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Old school ditched to make faster, fitter Swans
By Jessica Halloran
June 20 2003
Much has been made of the Swans' fast, hard-running style of football this season. Some say it's the reason they have a record of eight wins and four losses and are fourth on the ladder.
But the reason the Swans have more speed and energy and recover far better after games is a change in their training.
With Paul Roos as coach, the Swans have been able to let go of the old ethos of train hard, play well. Swans doctor Nathan Gibbs said the Swans now focused more on recovery.
"Our team is training less overall," Gibbs said. "If you look at our performances, our third and fourth quarters, our performance in the second half of games is fantastic."
He said the players were fitter this season, which had helped them outrun the likes of Collingwood, Essendon and the Western Bulldogs.
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The way they recovered was another key component to their success.
"The biggest changes for us this year are that the coaches are concentrating on letting them recover from the weekend games and not pushing them as hard during the week," Gibbs said.
"The players are now more energetic and injury-free. To make him feel energetic and injury-free has an effect on his performance. Their performance levels will lift when they feel good. The old school, when you train teams into the ground, is a bit outdated."
Head fitness coach David Misson and his assistant Stephen Tingay started in the pre-season by including a lot more speed work rather than long-distance running in the training program.
"We recognised the game was going to be played in short, fast explosive bursts. We realised, not having a lot of superstars, we needed guys to train really specifically," Misson said.
"The type of athletes on our list, like Tadhg Kennelly, Leo Barry and Adam Schneider, are people that are fast and athletic but are not good at long-distance training."
Misson said the addition of former Melbourne footballer Tingay to the fitness team had been a "huge help" because of his first-hand knowledge of the game and the way it is played.
Misson said under Roos the fitness department was more autonomous and one of the major changes he and Tingay had made was in the way the team recovered.
"The big thing we've done is not allow the guys to run in the first 48 hours after the game. So their first real training session is on the Wednesday following."
Misson also said the fitness staff were working more closely with the medical staff.
With the mid-season break this weekend, the team will resume training on Monday. The Swans then face a tough match, playing Port Adelaide in Adelaide on June 28.
By Jessica Halloran
June 20 2003
Much has been made of the Swans' fast, hard-running style of football this season. Some say it's the reason they have a record of eight wins and four losses and are fourth on the ladder.
But the reason the Swans have more speed and energy and recover far better after games is a change in their training.
With Paul Roos as coach, the Swans have been able to let go of the old ethos of train hard, play well. Swans doctor Nathan Gibbs said the Swans now focused more on recovery.
"Our team is training less overall," Gibbs said. "If you look at our performances, our third and fourth quarters, our performance in the second half of games is fantastic."
He said the players were fitter this season, which had helped them outrun the likes of Collingwood, Essendon and the Western Bulldogs.
advertisement
advertisement
The way they recovered was another key component to their success.
"The biggest changes for us this year are that the coaches are concentrating on letting them recover from the weekend games and not pushing them as hard during the week," Gibbs said.
"The players are now more energetic and injury-free. To make him feel energetic and injury-free has an effect on his performance. Their performance levels will lift when they feel good. The old school, when you train teams into the ground, is a bit outdated."
Head fitness coach David Misson and his assistant Stephen Tingay started in the pre-season by including a lot more speed work rather than long-distance running in the training program.
"We recognised the game was going to be played in short, fast explosive bursts. We realised, not having a lot of superstars, we needed guys to train really specifically," Misson said.
"The type of athletes on our list, like Tadhg Kennelly, Leo Barry and Adam Schneider, are people that are fast and athletic but are not good at long-distance training."
Misson said the addition of former Melbourne footballer Tingay to the fitness team had been a "huge help" because of his first-hand knowledge of the game and the way it is played.
Misson said under Roos the fitness department was more autonomous and one of the major changes he and Tingay had made was in the way the team recovered.
"The big thing we've done is not allow the guys to run in the first 48 hours after the game. So their first real training session is on the Wednesday following."
Misson also said the fitness staff were working more closely with the medical staff.
With the mid-season break this weekend, the team will resume training on Monday. The Swans then face a tough match, playing Port Adelaide in Adelaide on June 28.
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