms at Trinity Western University in Langley (early 1990s), a motel in Chilliwack (1990s) and dorms at a bible college in Abbotsford (early 2000s). None of those had the amenities that Kamloops offers, from weather to locker room and training facilities at the Tournament Capital Centre, including use of the weight rooms and Canada Games pool.

Lol. If I recall when the Lions trained in Courtenay back in the 1960s a lot of the players were put up in the Sleepy Hollow Motel which has about 40 rooms. Some might have been bunked elsewhere like at the Arbutus Hotel or Riverside Hotel which burnt to the ground in 1968. It was just across the river from Lewis Park. When they returned in the mid 80s for a few years I think players were put up at the Mexicana Hotel which was about 900 metres from Lewis Park and the CRA Hall which doubled as the Lions locker room.

Lore has it during one of the 1960s camps a couple of veterans put on some bed sheets and went knocking on Willie Fleming's door at the Sleepy Hollow. I don't remember if they were trying to look like ghosts or KKK.

[B.C.FAN]

The Lions held their final full practice Thursday evening before flying to Calgary on Friday for their first preseason game. A rookie-dominated travelling roster and depth chart is expected to be released in the morning.

Terry Williams was still at boundary WR in place of Alex Hollins Thursday. Andrew Peirson and Tyler Packer again shared reps at centre in place of Michael Couture, who watched practice in street clothes for a second straight day and did some light stretching in the end zone with DL/ST Josh Archibald. Hollins was in his jersey but was inactive for a third day. Jalon Sample took some reps on the first team for Travis Fulgham, who got some attention from the trainers but it didn't appear to be serious.

Defensive tackle Christian Covington was back in uniform and taking reps on the first-team defence for the first time in over a week. Jordan Perryman took reps at boundary corner in place of Garry Peters, who seemed to be in good spirits and spent a lot of time coaching the rookies from the sideline. The remainder of the first-team defence was unchanged, with Josh Woods at MIKE, Ben Hladik at WILL and rookie Tyon Davis at field corner.

DT Nathan Cherry, linebacker Ryder Varga and DB Siriman Bagayogo, who have been limited this week, were back in uniform and taking regular reps with their position groups, but only Bagayogo was a full participant in team play at second-team cornerback.

Offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic continued to open up the playbook, deploying slotback Jevon Cottoy in a variety of formations and routes after he was largely ignored during installation of the base offence last week, but Cottoy was only targeted once in team play and was overthrown by Adams. Sample took advantage of his extra opportunities and led all receivers with 3 catches, including 2 on the first team. Ayden Eberhardt, Justin McInnis and Jeff Cotton had 2. One of Cotton's grabs was a bomb from Jake Dolegala behind Ronald Kent. Dolegala has been using his strong arm effectively, throwing more deep balls than the 3 other quarterbacks. Chase Brice, taking the majority of third-team reps, hit Mataio Talalemotu on a deep bomb. Manny Rugamba had a pick-6 off Dakota Prukop, and Davis intercepted Adams on an underthrown deep sideline route by Williams. Taquan Mizzell had 2 long inside runs behind the second-team offensive line and one with the first team. Will Stanback also had a couple of nice inside runs.

Rookie DBs Christophe Beaulieu and Kent continued to hold key roles on special teams.

Rookie Global kicker Carl Meyer sailed a 50-yard field goal through the goalposts and the end zone with a light wind at his back, and a 32-yarder through the end zone into a stiffer wind. He hit 3 of 4 into the wind from 42 yards at the end of practice. Meyer also punted 12 times for an average of 43 yards, not including bounces, in varying wind conditions. Veteran Stefan Flintoft had 10 punts and also averaged 43 yards.

[Hambone]

Sounds like maybe they're pushing personnel up the depth chart to let them better prepare for playing time on Saturday.

[Toppy Vann]

B.C. Fan, I continue to be amazed at the detail of your reporting. How do you do it? Do you talk into a recorder as you see stuff, or film it on a phone, or do you write things down? Doing the latter would cause you to miss stuff, me thinks.

Haha. After years of writing notes on paper during practice, I’ve started jotting notes on my phone. It’s easy to sit down afterwards and quickly hone them into a practice report. The main challenge is keeping my eyes on the field while practice regulars are chatting to me.

The Lions must know you as someone looking too closely and doing notes might be seen as a spy.

