The St. Paul Lions roared to life this past week with a testing night on Thursday, followed by offensive linemen and defensive back training over the weekend.
Training for receivers, offensive backs, line backers and defensive linemen will start this week.
The Lions have 37 players signed up while the Bengals have 35, which coach Todd Tanasichuk said is a few more than last year.
“You’ve got to be tough to play football, mentally and physically. We’ll take them all, they kind of weed themselves out as the year goes along if they find that it’s not for them,” said Tanasichuk.
Testing night gives the coaching team a good idea of where a player is best suited to play, he noted. Testing also gets the competition going among players and provides incentive for them to work out and get stronger and faster, he said.
This year’s team’s testing results are the strongest the Lions have ever had, added Tanasichuk. Coaches have confimed that 78 per cent of the players can bench press 150 lbs or more.
“It’s even more remarkable when one considers that only 10 of our 37 players are entering Grade 12 next season. That’s a testament to how hard our kids have been working out in the off season.”
The Lions are gearing up for jamboree-style tournament with teams from the Wheatland Football League participating on May 28 and an exhibition game on June 3.
