A player driven initiative, 12 Western Bulldogs players will head to Colorado this November for an altitude training camp to kick start their pre-season campaign.
The group comprising predominantly key position players - including Jake Stringer, Liam Jones, Michael Talia and Jordan Roughead – will use the two week camp to enhance their pre-season and will in part pay their own way.
Development Coach Ash Hansen will comprise part of the coaching staff attending the trip, indicating that the stint living and training at altitude will boost their aerobic conditioning ready to capitalise on a rigorous pre-season.
“To put a sports scientist hat on, there’s no other game in the world where you are asking 100kg athletes to cover 14kms in a game,” Hansen told the Herald Sun.
“To develop that (running endurance) part of your physiology is really tough, especially when you are putting on size and strength like we are with the guys too, and then also make them quick and agile.
“That (fitness) is only one aspect of your performance, but by taking them away and living at altitude for 14 nights, we think they can really benefit from that.”
Hansen said the altitude training camp will also provide more than just physical gains.
“It’s going to put them in a challenging environment,” he said.
“It’s going to be cold, we’ll be up the side of a mountain, it’s going to be tough, so it’s also developing the mental toughness as well.
“They’ll build a relationship together that will hopefully be pretty strong for the coming years when we start to have success.”
The time abroad in Colorado sets up the beginning of another demanding pre-season campaign at the kennel, with the Bulldogs unwilling to accept the status quo despite a strong finish to the 2013 season.
“We can’t be under any illusions we have got a lot of work to do,” Hansen said.
“We want the guys to have the belief they are good enough to perform at the level, but that’s not good enough.
“They’ve still got to buy into program, push each other, get better.
“We’ve got to jump up a few rungs on the ladder to play finals.’’
The Bulldogs will also draw on their partnership with Victoria University to amplify the benefits of the Colorado training camp, using their altitude chambers and state-of-the-art facilities throughout the pre-season and in 2014.
