VANCOUVER - His tenure as the 17th head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds football team began on January 20, 2010, however, for Shawn Olson this weekend's spring camp will be his first opportunity to be at the helm of the program in full swing.

UBC is set to host a three-day camp from Friday, April 9 to Sunday, April 11 at Thunderbird Stadium. Olson expects about 140 student-athletes out on the field with a nice blend of returning veterans, signed recruits, and potential newcomers.

"This is an opportunity for us to portray the new direction of the program. We'll install a little bit of our system but really we are trying to show off what is happening here at UBC," said Olson. "We're trying to make sure that players, old and new, get a sense of what we're about which is different than what it has been in the past."

For the first-time head coach, jitters don't seem to be much of an issue.

"To be honest, the football stuff is the easy part. Coaching and being out there with the team - that stuff has always come naturally to me. Organizing a camp for 140 athletes, now that's the scary part as you are juggling nine different things all at once," noted Olson.

Camp opens on Friday with the first practice of the weekend that evening, followed by a pair of workouts on Saturday. On Sunday, the group practices in the morning before breaking for a lunch with alumni, parents, and friends of the program. Camp closes with the Blue & Gold scrimmage which is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start on Sunday.

"These camps are awesome because they give you a good read on truly what type of program you are building both in terms of people and attitude," added Olson. "Hopefully we'll be able to get some alumni out to see what we are doing here at UBC and get them involved with the program."

2010 SPRING CAMP SCHEDULE

Friday, April 9
5:00 PM  Practice

Saturday, April 10
11:30 AM  Practice
5:00 PM  Practice

Sunday, April 11
11:30 AM  Practice
1:00 PM  Team BBQ
3:30 PM  Blue & Gold Scrimmage

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