Jim Lang

Jim Lang is a Connected anchor and NFL reporter for Sportsnet. Also check out Jim's website, www.jimlang.ca

It was eight degrees Celsius at Canad Inns stadium but the Bombers were training hard.

The weather in Winnipeg may be foul right now, but the confidence is sky high at Bombers camp.

Welcome to Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp, 2010. It's 8 a.m. on a cold, windy and downright miserable Wednesday morning. It was eight degrees Celsius at Canad Inns stadium. It was also raining and the wind was gusting up to 40 kilometres an hour. Suffice to say that no player was in any danger of suffering from heat stroke.

All in all it was just another day in the life at Bombers training camp. I loved the comment from one Bombers player as he walked onto the field to begin what would turn out to be a four-hour practice: "Damn Winnipeg weather."

Veteran All-Canadian defensive tackle Doug Brown took one look at me standing in the rain on the sidelines and chirped: "Welcome to the Peg, Sportsnet." Then he laughed at me and said, "If you think the weather is bad now Jim, wait until tomorrow." Thanks for the advice Doug.

Following the 2009 debacle and Mike Kelly's reign of terror with the local media, Paul LaPolice is making a solid first impression as the Bombers new head coach. After a decade as a successful offensive assistant coach in the CFL and coming off of a great year as the Riders offensive coordinator; LaPolice was more than ready for the new challenge. To that end, LaPolice has come up with some unique ways to motivate his players that involve the 80-year-history of the franchise and one of the greatest boxers ever. I will go into more details on how LaPolice is doing it later this the month when my feature story on the Bombers airs on Sportsnet Connected.

Despite the foul weather on this day, the Bombers got a ton of quality work done at practice. Wide receiver Adarius Bowman really stood out. Midway through practice, Bowman was rocked hard by a devastating hit from defensive back Brady Brown. Bowman shook it off and ended up making three outstanding catches the rest of the session. Queen's linebacker Thaine Carter also drew some whoops from the defence after he crushed running back Yvenson Bernard.

Confidence is sky high at Bombers camp. They have a new coach, and two new quarterbacks in Buck Pierce and Steven Jyles. Pierce told me he was so cold at the start of practice that he had trouble gripping the football. Ah, there's nothing like Winnipeg in June.

Pierce is on a mission to prove once and for all that he can go an entire season without getting injured. Since that seems like a long shot, the Bombers have some solid insurance in Jyles, the former Riders back-up.

One thing that LaPolice has done that has endeared him to the longtime veterans on the team is his willingness to let them have a say. LaPolice has asked veterans like Doug Brown, Ike Charlton and Buck Pierce to talk to the rookies and explain to them what it takes to be a professional in the CFL. It doesn't sound like much, but the players were extremely impressed at the show of respect.

For a guy in his first head coaching job, LaPolice comes across as a man who "gets it." Ask any player in the CFL and he will quickly tell you that having a coach who "gets it" is a big part of building a winning team.

The weather might suck in Winnipeg, but their football team shouldn't.