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Camaraderie the reward from NZ
The Power is back in Adelaide after spending five days in New Zealand on a grueling yet rewarding camp. Players Warren Tredrea and Domenic Cassisi have told the stories of their trip that included a seven-and-a-half hour trek through mountainous terrain, camping, and white water rafting.
The team arrived in Christchurch last Tuesday and headed to the Rangitata River region for two full days of intense activity on Wednesday and Thursday before returning to Christchurch on Friday and arriving home on Sunday morning.
The trip was about leadership, team building, and mental and physical strength. Players were split into small groups for most of the camp and were often competing against the other groups.
Reflecting on the trip on Monday, Tredrea said the trip might just help come football season.
“I think the camaraderie of being away from home in unfamiliar territory and doing things that aren’t generally too easy (is the greatest reward),” he said. “I think if you can draw on that during the season at times I think that’s got to go a long way to helping us this year.”
Wednesday’s activities included a three kilometre run, 20km bike ride, and a trek across a river to the camping spot that took anywhere between three and five hours depending on each group’s navigation skills. The team set up tents for the night and cooked the food they had been carrying with them through the remote, picturesque country.
But Tredrea said it was the Thursday that was clearly the toughest of the trip
“I think we rose at five o’clock and I never rise before nine let alone five so the guys were pretty raw and pretty tired and we had to head up a hill, across the river via raft and then head up a hill which we thought took two hours,” he said. “They (organisers) said ‘oh you should be able to finish it within four and a half’ but I think it was seven and a half hours later I stopped the stop watch.
“Then we went shingling down the side of a steep hill then we had a raft race to finish with so it was pretty testing but I guess that’s what those camps are for.”
Only the first three teams in the raft race were able to sleep in the cabins provided. The others had to pitch tents once again.
But the rewards were obvious.
“At the time you look back and you think well if you had the opportunity you’d probably do it,” Tredrea said
“It’s something you’ll never forget. Getting up and sitting on top of a mountain six-and-a-half thousand feet off the ground. We talked about guys who had a few fears of heights (so) sitting 6,500 feet up at the top of the mountain with snow on it is a fair achievement so there’s something you can take away. You’ve done it with six or seven of your teammates in your own group. At times everyone struggles a bit but it takes everyone else to get them up and to get them through it for the day.
“It was definitely worth it. If you ask most of the guys, we had a bit of a vote where we could keep going in that seven and half hour trip and the guys decided to go on and we did and it was well worth it. I’d never touched snow before so that was a bit of a positive even though it took us seven and a half hours to do it.
Cassisi, who is embarking on his fourth season at the club, spoke on Monday of how demanding the trip was.
“It was definitely the most physical demanding thing I’ve done since I’ve been involved here and a lot of the other guys said the same thing so that was something we got out of it and a lot of the other guys said it was more of a mental challenge as well,” he said.
“I guess personally I have a fear of heights and we had to jump off a 10m cliff into the water so doing that sort of thing does make you feel good.
“I reckon it was priceless the amount of camaraderie we got. By the end of the trip everyone was in good spirit and getting around each other so it was good yeah.”
The players and coaches each paid half the cost of the trip to save the club money.
The group finishes training for their Christmas break this Saturday morning. They will be back on Tuesday 6 January.
Camaraderie the reward from NZ
The Power is back in Adelaide after spending five days in New Zealand on a grueling yet rewarding camp. Players Warren Tredrea and Domenic Cassisi have told the stories of their trip that included a seven-and-a-half hour trek through mountainous terrain, camping, and white water rafting.
The team arrived in Christchurch last Tuesday and headed to the Rangitata River region for two full days of intense activity on Wednesday and Thursday before returning to Christchurch on Friday and arriving home on Sunday morning.
The trip was about leadership, team building, and mental and physical strength. Players were split into small groups for most of the camp and were often competing against the other groups.
Reflecting on the trip on Monday, Tredrea said the trip might just help come football season.
“I think the camaraderie of being away from home in unfamiliar territory and doing things that aren’t generally too easy (is the greatest reward),” he said. “I think if you can draw on that during the season at times I think that’s got to go a long way to helping us this year.”
Wednesday’s activities included a three kilometre run, 20km bike ride, and a trek across a river to the camping spot that took anywhere between three and five hours depending on each group’s navigation skills. The team set up tents for the night and cooked the food they had been carrying with them through the remote, picturesque country.
But Tredrea said it was the Thursday that was clearly the toughest of the trip
“I think we rose at five o’clock and I never rise before nine let alone five so the guys were pretty raw and pretty tired and we had to head up a hill, across the river via raft and then head up a hill which we thought took two hours,” he said. “They (organisers) said ‘oh you should be able to finish it within four and a half’ but I think it was seven and a half hours later I stopped the stop watch.
“Then we went shingling down the side of a steep hill then we had a raft race to finish with so it was pretty testing but I guess that’s what those camps are for.”
Only the first three teams in the raft race were able to sleep in the cabins provided. The others had to pitch tents once again.
But the rewards were obvious.
“At the time you look back and you think well if you had the opportunity you’d probably do it,” Tredrea said
“It’s something you’ll never forget. Getting up and sitting on top of a mountain six-and-a-half thousand feet off the ground. We talked about guys who had a few fears of heights (so) sitting 6,500 feet up at the top of the mountain with snow on it is a fair achievement so there’s something you can take away. You’ve done it with six or seven of your teammates in your own group. At times everyone struggles a bit but it takes everyone else to get them up and to get them through it for the day.
“It was definitely worth it. If you ask most of the guys, we had a bit of a vote where we could keep going in that seven and half hour trip and the guys decided to go on and we did and it was well worth it. I’d never touched snow before so that was a bit of a positive even though it took us seven and a half hours to do it.
Cassisi, who is embarking on his fourth season at the club, spoke on Monday of how demanding the trip was.
“It was definitely the most physical demanding thing I’ve done since I’ve been involved here and a lot of the other guys said the same thing so that was something we got out of it and a lot of the other guys said it was more of a mental challenge as well,” he said.
“I guess personally I have a fear of heights and we had to jump off a 10m cliff into the water so doing that sort of thing does make you feel good.
“I reckon it was priceless the amount of camaraderie we got. By the end of the trip everyone was in good spirit and getting around each other so it was good yeah.”
The players and coaches each paid half the cost of the trip to save the club money.
The group finishes training for their Christmas break this Saturday morning. They will be back on Tuesday 6 January.

