A TWO kilometre time-trial was a major focus for the Bendigo Pioneers under-18 boys squad in Swan Hill on Sunday morning, with the next batch of AFL hopefuls keen to impress ahead of their upcoming Coates Talent League season.
The full squad training was held at the Swan Hill Rec. Reserve and Alan Garden Reserve and followed a similar training day in November last year.
Players from both the boys and girls squads from across the Pioneers catchment took part, with players from Bendigo, Echuca and Mildura all joining in the joint training session.
With the largest area to cover of any team in the Coates Talent League, getting around and training across their entire catchment, as well as alleviating the burden of travel, was a key focus of the club, according to Bendigo Pioneers Swan Hill base co-ordinator Luke Crow.
“Our focus is always on trying to build the connection between our regions, since our region is so big,” Crow told The Guardian on Sunday.
“We try to have as many of these trainings where we can get everyone together as we can, it’s often hard for our Mildura based players to make it to Bendigo, these sessions are pretty important for us to get the kids all together in the one place.
“Swan Hill is pretty much right in the middle of Bendigo, Mildura and Echuca, so it’s often a logical place to hold these days.”
Although there were many aspects to the day, including skills and fitness based elements to the session, one key highlight was the 2km time-trial for the under-18 boys squad and the 1.5km time-trial for the under-18 girls squad.
“It was good to get all the squads together (for the time-trial) and run it all under the same conditions and at the same place for the players,” Crow said.
“There were some really good results in the girls time-trial and there were quite a few players that made some really big improvements from the first one they did before Christmas and there were some pretty good times with the boys as well.”
The Bendigo Pioneers announced last month the players who progressed through to phase two of the clubs under-18 boys squad, with the final squad to be announced in March, along with the under-16 boys squad.
The under-18 girls and under-16 girls listed players were also announced in January.
