Erwin Klempner believes he has all the pieces on the table, but the Regina Thunder head coach needs to figure out how to put those pieces together.
When the Prairie Football Conference team convenes to begin its training camp today at Scotty Livingstone Field, it is expected that approximately 40 players who have spent at least two years with the Thunder will be present.
At first glance, that would indicate the Thunder will be able to improve on its 2-5-1 record from 2008.
But Klempner doesn't necessarily think that having another year of experience will automatically mean more victories in 2009.
"I still really believe we underachieved (in 2008)," he said.
"There's some things we need to do better as a team and as a coaching staff, and other things we need to address. Just because we're older doesn't mean anything happens automatically -- it's a combination of a lot of things."
Even with a solid number of returnees, the Thunder has holes to fill. The defensive secondary lost veteran leaders Jason Janssen and Harley Irwin, who graduated from the junior ranks.
But the most gaping holes are along the lines.
The entire starting defensive line from 2008 is gone as is 60 per cent of the offensive line.
On defence, Mat Irvine and Jamie Lofthang used up their eligibility, Steven Arens began a full-time career in the military, and Logan Brooks joined the University of Regina Rams.
The O-line lost Ryan Thompson to graduation, Steve Hanson to the Rams and Dan Clark to the Saskatchewan Roughriders' practice roster.
"You've got a guy like Dan who was good enough to go and play with the Riders and there's two or three other guys who could have been in that situation," said Klempner. "There were some things that were amiss (last season) and hopefully we can have more success. Dan moving on just tells us we have great athletes and we have to make sure we're giving our guys every opportunity to be successful. I really believe we have the talent."
The head coach expects at least 30 linemen (offensive and defensive) to be in the Thunder camp.
One of those is 6-foot-6, 250-pound offensive lineman Jordan Moser, a Moose Jaw product, who spent last season with the Kamloops Broncos of the B.C. Football Conference.
Klempner hopes two other homecomings will help the Thunder's prospects this season.
Kolten Solomon and Landon Perra are each scheduled to appear at the camp.
Solomon was a star receiver with the Sheldon-Williams Spartans before joining the Rams in 2007. He spent 2008 with the Vancouver Island Raiders of the BCFC.
Perra, a linebacker, played with the Thunder in 2005 before spending 2006 and 2007 with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
Thunder players will be on the field for their first practice today at 7 p.m. Two-a-day workouts are scheduled for 8 and 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
