It was a May that came in with some serious questions about when football camp was going to be able to start with the unseasonal amount of snow on Century Field, but mother nature eventually did its part and now after a solid month of camp, bowl games, an intrasquad game, and a super scrimmage in Brandon, the 2013 Raiders spring camp is officially over.
Despite the fact that there is now a two and a half month long wait before the Raiders can begin fitness testing and preparing for fall training camp, coach Roby Sharpe has mixed feelings about the end of camp. "When spring camp ends each year, I am kind of glad it is over," explains Roby Sharpe who cites the timing of the camp season, right during baseball and track season as to why it may not be his favorite time of year.
"We have guys who are great baseball players, and guys that are great track athletes, so being that the season for that falls during our spring camp we are usually missing a few key guys who can't get in reps due to other commitments that we encourage they take part in," says Sharpe who says his Raiders have and always will encourage their athletes to play whatever sport that interests them, promoting their players to be multitalented.
Still, the camp was deemed a success by the Raiders head coach, who despite not being the biggest fan of camp, knows it is one of the more important aspects of the preparation process for the upcoming 2013 football season. "The time we spend is important for our team to get familiar with the schemes on defense and the offensive plays that we are going to run as our defensive coordinator Ryan Effa and offensive coordinator Jason Boyda work to get our players prepared to jump right back into things in the fall experienced and with our strategy being second nature to them," says Sharpe.
As for the preseason scrimmages themselves, Sharpe was happy with the way two one half scrimmages with Brandon and Winnipeg Vincent Massey went. "Both teams we played were class acts and no one really got hurt, which is a main concern of these type of scrimmages, you want to make big plays and show what you can do to the coaches and to yourself, but at the same time no coach wants to see any of their guys get hurt during a scrimmage nearly three months away from the season opener," says Sharpe.
Windy weather was a challenge for the Raiders, as new quarterback David Balysky was kept rather grounded in Brandon as the wind gave some challenges for all three teams.
Yet Sharpe was overall very happy with how May, and the scrimmages themselves went. "Every guy got as many reps as possible and we walked away confident that we will have another team that will be able to contend for a championship come the fall," mentions Sharpe on a Raiders team that will be losing just six players.
With a first week bye to start the 2013 season, Sharpe says the Raiders will be cancelling their usual plan of a preseason scrimmage in August, citing the Raiders being banged up for last year's Moose Jaw championship as a main reason. "We don't have a lot of bodies compared to the likes of Central and Peacock and it showed in last year's final so this fall we are going with a different philosophy and are trying to keep our guys as healthy and as fresh as possible as we can," says Sharpe who noted that after last year's loss in the championship the focus will be on the team's finish to 2013 and not the start.
The Raiders will now head into the summer with their players eagerly anticipating the end of the school year and summer camps at various universities as they prepare to be serious contenders in their second season in the Moose Jaw league. A team that was the top ranked defense and offense in the city last year will not be taken lightly. It is extremely early, but for now the Raiders feel they are in the title hunt.
