What the? 3 articles in the Age about Adelaide in 1 day.
Adelaide follows a proven formula
By Len Johnson
September 1, 2005
Neil Craig's revolutionary training techniques helped Malcolm Blight jump to success with Adelaide in 1997-98. Now as the Crows coach himself, the same build-up and tapering aims to deliver another premisership.
THE Crows are hoping a training routine similar to the revolutionary one that carried them to successive premierships in 1997 and '98 will bring them more glory this year.
Former Adelaide captain Mark Bickley said yesterday he had no doubt the Crows were nearing a physical peak, having trained especially hard late in the season then eased off as the finals approached.
Bickley's observation was that the Crows crammed in extra work between rounds 16 and 19 this year and are now primed to benefit — provided the on-field performance matches the physical preparation.
Bickley said the Crows' main session on Wednesdays built up to two hours and 45 minutes during the increased training block and has now dropped off by an hour. Though the content of training has changed, Bickley says the principle remains the same.
When the Crows won back-to-back flags under Malcolm Blight in '97 and '98, current coach Neil Craig was the club's fitness adviser.
"What Neil looks to do is put that three-week block in at round 16. They lift the running component, do drills where the players are working harder for longer," Bickley said.
Some players, including the midfielders, also do an additional session on Tuesday nights.
While stressing he had no inside knowledge, Bickley said the aim of the Adelaide approach was to minimise the inevitable erosion of base fitness over the full season. Indexing the round-one fitness level at 100, he says it would fall away to 80 by season's end.
"It stops the decline, sends it back the other way. Instead of winding up at 80, you aim to add 10 per cent and end up at 88," he said.
Results and statistics support Craig's plan. The Crows won nine out of 13 final quarters as they compiled an 8-5 record before the mid-season break. Since then, which includes the month where training was stepped up, they have won just three out of nine, despite winning all nine games.
Bickley cited the round-20 game against Port Adelaide, which the Crows won by seven points, as an indication of the impact of the extra training load. "They really looked flat," he said.
Tyson Edwards typified that, said Bickley: "When I was playing, Tyson Edwards was the benchmark. When Tyson was down, the group was down."
Crows' fitness coach Stephen Schwerdt acknowledged the unusual preparation. "Our whole week revolves around our main session on Wednesday. Neil says that generally you don't get much of a chance to teach them how you want them to play during the week. You get one chance, basically, our main session, and we focus on that."
Schwerdt says it is not uncommon for that session to last two hours, of which about 80 minutes is work time, the rest instruction. "That's been the focus all year. It's only been the last couple of weeks we've really lightened the load," he said.
Adelaide follows a proven formula
By Len Johnson
September 1, 2005
Neil Craig's revolutionary training techniques helped Malcolm Blight jump to success with Adelaide in 1997-98. Now as the Crows coach himself, the same build-up and tapering aims to deliver another premisership.
THE Crows are hoping a training routine similar to the revolutionary one that carried them to successive premierships in 1997 and '98 will bring them more glory this year.
Former Adelaide captain Mark Bickley said yesterday he had no doubt the Crows were nearing a physical peak, having trained especially hard late in the season then eased off as the finals approached.
Bickley's observation was that the Crows crammed in extra work between rounds 16 and 19 this year and are now primed to benefit — provided the on-field performance matches the physical preparation.
Bickley said the Crows' main session on Wednesdays built up to two hours and 45 minutes during the increased training block and has now dropped off by an hour. Though the content of training has changed, Bickley says the principle remains the same.
When the Crows won back-to-back flags under Malcolm Blight in '97 and '98, current coach Neil Craig was the club's fitness adviser.
"What Neil looks to do is put that three-week block in at round 16. They lift the running component, do drills where the players are working harder for longer," Bickley said.
Some players, including the midfielders, also do an additional session on Tuesday nights.
While stressing he had no inside knowledge, Bickley said the aim of the Adelaide approach was to minimise the inevitable erosion of base fitness over the full season. Indexing the round-one fitness level at 100, he says it would fall away to 80 by season's end.
"It stops the decline, sends it back the other way. Instead of winding up at 80, you aim to add 10 per cent and end up at 88," he said.
Results and statistics support Craig's plan. The Crows won nine out of 13 final quarters as they compiled an 8-5 record before the mid-season break. Since then, which includes the month where training was stepped up, they have won just three out of nine, despite winning all nine games.
Bickley cited the round-20 game against Port Adelaide, which the Crows won by seven points, as an indication of the impact of the extra training load. "They really looked flat," he said.
Tyson Edwards typified that, said Bickley: "When I was playing, Tyson Edwards was the benchmark. When Tyson was down, the group was down."
Crows' fitness coach Stephen Schwerdt acknowledged the unusual preparation. "Our whole week revolves around our main session on Wednesday. Neil says that generally you don't get much of a chance to teach them how you want them to play during the week. You get one chance, basically, our main session, and we focus on that."
Schwerdt says it is not uncommon for that session to last two hours, of which about 80 minutes is work time, the rest instruction. "That's been the focus all year. It's only been the last couple of weeks we've really lightened the load," he said.
