After a long off-season, the Regina Thunder are back and ready to start this year’s junior football season. As part of this week’s training camp, 58 veteran and 36 rookie players were out at Mount Pleasant Sports Park on Saturday. “I really pride myself in trying to be a leader and coach these young guys up. We’ve got a really good young group and really coachable,” said Ben Walz, who has been a wide receiver for the team for five years now. “I’m excited to see how their careers also unfold … Everyone’s just excited to start clashing and banging for the season." Liam Sellwood, going into his fourth year as defensive lineman, said the energy on the field was high all day. “It’s been 200 and something some days since we’ve been able to actually go,” he said. “I think guys are finally excited to get the pads back on and get the energy back up, instead of just being in the weight room and doing all the conditioning and stuff throughout the offseason. It feels good to actually play the game we love again.” Training camp officially kicked off on July 17, and will wrap up on Saturday, Aug. 1 as the Regina Thunder plays against the Winnipeg Rifles at 2 p.m. in Brandon for an exhibition game. Head coach Scott MacAulay said the young team is exceptionally athletic despite the mix of experienced and rookie players. “Even though we have 36 rookies, many have previous post secondary experience. We are a young athletic team with many players that are in year two and three, but have been able to retain many guys that started or took many reps last year,” MacAulay said in a news release on July 15. “The Regina Thunder will be a younger team than in years past when you look at our average age, but that was intentional. We believe this group is more athletic, and we still have a strong veteran presence because of the meaningful reps our returning players have already taken.”
