MEDIA
Catching up with...Dean Valli
2008-05-09 15:13:17
We had an opportunity to sit down with Lions third-year offensive lineman Dean Valli as he stopped by the Leos’ Surrey practice facility earlier this week for an off-season workout.
A year-round resident of the lower mainland, the North Vancouver native let us in on how he has spent the past few months.
Q: Since the Vancouver area is your home turf, how do you keep yourself busy during the off-season months?
DV: For the second year in a row, I’ve been a part of the Lions in the House program as well as the elementary school version, Jr. Lions in the House. As my teammates will tell you, I’m a vocal guy so I’ve had the opportunity to be the MC for four of the events this year – I would say that role is a pretty natural fit for me. I enjoy being up there and I can see from the kids’ reactions that they enjoy the presentation as well – it’s a win-win situation.
I’m also a guy who likes to collect ‘toys’ – among them, I have an ATV and a boat. I’ve taken the boat up to the Okanagan and up Indian Arm recently. It’s a good time when I go up there with friends – crank up the stereo, do some water skiing.
Q: Much is said about the camaraderie between O-linemen. Do you guys see much of each other?
DV: I would say I see at least one of my linemates every day. We train together, we eat together...we even bowl together! We spend a lot of time working out at the training facility and then we’ll go for food after – sushi or donairs usually. There’s a really great donair place in New Westminster that we tend to go to far too often.
As a unit, we’re all pretty close. I see Andrew Jones practically every day – I call him my HOV lane buddy – and I would say I’m over at the Haji-Rasouli house for dinner at least once a week. Sherko got married earlier this year so I see him and his wife quite a bit.
My linemates and I also recently got bowling memberships at Lucky Strike lanes in New West. It’s inexpensive and a fun way to pass the time - we always fight over who has to pay!
Q: So, clearly you like food. What places do you look forward to visiting when you’re on the road?
DV: Oh, there’s quite a few: the Lone Star in Toronto (they have great all-you-can-eat fajitas) and the Italian Star deli in Regina would have to be my top two though.
Q: What personal goals have you set for the 2008 season?
DV: My goals are pretty straightforward: I want to see more playing time and I want another Grey Cup ring!
I’m looking forward to training camp. Last year, I loaded up my truck with all the comforts of home and brought it out to camp. Sherko and I had a great room: we had a fridge, a television, a dvd player, an Xbox, a fan, home bedding – it was awesome. I definitely plan on doing that again this year!
A year-round resident of the lower mainland, the North Vancouver native let us in on how he has spent the past few months.
Q: Since the Vancouver area is your home turf, how do you keep yourself busy during the off-season months?
DV: For the second year in a row, I’ve been a part of the Lions in the House program as well as the elementary school version, Jr. Lions in the House. As my teammates will tell you, I’m a vocal guy so I’ve had the opportunity to be the MC for four of the events this year – I would say that role is a pretty natural fit for me. I enjoy being up there and I can see from the kids’ reactions that they enjoy the presentation as well – it’s a win-win situation.
I’m also a guy who likes to collect ‘toys’ – among them, I have an ATV and a boat. I’ve taken the boat up to the Okanagan and up Indian Arm recently. It’s a good time when I go up there with friends – crank up the stereo, do some water skiing.
Q: Much is said about the camaraderie between O-linemen. Do you guys see much of each other?
DV: I would say I see at least one of my linemates every day. We train together, we eat together...we even bowl together! We spend a lot of time working out at the training facility and then we’ll go for food after – sushi or donairs usually. There’s a really great donair place in New Westminster that we tend to go to far too often.
As a unit, we’re all pretty close. I see Andrew Jones practically every day – I call him my HOV lane buddy – and I would say I’m over at the Haji-Rasouli house for dinner at least once a week. Sherko got married earlier this year so I see him and his wife quite a bit.
My linemates and I also recently got bowling memberships at Lucky Strike lanes in New West. It’s inexpensive and a fun way to pass the time - we always fight over who has to pay!
Q: So, clearly you like food. What places do you look forward to visiting when you’re on the road?
DV: Oh, there’s quite a few: the Lone Star in Toronto (they have great all-you-can-eat fajitas) and the Italian Star deli in Regina would have to be my top two though.
Q: What personal goals have you set for the 2008 season?
DV: My goals are pretty straightforward: I want to see more playing time and I want another Grey Cup ring!
I’m looking forward to training camp. Last year, I loaded up my truck with all the comforts of home and brought it out to camp. Sherko and I had a great room: we had a fridge, a television, a dvd player, an Xbox, a fan, home bedding – it was awesome. I definitely plan on doing that again this year!
