Special Guest Blogger: Dan Dawson

What's shakin’ Kevin Bacon? Dan Dawson here, blogging for the Boston Blazers from the ‘City of Champions’, aka Beantown.

Our training Camp has been really intense thus far. We have 40 guys auditioning for 23 roster spots, and everyone is giving 110%, which is a great sign for us heading into our inaugural season. Coach Ryan and Coach Fraser have done a terrific job over the past year assembling the best players they could find from all over North America, and it is a very talented, diverse group of athletes here, all of whom appreciate having been given an opportunity to showcase there talents at the first ever Blazers training camp.

We are very fortunate that the team has secured three great apartments for us in addition to a very nice team house (we call it ‘The Blazer Den’) in the North End of Boston. The North End is located in Little Italy, with hundreds of restaurants and shops within walking distance from our doorstep. Italian food is my all-time favourite cuisine, so there will definitely be no shortage of carbs in my diet this season! Remember kids, you don't put dirt in a Ferrari; your body is a temple. We currently have 13 guys living here in Boston, which makes for a lot of good old fashioned ‘male bonding’ time. Between team meals, Rock Band video game sessions, and practical jokes galore, I can assure you that there is never a dull moment amongst the Blazer players.

This week we had our media day as well as our first experience on the floor at the TD Bank North Gardens, the home of the Celtics, Bruins and now the Boston Blazers. Bostonians are the most knowledgeable and passionate spots fans I have ever been around and we are all incredibly excited to represent the city with pride throughout the upcoming season – both on and off the floor.

This is the second time the Blazers have been in Boston and we were lucky enough to meet some of the old Boston Blazers at the team office this week. It was awesome getting to hear old ‘war stories; from the original Blazers players, and to see that the friendships that they forged over the years remain strong. The alumni are all very excited to be part of the new generation of Blazers, and we look forward to continuing the great tradition that they started.

Being an expansion team, we know that we must work harder than other teams in order to win games. Working hard is exactly what we are doing on the floor during our practices and off the floor in our workouts. Sean Morris, Mitch Belise and I have been working with Zato Barry and he is absolutely CRUSHING us with his strength and conditioning program. I am built like a European super model – tall and skinny – which means I must train harder than other players in the league in order to get the weight gains I need to be effective on the floor. I haven't been doing many curls for the girls this off-season, but a sports specific program geared to lacrosse has given me a level of conditioning I’ve never had before… I can’t wait to use that conditioning and get the season started!

Check out my video blog "The Danger Zone”.

Happy Holidays and GO BLAZERS!!

Daws