Preseason Update: Frank Rodriguez

With the squad now having been back in training for almost seven weeks, I took the time to sit down and talk to Head of Strength and Conditioning Frank Rodriguez before the team breaks up for Christmas.  Here's what he had to say.

Andrew Owen:  Frank last time we spoke you were only a couple of weeks into training.  How have you settled in since then?

Frank Rodriguez:  I think I’ve settled in pretty well, I’m still getting to know all the boys names.  It can be a bit difficult learning seventy names at once and there’s a lot of times when you call guys mate and buddy (laughs).  But other than that everything has gone well and I’m really happy to be a part of the team.

AO:  How are the players looking heading into the Christmas break?

FR:  They’re making some good improvements, I’m happy with the direction they’re going.  With regards to that they’re progressing well and the only little hiccup, well it’s not really a hiccup we’ll see how they go, they’ve got a couple of weeks off over Christmas so they’ll have a running and strength program to take away with them and it will be interesting to see how they get back and how much more work or less work hopefully, we need to put into them.

AO:  Any players suffering from injury or is the squad pretty healthy?

FR:  There are a few players which you always get at this time of year because it is a high workload put into the players, especially if they have never done a full preseason before.  Most injuries are manageable except for one or two that are hanging around from last season.  But on the whole everyone is looking pretty healthy.  The main squad and everyone are out on the track and that’s what the coaches want.  So far fingers crossed and hopefully things stay that way.

AO:  Which players are currently injured?  I noticed that there were a couple of players walking around with ice packs on their calves last week.

FR:  Every now and then we have had a couple of guys get tight calves and have to pull out of training but I would say that if they have got ice on their calves it is from that session in particular and I wouldn’t be necessarily calling it an injury it’s more like load management.  Usually the guys icing their calves should be back running by the next session.

I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head other than (Aidan) Tropiano that has got a bit of a calf issue.  The rest are able to manage it with their workload.

AO:  So we are obviously going to have to monitor Tropiano over the course of Christmas and in January?

FR:  He has got a little grade one strain in his calve.  He’s a hard worker and he’s finding it quite difficult to be honest not being able to run as hard as he can.  He’s on the mend and another week or so and he’ll be back running in full.  By Christmas he should be able to do the program on his own.

AO:  What’s been the main emphasis on the training track during preseason?

FR:  The two things I really want to drill into them are intensity and repeat efforts.  There always has to be intensity, whether that is in ball work or running there’s always got to be high intensity.  If you don’t have high intensity you are not going to get the most out of it.  With intensity you have also got to be able to repeat it.  Repeat runs and high intensity, that is what I am always pumping into the boys.

A lot of the time I am always chucking in 200 metre sprints.  They get they’re times after every run and their times should be within a couple of seconds of each other.  Any more than that and something is wrong.

I want high intensity and repeat efforts.  That’s the thing I keep harping on and that’s the thing I will continue to keep harping on as preseason goes on.  They have to be running as hard as they can but always be able to back it up as well.

AO:  Which players are setting the standards out on the track?

FR:  Tropiano was one before he got injured, Matthew Welburn and Daniel O’Sullivan.  Then there’s other players that aren’t necessarily winning the runs but are up there like Chance Bateman and other experienced players like Dene White, they’re up and around the mark.  I want the senior guys to be showing everyone how it should be done because when they’re doing it and are up the front it pushes the younger guys to get to their level.

AO:  Speaking of the younger players, have any of them taken you by surprise?

FR:  Well I still think he is a young guy but Kieran Hug is one that has surprised me.  He’s getting better and better with every session.  I know that he has played a couple of league games already but he’s one that I would put a gold star next to.  The way he’s training and if he keeps it up, he’s going to have a really good year.

AO:  You touched on the players getting a program over the Christmas break.  Can you explain what this program includes?

FR:  There is a strength program that they’ve been given now that will continue to go on throughout all of preseason.  In regards to the running, I understand its Christmas and things like that but I just want them to get the kilometres in the legs.  I don’t want them to lose that base that they have got, just maintain it.  It’s hard to replicate the intensity when you are not at training but I want them to at least get a bit of huff and puff a couple of times a week.  All I want them to do is maintain what they’ve done and what they’ve achieved this far into preseason so that we can go up another couple of steps as soon as we get back.  You don’t want to be chasing tails when you return in January and wondering how long it will take to get our fitness back if they’ve done nothing.  If they do the workload that has been set out for them it will help them out in the long run and obviously the team.

AO:  When the players return in the New Year will the fitness training remain similar to what it is now or will you look to change it up a little bit?

FR:  It will change a little bit where it will become a little more game like orientated.  It will become more sprint recovery based.  When we come back from Christmas as we get closer to games there will be shorter runs with a really short rest to replicate game situations.

AO:  Thank you very much for your time Frank, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I’m sure we will speak to you in 2015.

FR:  Thank you and same to you.