As part of keeping fans informed in the close season, our focus over the next couple of days is around pre-season. Whilst the season has only just finished the start of pre-season is just around the corner.
There will be a number of articles covering the:
- Return to training
- Training camp
- Approach to the games
- The fixtures.
The players will report back for the start of pre-season training on Wednesday 22nd June.
This date is much earlier than usual however, in order to complete a full and thorough pre-season ahead of the earlier start of the EFL this year on 30th July, there is the requirement to return from the off-season break earlier than accustomed.
The first day of pre-season being assigned to ‘testing’. This is an important day covering a mixture of medical and physical testing which provides the playing staff with an accurate insight into the physical and medical status of each player prior to the commencement of the intense build up toward the start of the 2022-2023 EFL season.
The testing day is overseen by the medical and sport science departments and contains numerous tests including medical screening, body fat testing and physical endurance tests.
Following a day of testing, the players will go straight into a double session. These double sessions will be more frequent within the first fortnight of pre-season as there is a strong focus on making sure players are up to speed and comfortable as they head into the transition towards fixtures and standard training schedules.
During the initial return, training is heavily focussed on work with the ball, primarily to ensure that players are able to cope with the demands of the game and understand the desired intensity to which they will be asked to play to throughout this season.
Boss James Rowberry said:“The first day is all about welcoming the players back and understanding where they are each at individually.
"Tom, Lewis and Ryan will ensure the required testing is done which will be overseen by Carl. Pre-season will be enjoyable for everyone with the way that we will operate but also extremely demanding.”