Turning up the heat at Tigerland
2:40:56 PM Fri 28 January, 2005
Richmond coach Terry Wallace
richmondfc.com.au
As January comes to a close, we are now only a few weeks away from our first Wizard Cup hit-out against Collingwood at the Telstra Dome on February 18. It has been a long, hard summer of training down at Punt Road and those close to the inner sanctum have seen many changes in personnel, facilities, training regime and game style, which will all be put on display in the Wizard Cup.
What’s the club’s philosophy leading into the pre-season competition? Well, that’s simple. Every time we go out to compete we want to put our best foot forward and be super competitive in our efforts.
With a very young squad (nearly half of the playing list being under 21 years of age), we will not always get the result we are looking for. We have, however, set ourselves some clear objectives for improvement and a young team should learn and improve from every outing.
If players are fit and available, they will be played throughout the pre-season competition, but no risks will be taken as our eyes must be firmly fixed on our Round 1 clash with Geelong on Easter Sunday. The Wizard Cup also is a great opportunity to have a look at some younger players to see whether they are capable of handling the pressure of elite professional football.
For those Tiger fans who have not been able to get down to watch training over the summer months, I thought I would give you a brief on what takes place in a normal week . . .
Full-time football is exactly that in the year 2005 with most players expected to go through 2-3 training sessions per day, six days a week. The most difficult part of summer training is getting your body accustomed to working extremely hard in one session and then stepping up again either later that day or first thing the next morning.
The football component of our training has lifted over summer. Players now have three major football training sessions per week, plus an extra few skill-related sessions to hone certain aspects of their game.
The weights room in summer is always a key component and all players are expected to do at least three sessions per week with the younger players, who need development in their bodies, participating in four sessions per week. These sessions are conducted both at the Club, and also at Space Gymnasium in Richmond, which has magnificent facilities. It’s been a real bonus that we’ve been able to use this gymnasium and we thank the management and staff, who have assisted enormously in our weights program.
At this time of year the players are under the watchful eye of our strength and conditioning staff in Matt Hornsby and Warren Kofoed. These two have designed the program around my expectations of what is required to play at the elite level. The program, both in the gym and on the track with the running sessions, has changed from endurance-based to one of strength and power.
Gone are the days of one-paced, 10-kilometre runs as today’s AFL footballers need to be able to work explosively with repeated efforts over shorter distances. They are still endurance-based, but all sessions are now based around the game-day expectations of repeat efforts. Much of our running component is actually done within the regular football training work. I firmly believe in the philosophy, “train as you play”.
Cross-training is now a major part of an AFL footballer’s life and players need to be able to swim, ride, box and row to be able to get maximum output from each session. The cross-training sessions, under the watchful eye of John Vickery, have been super-intense and fairly heated at times with players exchanging blows in the boxing ring. These sessions are specifically designed to test the mental toughness of the players while they are under physical duress. Extra swim sessions, yoga, massage and, in particular, hours upon hours of lectures refining team rules, match-day instructions and game style, now make up an AFL player’s life, in preparation for each league season.
It may sound like a strange statement, but our team is confident and clearly looking forward to the upcoming season. We are keen to show off our new style of play and team structure. Much has changed in a short time and we are hoping that this will be evident to all Richmond supporters.
Next week we head off to Mildura as part of the AFL’s Community Camps and the entire squad will involve itself in all aspects of rural life in the Sunraysia area, covering coaching clinics, hospital visits and community work over four days.
The following week, on Wednesday, February 9, we will have an intra-club practice match at Victoria Park at 11am as a lead-up to the Collingwood Wizard Cup opener. We look forward to seeing our supporters then, even though we realise it is a difficult time in the middle of the day.
For those who love their footy as much as we do, the wait is almost over and I, like you, can’t wait to see the boys in Yellow and Black in action.
We really appreciate all of your support for one of the true giants of the competition. It is all of our responsibilities at Tigerland to wake up this sleeping giant . . .
http://richmondfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=183591
