S&C February Update with Matt Olds

As the long pre-season of the Subiaco Football Club winds towards its first on-field action with competitive pre-season matches next month, Senior Squad Strength and Conditioning Coach Matt Olds sat down to give his thoughts on how the boys are progressing through pre-season.

Here is the Q&A session with Matt with his February update.

Matt, nearing in on the start of pre-season matches, about a month away; how is the overall fitness base and conditioning of the senior group for 2019?

The senior squad is in a really strong position heading towards the start of our practice matches. It has been a long pre-season, given we started all the way back in mid-November, and I think just having those extra couple of weeks before starting games has produced a different feel. The boys though are in good shape and are keen to get into some more match minutes.

Have there been any individuals that have impressed you and your team through pre-season training so far?

Really all the boys have impressed me in different areas of the pre-season program. Perhaps most pleasing is the guys who had injuries late last year have really shown great commitment to their rehabilitation program and have integrated strongly back into pre-season training. Having worked with the colts and talent program over the past three years I have been pleased to see these younger players of the squad have been able to handle the increased demand of a senior pre-season.

It is a nice mix the club has of senior players and developing members of the squad, how has that dynamic come across through strength and conditioning work?

In terms of output, veterans and leaders like Leigh Kitchin, Lachlan Delahunty and Josh Deluca lead the way, but it has been great to see young players that are both testing themselves against this standard and in some cases exceeding the output of these players. Tristan Hobley, Nick Menegola and Ben Sokol are three that come to mind that are really showing strong performances through pre-season.

Your first year as senior squad strength and conditioning coach, how have you found the challenge working with the senior group?

Really I think the main difference is you are working with a group that has a wider age bracket and experiences. With the colts, you were working with mainly 17 to 19 year old young men, whereas the senior program we have guys from teenagers into their thirties. How you communicate is probably different. In terms of the squad though, the drive of the group has been fantastic and their willingness to buy into the high standards we have set for our strength and conditioning program has been really pleasing.

Personally you had some great success with the Colts program over the past two years, how much of your methods from the Colts program have you brought to the senior squad, and how much have you continued from past Strength and Conditioning Coach Dan Hiscock?

Daniel and I collaborated really well over the past two to three years and had aimed to keep a streamlined process through the whole club when it came to strength and conditioning. Dan and I have similar beliefs and methodologies, though we each have our own spin on the process. Dan’s done a fantastic job with this group previously and it has made my transition much smoother.

It has been one of the hallmarks of recent Subiaco sides; a strong fitness base and being able to finish off games strongly, how confident are you that this trend will continue and Subiaco will again be the trendsetter from a fitness, strength and conditioning standpoint?

We definitely back our systems in as a whole club and we expect to maintain and exceed the standards that have previously been produced. As a whole club we are excited for Round One in April and from a strength and conditioning perspective believe the boys are going to be well placed to meet the high expectations we put on ourselves as individuals and as a group.