The Airdrie Raiders spent the last two days at Genesis Place, kicking off camp for their 2012 season. Head Coach Steve Kemp put the 13 - 17 year old boys through the paces, much like any other practice, but this one had a special guest.

Coach Matthew "Snoop" Blokker from the Vancouver Island Raiders program brought some of his coaches and players out to help out with the drills. Blokker says that he's happy with what he saw from the local kids.

"The number one thing I love more than anything is just character," said Blokker. "Today was awesome, and through the camp, all you see is a lot of improvement right from the beginning to now. Seeing how many kids are actually out. They more that are playing, the better it is."

Blokker was sitting in BC Place a few months ago when one of his players put on a show on the grandest stage. BC Lion Andrew Harris, the most outstanding Canadian in this year's Grey Cup, came through the VI Raiders program, but Blokker is proud of all his players, which includes Airdrie Head Coach Steve Kemp.

"For us, Andrew was such a great role model for our program, not only on the field, but off the field. But to come back and see my ex-players running a program here, I'm extremely proud of it. We're proud back in Vancouver Island for what these guys are doing here."

Kemp says that the addition of Blokker was an good boost to the kids putting in the work for the camp.

"They did lots of work, got lots of skills done, got some of the rust off. With the guest coaches, they learned a lot of new stuff. We progressed every day and they worked their tails off."

Friday's day two of the camp started with wind-sprints in the morning, but ended with some loose scrimmage by around 4 in the afternoon. The new coaches helped keep the kids engaged in what was going on.

"They recognize that these guys know what they're talking about and it's a new challenge," claimed Kemp. "It can get kinda routine with the same coach every time. When somebody new comes in, they'll be teaching the same thing but saying it in a different way. It works, it adds a new kind of excitement for them."

Blokker heads back to Vancouver Island, while the Airdre Raiders continue to get ready for the 2012 season, which kicks off in March.