North youngsters set for Utah
For the fifth year in a row, North Melbourne players will travel to Utah.
13 Kangaroos are set to make the two-week trip in mid November, including Andrew Swallow, Jack Ziebell and Daniel Wells.
"Those guys had injury interrupted seasons so I think they see it as a way of getting themselves in good shape for the first part of pre-season back in Melbourne," Director of Football Geoff Walsh said.
"They all know the value of it in terms of the physical preparation side."
Young guns Brad McKenzie, Ben Jacobs, Trent Dumont, Shaun Atley, Luke McDonald, Mason Wood, Jamie Macmillan and Aaron Mullett will all return to Utah, while Kayne Turner and Joel Tippett will make their first appearance.
"A great great part of having the leaders there will be for the young guys to look at how the senior players prepare and train."
Since arriving as coach in 2009, Brad Scott has been a strong advocate for the benefits of altitude training, but this year’s camp will take a different shape. The focus will be on the Kangaroos' emerging stars, with the majority of experienced players remaining in Melbourne.
"I think the program always evolves and Scotty (Brad Scott) and the coaches always look to tweak the program and seek what advantages or changes we can make," Walsh added.
"A number of the older guys have been for four or five years in a row - it sounds a bit trite but I think it starts to wear on them a bit. It’s a pretty exhausting camp in a lot of ways, particularly guys with young families. Being away from them for three weeks is hard."
The structure of the camp will also be modified.
“Because it's shorter there won’t be as much time to do other activities around the training, so there won’t be as many hikes as in previous years.
"It will be more a training camp that involves both the endurance aerobic running and some football skills sessions obviously."
Despite some scepticism in the industry around the value of training at altitude, North has seen great gains over the past four seasons.
“The altitude training has its disciples. Some people put more stock in it than others, some swear by it, some think it's OK, and others prefer to train in heat. It’s pretty much about what the strength and conditioning coach of the day believes in, and the players who’ve been (to Utah) for a number of years, that belief transfers to them.
"There are definite physical advantages but there’s also mental benefit as well."
New recruits Jarrad Waite and Shaun Higgins will remain in Melbourne, joining their new team-mates from December 1.
"Because their (Waite and Higgins) seasons finished early and they want to get to know their new team-mates, they’ve already been popping into the gym, having a run and doing some training which is a good opportunity for those guys."