When you step onto the field with an AFL player you’re fair game no matter who you are or where you come from. Just ask traveling executive Christopher Ride.

In Utah with the team for a week the Managing Director of Interactive, a leading Australian IT Services company and proud North Melbourne sponsor, was actively involved in a training session when he suddenly ended up on his back.

“I got run over by Cruize Garlett in one of the skills sessions and it felt like getting hit by a train,” Ride told kangaroos.com.au.

Ride injured his AC joint in the collision but views the experience in a positive light.

“Best challenge experience I’ve had in years,” he said.

“I knew it was going to be hard, but the gap between an elite athlete and someone who trains relatively hard is massive and I didn’t expect it to hurt as much; that’s one of the byproducts of altitude. It’s just painful, but the pain is good, it makes you work harder. Seeing how capable and fit the boys are pushes you along further than you’d normally go. I feel I’ve got better physical results than I have since I was in my twenties.”

The Kangaroos have several executives joining them in Utah and without them, the camp simply couldn’t happen.

That’s because each of them is paying a cool $25,000 for the chance to train, eat and sleep as a virtual member of the team - and they have the option to be involved in as much or as little as they wish.

“If you have a choice in going to a soft health club up in the hinterland of Northern Queensland or heading off to Bali to meditate, I’d take this as a challenge experience. Great views, great scenery, great blokes…it’ll keep you younger longer, yeah I’d recommend it.”

Ride says he’s been particularly impressed with the player’s attitudes to training at a high intensity for long periods of time.

“The discipline and consistency the boys show in being elite athletes. It’s a twenty-four by seven occupation. They all love it and their commitment to North Melbourne and making it a successful football team is admirable.

“They’re awesome to watch when they’re on the field, you just don’t realise how much pain they’ve got to go through to get to that elite level so you get to see it first hand.

“You realise that if you want to be that good, you have to hurt to get there and these guys hurt.”

As Ride and business partner Brad Wells prepared to leave, they were already thinking 12 months down the track for the next Utah camp.

“I need to narrow the gap…I’ll work harder so that the gap between me and the boys next year isn’t as great.”

And as for Cruize Garlett? Ride says he’ll never forget.

“If he walks across the street in front of me in my car, he could be in trouble.”

North Melbourne staff and players will be tweeting from Utah. Search the hashtag #utahroos or visit twitter.com/northkangaroos for updates.

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