(Kamloops)- Ty Long enjoyed a second helping of ice cream and pie following Tuesday night’s dinner.
After all, his heroics led to some downtime and fun for he and the BC Lions on day ten in Kamloops.
For Long, there was the task of hitting a 53-yard field goal to cap off the early morning practice. It was simple: make it and the second practice would be scrapped. Miss it and it would be business as usual.
The 25-year old native of Roswell, Georgia refused to let his teammates down.
53 yarder to not have a second practice today..season is finally here! pic.twitter.com/FbVNSJ0Bw4
— Ty Long (@trlong02) May 30, 2018
“It was just normal field goal period and at the end, they told me I had to kick it in order to get the rest of the afternoon off for my teammates,” chuckled Long.
Now, was the session going to be canceled anyway? That is up for debate. But the successful attempt provided what training camp is supposed to be all about: team bonding. And for Long, a little psychological boost halfway through camp can only pay dividends in the long run.
“It was good to get in that mindset, get in that situation because I’m sure it will come up during the season,” added the second-year kicker.
So what did most of Long’s teammates do with their “downtime?” Many headed inside to the pool and noticed there was an aqua size class underway. Why not join, right?
When the #BCLions crash the local aquafit class 🕺🏽🎉🎊#camplife #kamloops #myTRU @Thompsonriversu @cfl pic.twitter.com/ehf0lERroc
— BC Lions (@BCLions) May 29, 2018
“I was buried in it,” said Long about his participation in the pool.
And as we learned in 2016 while stuck in the terminal at Mirabel Airport in Montreal, it’s these off the cuff, fun moments that get all of the reaction on social media. As of 7:00 PM on Tuesday, the pool video had over 50,ooo views on Twitter and had also been picked up on the Twitter accounts of Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports.
A team that takes aquafit class together, wins together (via @BCLions) pic.twitter.com/hhikPfedZE
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 30, 2018
This time last year, many thought Long was only here for training camp. Now, his practice kicks are creating more fun than many had ever imagined.
“It was good to get the afternoon off. Little victories like that in camp are huge. It was good for us to get to rest more and we’ll see what happens going forward.”