NEW Doncaster Knights fitness and conditioning coach Aled Walters has been putting his new charges through their paces at the Lakeside Sports Complex.
"The athletics stadium is a great facility and we've been bringing the players down to do some sprint sessions," said Walters, aged 27.
He received a degree in PE and Sports Science at Loughborough University and followed it up with a masters at Edinburgh in fitness and conditioning.
"It has gone very well. The players have been a credit to themselves and the club and they have all worked very hard in the first month of pre-season training - both in the gym and on the track.
"It is probably the first time that some of the players - particularly the forwards - have done any specific sprint training. But they have all knuckled down.
"They have all been timed over both 40 metres and 100 metres and we have introduced an element of competition by putting the times up in the clubhouse. They all want to be the best in their section, as is the case with the gym work.
"All the players have purchased a pair of spikes, because you don't get the real benefit of training on a track if you are wearing trainers, and they are all looking sharper.
"We have given the players this week off to recharge and they will also have another week off before the start of the season, but they will work very hard in between.
"But fitness isn't all about training hard; diet and rest are also an important part of the equation.
"The players were all tested at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield when they first came back and they'll be going back there to check on their progress in the next couple of weeks."
Said the club's director of rugby, Lynn Howells: "Although our general conditioning was good, and we always played for the full 80 minutes, I just felt that we were a bit one paced last season.
"I wasn't happy with some aspects of our training last season, but other than state my objectives, I tried not to intervene.
"Aled was one of four or five people that we interviewed for the job and whilst they were all good candidates, especially in terms of gym work, we felt that his speciality was in an area that we needed to improve upon.
"Pre-season is going well. We have had a big turnover of players - which is not always a good thing - but it was something that I felt was necessary if the club was to move forward.
"I'd be pretty naive to think that I've got all the signings right, and there were one or two players that I would like to have kept. But overall I'm happy with the players I've got to work with and we have also brought down the average age of the squad.
"Everyone has gelled very quickly and there is a good spirit in the camp. The players are working well together and they also get on well."
What do you think? Post your comments below. READ MORE Football headlinesMore BladesMore OwlsMore SpireitesMore RoversMore RedsMore MillersMore Ice HockeyMore rugby leagueMore rugby unionMore boxingSports columnistsAll sport categoriesThe full article contains 556 words and appears in Doncaster Star newspaper.