One time I was going to my parents and remembered I could catch the good part of a Lions practice. No one there knows me and I stood at the north side outside the fence and got quite a few stares which were puzzling before I realized i was wearing a green tee shirt. I wasn't taking notes but had walked down the fence as the ball moved.

[SammyGreene]

The Lions held their final full practice Thursday evening before flying to Calgary on Friday for their first preseason game. A rookie-dominated travelling roster and depth chart is expected to be released in the morning.

Terry Williams was still at boundary WR in place of Alex Hollins Thursday. Andrew Peirson and Tyler Packer again shared reps at centre in place of Michael Couture, who watched practice in street clothes for a second straight day and did some light stretching in the end zone with DL/ST Josh Archibald. Hollins was in his jersey but was inactive for a third day. Jalon Sample took some reps on the first team for Travis Fulgham, who got some attention from the trainers but it didn't appear to be serious.

Defensive tackle Christian Covington was back in uniform and taking reps on the first-team defence for the first time in over a week. Jordan Perryman took reps at boundary corner in place of Garry Peters, who seemed to be in good spirits and spent a lot of time coaching the rookies from the sideline. The remainder of the first-team defence was unchanged, with Josh Woods at MIKE, Ben Hladik at WILL and rookie Tyon Davis at field corner.

DT Nathan Cherry, linebacker Ryder Varga and DB Siriman Bagayogo, who have been limited this week, were back in uniform and taking regular reps with their position groups, but only Bagayogo was a full participant in team play at second-team cornerback.

Offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic continued to open up the playbook, deploying slotback Jevon Cottoy in a variety of formations and routes after he was largely ignored during installation of the base offence last week, but Cottoy was only targeted once in team play and was overthrown by Adams. Sample took advantage of his extra opportunities and led all receivers with 3 catches, including 2 on the first team. Ayden Eberhardt, Justin McInnis and Jeff Cotton had 2. One of Cotton's grabs was a bomb from Jake Dolegala behind Ronald Kent. Dolegala has been using his strong arm effectively, throwing more deep balls than the 3 other quarterbacks. Chase Brice, taking the majority of third-team reps, hit Mataio Talalemotu on a deep bomb. Manny Rugamba had a pick-6 off Dakota Prukop, and Davis intercepted Adams on an underthrown deep sideline route by Williams. Taquan Mizzell had 2 long inside runs behind the second-team offensive line and one with the first team. Will Stanback also had a couple of nice inside runs.

Rookie DBs Christophe Beaulieu and Kent continued to hold key roles on special teams.

Rookie Global kicker Carl Meyer sailed a 50-yard field goal through the goalposts and the end zone with a light wind at his back, and a 32-yarder through the end zone into a stiffer wind. He hit 3 of 4 into the wind from 42 yards at the end of practice. Meyer also punted 12 times for an average of 43 yards, not including bounces, in varying wind conditions. Veteran Stefan Flintoft had 10 punts and also averaged 43 yards.

Appreciate all your terrific work BC FAN and will miss these reports once the team re-locates to Surrey when training camp ends.

I noticed on Sample's instagram account he was at the Surrey facility in April and took part in a some light workouts with other players. Was also at field level for a Whitecaps game in what seemed like a tour of Vancouver. Being just behind Fulgham he must be destined for the practice roster at the very least. At 6-foot-6 an intriguing prospect. Cotton also has excellent size.

Dolegala has a terrific arm and a great touch on his deep passes. Signing a 2-year deal with BC (unlike Prokup) it will be interesting to see his further develop working with Jordan Maksymic.

[B.C.FAN]

Matt Baker’s game preview at bclions.com has a nice summary of players to watch Saturday, along with links to the travelling roster and depth chart. Most vets are staying back in Kamloops. Manny Rugamba and Adrian Greene are the only veteran starters travelling to Calgary.

https://www.bclions.com/2024/05/23/game ... mpeders-5/

[Hambone]

And Calgary's roster looks to be missing as many starters as BC is bringing. Not unusual for the home team in preseason.

https://static.cfl.ca/wp-content/upload ... sBC-PS.pdf

[David]

Looks like only vets in starting roles are Rugamba, Greene, Debaillie, and Flintoft. Marcus Moore saw action in a couple of games last year.

Let's hope Dickey doesn't blitz the hell out of our Oline like he's done in the past (injuring QB Kevin Thomson in 2022).


DH

[Hambone]

According to CFL.ca transactions BC deleted NAT FB Dylan St.Pierre and transferred AMER LB Forrest Rhyne to the suspended list although both still show on the bclions.com active roster this morning.