MELBOURNE youngster Matthew Bate says the club has well and truly moved on from its miserable 2008 season.
Bate, like the rest of his Melbourne teammates, has started pre-season training for 2009 and is firmly focused on the future.
"Everyone has let go of last season, which is good. No-one seems to have a weight on their shoulder or any pressure. Everyone is really excited to be back," he told melbournefc.com.au.
"We know we're a young group, but everyone has got a bit of experience, so we all know what to expect from each other. We all have to attack this year as a tight group.
"Every training session is done as a close-knit group and we've done everything together, so that's the main thing I've noticed already.
Bate has also noticed that coach Dean Bailey's focus on conditioning is paying early dividends as the Demons try to get a jump on the competition with an early start to pre-season.
"'Bails' put the acid on us to come back really fit. Just about everyone has done that, so you can tell everyone is committed straight away.
"Because of our new program, the way we train is more efficient and we get more time off to freshen up. When we're here, everyone trains really well, so we're happy to be back."
The players are involved in running technique sessions with fitness guru Bohdan Babijczuk, weights three times a week, running on Tuesday and Thursday, and ball skills everyday.
Bate said that a stronger emphasis on recovery is also proving a hit with the players, as is the club's decision to give the players the Melbourne Cup weekend off. A longer break at Christmas time is also a positive according to the young onballer.
The 21-year-old said when the new-look pre-season program was first mooted, the players did have reservations. But that completely changed once the benefits of the program were demonstrated.
"Our initial reaction was that it wasn't enough time off. But once they actually explained it and their reasons, everyone turned pretty quickly, because we all saw the benefit in it," Bate said.
"We all knew it was going to be better for us in the long run, so we were all happy to agree to it. We're still getting the same time off; it's just spread out over pre-season a bit more."
When Bate started his holidays, he did little in his first two weeks, although he walked and kept active. He then traveled to the United States for the first time, visiting Las Vegas, California, Boston and New York. He kept up his fitness with treadmill, bikes and weights in the US.
But once it was time to return, Bate said he was champing at the bit.
"It was burning in my guts from last season, because we had such a bad season. So it was good to get back as soon as possible, improve and get a step-up on everyone else in the competition," he said.
"My motivation levels are really high – I couldn't wait to get back into it"
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Bolded the bits I found interesting. Especially how the boys are getting stuck into the ball skills every day.
After his 2007 season, I was expecting big things from Bate. He struggled a bit this year after getting injured early, but I am hoping for a fully-fit Master in 09. He has the potential to be a really damaging HFF for us.
Bate, like the rest of his Melbourne teammates, has started pre-season training for 2009 and is firmly focused on the future.
"Everyone has let go of last season, which is good. No-one seems to have a weight on their shoulder or any pressure. Everyone is really excited to be back," he told melbournefc.com.au.
"We know we're a young group, but everyone has got a bit of experience, so we all know what to expect from each other. We all have to attack this year as a tight group.
"Every training session is done as a close-knit group and we've done everything together, so that's the main thing I've noticed already.
Bate has also noticed that coach Dean Bailey's focus on conditioning is paying early dividends as the Demons try to get a jump on the competition with an early start to pre-season.
"'Bails' put the acid on us to come back really fit. Just about everyone has done that, so you can tell everyone is committed straight away.
"Because of our new program, the way we train is more efficient and we get more time off to freshen up. When we're here, everyone trains really well, so we're happy to be back."
The players are involved in running technique sessions with fitness guru Bohdan Babijczuk, weights three times a week, running on Tuesday and Thursday, and ball skills everyday.
Bate said that a stronger emphasis on recovery is also proving a hit with the players, as is the club's decision to give the players the Melbourne Cup weekend off. A longer break at Christmas time is also a positive according to the young onballer.
The 21-year-old said when the new-look pre-season program was first mooted, the players did have reservations. But that completely changed once the benefits of the program were demonstrated.
"Our initial reaction was that it wasn't enough time off. But once they actually explained it and their reasons, everyone turned pretty quickly, because we all saw the benefit in it," Bate said.
"We all knew it was going to be better for us in the long run, so we were all happy to agree to it. We're still getting the same time off; it's just spread out over pre-season a bit more."
When Bate started his holidays, he did little in his first two weeks, although he walked and kept active. He then traveled to the United States for the first time, visiting Las Vegas, California, Boston and New York. He kept up his fitness with treadmill, bikes and weights in the US.
But once it was time to return, Bate said he was champing at the bit.
"It was burning in my guts from last season, because we had such a bad season. So it was good to get back as soon as possible, improve and get a step-up on everyone else in the competition," he said.
"My motivation levels are really high – I couldn't wait to get back into it"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bolded the bits I found interesting. Especially how the boys are getting stuck into the ball skills every day.
After his 2007 season, I was expecting big things from Bate. He struggled a bit this year after getting injured early, but I am hoping for a fully-fit Master in 09. He has the potential to be a really damaging HFF for us.
