The V.I. Raiders are changing up the game plan when it comes to preparation for football season.
For the first time, Nanaimo’s Canadian Junior Football League club has decided not to hold main camp. Instead, the team will go right into a schedule of regular practice nights, with an intrasquad game after the first week.
Glenn Cook, Raiders general manager, said in the past, the physicality of main camp has meant that the team has gone into its first week of practice with guys beat up.
“We shortened our main camp last year to kind of lessen the injuries and it worked really well, so we’re going to try this this year and see if it lessens the injuries even more and then we can hit the ground running, healthy,” Cook said.
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He noted that the Raiders already have guys pencilled in on the roster, and don’t feel like they need a main camp setting for further evaluation.
“No sense slamming them against each other for a weekend when they have nothing to prove to us – they have work to do on the field,” said the GM.
He said there are other teams around the league, including the Westshore Rebels, that have opted not to hold main camp in past years.
GAME ON … The Raiders open the B.C. Football Conference schedule on the road against the Chilliwack Huskers on Aug. 5.
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