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And Claybrooks didn’t take this job to go 9-9.

The Lions have just completed their first 18 days under Claybrooks’ watch and, while a more complete picture of the man is still forming, a few things were revealed in Kamloops as the coach and team begin their journey together.

Claybrooks coached this team hard. He wants the Lions to look and play a certain way. The specifics aren’t necessarily important. What is important is the speed at which they play, the effort that’s applied when they play and a conditioning level that allows them to play in the prescribed manner.

Great, you think. Isn’t that what every coach wants? But the interesting thing about watching Claybrooks work is the way he delivers his message, then reinforces it, again and again.

Photo by RICHARD LAM / PNG

“You have to establish the foundation you want to build your season on,” he says. “We all have to train our minds to understand the high intensity and the high effort you want out of practice. That is what you can’t compromise. You look at us on paper and we’re a talented team. But everyone is undefeated right now. Everyone wants to win a championship. But what’s your game plan to win a championship? Those are the steps we need to take.”

So how is Claybrooks going to build a championship team with 15 new starters in the lineup? He’s given this question some thought. Football, he says, is a relatively simple game when stripped down to its essence. The hard part is getting the players to do those simple things at a championship level, and that will be the focus of his administration.