The Airdrie Midget Northern Raiders return to the turf this weekend for their 7th annual Winter Camp.

As a way to shake off some of the rust over the winter break, the Raiders will be training indoors at the Genesis Place soccer fields in Airdrie with the help of some Raiders alumni and other coaches.

Steve Kemp, Head Coach of the Northern Raiders said that he has former players from the Calgary Dinos and the Calgary Colts coming out over the weekend to lend a hand with the camps.

"It's really exciting to see those guys come back and help out with their knowledge base. It's going to be a lot of fun, and I know that those guys are going to hold them to a standard that they've kind of started a few years ago."

Kemp also invited the Head Coach of the Calgary Colts in the Canadian Junior Football League, Matthew Blokker or "Snoop" to help run through some drills.

"I played for the guy myself and it shows you what you can expect at the next level and his knowledge base is second to none," said Kemp. "The guy's great with kids and great with football players, he knows what buttons to push and how to get you going."

The Winter Camps are open to anyone currently in Grades 9, 10, or 11 with registration online.

As the Raiders celebrate their 10th anniversary, Kemp is hoping that this is the year for Airdrie.

"I've been with the team since day one and it's been quite the ride. There's been ups and downs, we've had teams of 18 players and teams of 65 and we've been trending in the right direction. I always knew that we had the athletes out here and we just needed the stability."

The Raiders will also get to host their first CAMFA (Calgary Area Midget Football Association) league game since 2007 in the city with all games being played at Shouldice Athletic Park in Calgary for the past number of years.

Kemp will continue to serve double duty with the Northern Raiders this season as the coach will call the plays for the Midget team, while also working as an Offensive Line Coach with the Calgary Colts.

After an early exit from the playoffs last season in the quarterfinals, Kemp knows that the Raiders can once again prove their one of the best teams in the CAMFA.

"We want to be at the top again. I think last year kind of left a sour taste in our mouth and we were a very good team and things just kind of caught up with us - some injuries and stuff, so our goal is to reload and get back there."

The first steps to doing so are through the Winter Camp which gets underway at Genesis Place January 30th and 31st.

Bradley Jones - airdrienews@goldenwestradio.com