Crows head fitness coach Stephen Schwerdt writes about some of the people who help the Adelaide players prepare for competition …

The ability to provide our players with world class expertise in a wide range of areas that contribute to their physical preparation is vital to ensure our players take the field ready to play winning AFL football. Because most of this preparation goes on behind closed doors in the football club’s training facility or at times separate from public training sessions, the expert coaches who assist our players may not be known to our supporters. However these “specialist fitness coaches” bring some of the best skills in the world in their respective fields.

Some of the people who help out behind the scenes who people may not know much about include:

Performance Coach – Charlie Walsh
Charlie was the national cycling coach for the Australian Institute of Sport from 1980 to 2001 and oversaw Australia's competitive cycling performance going from a ranking between 20 and 30 in track cycling in the world, to the number one ranked nation. Perhaps the most well known group he coached was the legendary team of Michael Grenda, Mike Turtur, Dean Woods, and Kevin Nichols, euphemistically known as Charlie's Angels, in winning the gold medal for the 4000 metres Team Pursuit event at the 1984 Summer Olympics. This event was seen as a turning point in Australian cycling achievement at the world level. Many of the cyclists that Charlie coached went on to become top professional riders with a number of them successfully competing in events such as the Tour de France. As a competitive cyclist Walsh crossed the line first more than 1000 times in over 25 years of competitive racing at Australian National and State level.
Through his involvemnet with the AIS cycling program Charlie teamed with Neil Craig as Sports Physiologist to create a world beating team that took preparation and training to a level not seen before – in much the same way as they are endeavouring to do at the Adelaide Football Club.

Whilst it is difficult to actually define Charlie’s title at the Crows, Performance Coach perhaps summarises the many roles that Charlie plays. His attention to detail in everything he does and obsession to leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of a winning performance sets a great example for both players and coaches. One of Charlie’s main roles is the planning and co-ordinating of bike conditioning work that regularly occurs with a range of players both during the season and in the pre season period. Some of the technology and programming that Charlie brings to this area ensures that our players are at the cutting edge with their physical preparation. His other main role is on game day where he can be seen eagerly prowling the boundary line – this role involves him helping the players on the interchange bench remained focused and relaxed as well as meeting with players who come off the ground to ensure they are fully recovered and prepared for a return to the field.

It would also be fair to say that Charlie at various times throughout the season also fills the role of psychologist, relaxation expert, mentor and raconteur as he shares his wide range of experiences and stories to emphasise what is needed to create a winning environment. As Craigy has often said: “Charlie knows very little about football but he knows everything about winning.”

Swimming Coach - Glen Beringen
It may be asked what part does an Olympic swimming coach play at a football club, however the need for good programming and technique feedback becomes imperative if players are spending extended periods of time in the swimming pool. Swimming is used for various reasons throughout the season including recovery sessions after games and training, conditioning sessions for specific players and rehabilitation of injured players.
Glen has been with the team since 1999 in the role of swimming coach and he has an impressive background in swimming. As an athlete he won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (200m Breastroke) and silver at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane.

He later became a coach, beginning at the South Australian Sports Institute from 1991 until 2002 where he was Head Coach, before coaching at the Australian Institute of Sport until the 2004 Athens Olympics. Among his athletes at the AIS were Olympic gold medallists Petria Thomas and Sarah Ryan. He coached his athletes for three individual short course world records, two short course and long course relay world records. The other great attribute that Glen brings to the Adelaide Football Club besides his swimming expertise is an undeniable passion for football and more particularly the Crows and his experiences of being part of winning environments as both an athlete and a coach.

Sprint Coach – Paul Young
Paul Young joined the Adelaide Football Club in 2000 as sprint coach and has worked specifically with a select group of players and most of our first year players. Currently coach of the Western Districts Athletics Club, Paul’s “stable” of runners has been dominating local professional races for some years now and he was coach of this year’s Bay Sheffield winner. Paul is a former winner of the prestigious Stawell Gift in 1985 and has trained many top athletes including a number of top AFL footballers when he was based in Victoria. His greatest asset for the Crows is his unique ability to make his drills and coaching relevant to football so that players are training to be better footballers, not just better athletes. More recently Paul has spent most of the season working with Ben Hudson in helping him to regain his speed after his knee reconstruction. So impressed was Ben with his own sprint work progress that he was thinking about running in the Bay Sheffield himself!!

There are a number of other specialists in the fitness area that assist the players with their preparation including yoga teacher Leanne Cavanagh from Body in Mind, where a number of players participate in a weekly yoga class. Gymnastics Coach Jeb Silsbury from Marion Gymnastics Club who has worked specifically on our players’ ability to land safely, as well as with players returning from long term injuries such as Hudson.

Weight training consultant Scott Baker from the South Australian Institute of Sport also has a significant role in the planning and implementation of the weight training program for our team.

As you can see, the fitness team specialists at the Adelaide Football Club come from varied sporting backgrounds, but their commonality lies in the high success they have achieved in their own individual sports and their ability to make significant contributions towards the Adelaide Football Club goal of achieving world’s best practice.

The philosophies held by Charlie, Glen, Paul and the other members of the fitness team together with their knowledge and experience is a key ingredient in supporting the players of the Adelaide Football Club in their pursuit of football success.

Stephen Schwedt
Head Fitness Coach