HEAD of high performance at Port Adelaide Ian McKeown is taking the opportunity to organically build a strong team environment on the club’s pre-season camp to the Sunshine Coast.
McKeown says while the camp will contain the highest training load for the players so far this pre-season, a key focus will be on team bonding and connection.
“We are looking for a large training load,” McKeown said at a press conference at Adelaide Airport ahead of Port Adelaide’s trip to Maroochydore.
“Lots of footy. Lots of fun. And lots of time with each other.
“It’s about being away with each other for that long - in each other’s pockets. That’s probably the biggest part.
“The training load is the highest we will have pre-Christmas, so that is obviously a great part of it and that’s a bonding experience at the best of times.
“We will be spending a lot of time together and that will organically create a better team environment.”
McKeown said the camp was an essential part of pre-season for the Power players in the lead up to an important season for the club.
“This is the crucial time,” he said.
“If they get through this, it sets up the Christmas period and then we really only have four or five weeks until intra-club and the Marsh Community Series.
“They have to be ready. They have to hit January very, very hard. This is the key cornerstone of that.”
The head of high performance was extremely impressed with how last year’s camp on the Sunshine Coast went, but he believes the trip to Maroochydore will eclipse that.
“I think what we’ve done is probably upgraded from last year,” McKeown said.
“We had a fantastic camp last year and had 100 per cent success rate with what we did, but I think this year, we have better facilities down in Maroochydore.
“The ovals are absolutely first-class - we had some pictures through the other day and they are looking really good.
“The gym and the accommodation facilities are just top-notch. They are probably the best I’ve seen in Australia from a private facility point of view.
“We are really looking forward to getting stuck in.”
The camp will consist of a number of training sessions per day, including craft sessions, skills sessions, running sessions, education and game-plan sessions, as well as, team bonding exercises.
