Coach Brenton Sanderson has recently returned from a trip to the United Kingdom, where he took in two English Premier League matches and got a behind-the-scenes look at Chelsea training, but he wasn’t the only Crows football department staffer to experience the inner sanctum of a sporting club abroad in 2011.

During the post-season break last September/October, Adelaide head trainer Vinnie Del Bono ventured to the United States for a two-and-a-half week professional development trip.

As part of his visit, Del Bono explored the best current sports training practices in American Football, visiting teams at the University of Washington and University of Seattle, as well as spending a day with NFL side the Seattle Seahawks.

He also witnessed his first NFL game as the Seahawks took on Atlanta.

“It was an amazing experience,” Del Bono told afc.com.au.

“I had to ask a lot of questions in the first half to find out how the game actually worked, but after that I knew what was going on.”

A member of Adelaide’s training staff for 20 years, Del Bono is no stranger to state-of-the-art sporting facilities, but admits he was overawed by the resources available to the American Football teams particularly at the semi-professional College level.

“College Football is pretty big in the States," he said.

"Money is no object for them and the teams are definitely professional.

“The facilities at the University of Seattle and also at the Seahawks were on the lake, so the coaches of both teams drove their boats to work every day.

“The College and NFL teams have their own planes … and full-time drivers, who drive all the equipment to the stadium in whichever state the team is playing in.

“The team buses have police escorts from the Colleges to the airport and all the other motorists have to pull over.

“There are supporters on both the sides of the streets waving and honking their horns.”

Most AFL players will only experience 70,000-plus capacity crowds in finals matches at the MCG, or on Grand Final Day itself, but one minor-round College game Del Bono attended attracted more than 72,000 fans.

“The game day experience is amazing,” he said.

“When the team gets to the stadium, everyone stays on the bus and rocks it … even the coaches get involved.

“You walk into the stadium and there’s a band playing either side of you.

“In the change rooms, the music is blaring and it’s a positive, party atmosphere.

“After one of the games, the team huddled together and a player said a prayer, giving thanks for the win and that no one from either team was injured.

“It was unique to see that.”

While Sanderson is unlikely to be docking a boat at West Lakes anytime soon, Del Bono has adopted some of the American Football practices in his work at Adelaide.

“I learned a lot in terms of different techniques,” he said.

“I brought back some slightly different taping and massage techniques, and also a few different things in regards to the management and treatment of players and education of staff.

“There were some training drills we could implement here, but we’re sort of on par in a lot of areas … they’ve just got more money.”

During his stay, Del Bono also tried to introduce his American colleagues to Australian Football.

“The Rugby World Cup was on at the time, so they all figured Aussie Rules was Rugby,” he said.

“I took a footy over and showed the punters how to kick it.

“I also took a laptop over and showed them some highlights of our game.

“They couldn’t believe the game was played without helmets or padding.

"They also had trouble grasping how big the grounds were and how far the players had to run.”