Boot Camp? World Cup Preparations.

Boot Camp? World Cup Preparations.

Sounds like we are a fair bit late in getting prime locations for the world cup preparations. The other countries has booked their spots before the draw night. The altitude training camp needs a prime location and facilities, not much presented. I am not sure what african countries that would have the type of quality of facilities and let alone the altitude.

We may have to climatize the players more than six weeks out. Whether we get them to deoxgyenated in air tight caravan where they can watch TV, PSP, sleep, cook and eat their food, is a costly option but just having a campbed would do only half the trick.

The pains of getting use to the movement of the ball in high altitude is hard to get use to without a fair bit of training sessions and a couple of games. The ball goes like 5-10% further and is more straighter and swings less than at sea level because of the lack of air friction and the lack of pressure differentiation on the ball dynamics.

The style of playing changes a fair bit, the ball goes a long way in the air and very quick without much of a kick. Accurate shots at goal are needed without knocking the ball over the bar and even as likely now shots straight towards the keeper because of the lack of swing. The practice of shot drives and more interplay at set pieces are need more than relying on the swing. Heading becomes more effective than usual (like a kick), defensive or offensive. Accurate line for the passing to ensure that the player behind the ball to control it. The ball can skip across the ground or not depends on the ground conditions as they tend to exaggerate however the ball in the air can present a different contrast to the ball rolling on the same ground. Having earlier knowledge and adapting will help the players and can catch Solvekia on the hop in the first game.

To be honest, our inexperience might be our underdoing, I don't think that we were as prepared as we would have liked. I am not sure whether our Rugby contracts in SA can help us but its worth a go I think. Even exploring high schools with a decent training ground would have to be a consideration if there is no prime facilities available. Climatizing comes fairly important factor in the preparation.

Im pretty sure they will get things sorted, there is no way we will be stuck at some backpackers, in the middle of nowhere.

It's ACCLIMATISING btw.

There's a couple of decompression chambers around, starting with the Navy Hospital and it's a national team so I can't see why they can't be pressed into service.

We have a Navy?

And I thought it was just a colour!

Oars, optional.

Just a portion of the NZ Navy...

I can't believe that all the high quality facilities have been taken(including  hotels). thats a bloody shambles. Someone in FIFA needs a rocket up them. There is no way just because we were last to qualify that we dont get decent facilities .

We weren't the last to qualify. The Algeria/Egypt play-off was after us, as was the last game of the european play-offs and the concaf/conmebol play-off. I kind of get annoyed that NZ Football keeps on having these "oops too late" moments. First Moss and now, arguably more importantly, this.

TBH I would've thought FIFA would sort out the accomodation for the teams. I mean because of the difference in altitude etc.. there should've been places allocated for teams close to where the games were to be played.

This is something I didn't see happening. Although it is NZ Football .

Apparently FIFA gave all competing countries a list. Im sure AW will find a suitable place.

France qualified after us and they don have second rate facilities...

Why didnt we just book early, we had a very good chance of qualifying.
If we didn't make it just cancel the booking.

Who cares. If AWs end up in a safari camp then they can toughn up there. Earn there keep, train and run in the desert if they have too. It'll toughn them up for high altitude. No one said it was going to be easy.

I see my Uncle and Aunties house in this pic

/offtopic

I was trying to figure out why I'm not in this picture...and then realised it was from the Nelson trip last season I was unable to go on.


And Frankie's comment about the goggles is actually one of the running jokes of the team.

Thought that I would continue this thread under the general World Cup Preparations heading rather than start a new one.

Since this topic was started I see its been mentioned that the intention is to take the AWs to Europe for altitude training...and probably some games against European teams similar to Italy and Slovakia to help prepare also.

On a tangent now,  but under the Preparations heading still.....did anyone read the article in the Sunday Star Times
before new year here
about the "secret slurpee" drink the NZ hockey men used, apparently to great effect, in winning their recent qualifying tournament in Argentina.
Getting that technology on board for the AWs in the heat and altitude of South Africa could be a telling advantage.
Hope the AWs camp and NZF have made the hook up with Paul Laursen.


Our secret Slurpee key to gold <!-- google_ad_section_end(name=storyline) --> By STEVE KILGALLON - Sunday Star Times <!-- -normal_story_landing- --> <!--start components/story/common_content--> <!-- google_ad_section_start(name=story) -->

New Zealand's Commonwealth Games athletes will be handed a secret weapon that our sports scientists say could boost their performances in Delhi by up to 20%.

New Zealand Academy of Sport physiologist Paul Laursen says he has perfected the recipe for a hi-tech ice drink that finally solves the old problem of cooling down athletes in hot climates so they can compete at their best.

Of other Commonwealth countries, only the Australians are likely to have the same formula worked out before the Games next October and Laursen says he's fiercely protecting the inside knowledge.

"I think we are ahead of the game in terms of understanding this new principle," he told the Sunday Star-Times. "It will be out soon � the rest of the world will catch up."

But until then it will be a significant edge for Kiwi athletes.

With temperatures in India likely to reach a daily maximum of 35C and pollution levels twice as high as at the Olympics in Beijing, the successful trials of the "slurry" � based on street-corner dairy Slurpees such as Slush Puppies � are expected to be a significant boost for Kiwi medal hopes.

Laursen is just back from a trip to Argentina where the slurry was tested on Black Stick men's hockey players during the recent Champions Challenge tournament, which they won.

<!-- $( () { PushHAd('STORY', 6, 300, 250, '300x250'); }); //-->

Black Sticks coach Shane McLeod said: "It was excellent. I think it was one of the contributing factors to our performance, especially in hot conditions. It made quite a difference and the guys took to it really well. It's something we will continue to use in most of our major events.

"Hockey is quite a high-tempo game and we use rolling subs, so it fits our game really well: they can come off, have some slurry, and it keeps their body temperature down so they can think rationally and not `redline' it.

"We've seen that a lot with players when they first go somewhere like Malaysia, often we can't play them for long periods. The slurry will alleviate that immensely. It's one of those things that gives you a 2-3% improvement, and that's what we strive for all the time."

Silver Ferns and All Blacks sevens players will be next to try the drink � which Laursen says other Olympic nations will be clamouring to copy for their athletes.

While it's based on simple ice drinks, the science behind the slurry is a leap forward. Working on the principle that it takes longer for the body to convert solids into energy than liquids, someone drinking water cooled to the same temperature as the slurry would still heat up again faster.

And cooling athletes from the inside is also an advance on the old methods, such as the ice vests used by many nations in Beijing last year.

"It's a nice principle and it works a treat. We had a 100% buy-in from the Black Sticks," says Laursen, a former university professor. "In a lab setting .. research shows you can improve performance by 20% on running time to exhaustion, and lower your core temperature by 0.3% Celsius. It's quite substantial when you consider that athletes from gold to also-ran can be separated by less than 1%.

"It's difficult to measure in the field, but the Black Sticks were saying `there is something going on here we're feeling better, we can run faster and go harder' and who knows whether it gave them that little edge to push them over the line and win the trophy."

While the machine the Kiwis will use can be easily be bought commercially, it has taken years of testing to find both the right time for athletes to drink the slurry, and to minimise the carbohydrate levels in the mixture to prevent a sugar crash.

The slurry won't stay secret for long. Laursen says in Argentina, every other team was trying to figure out what the Black Sticks were doing. "We were very vague and saying `they are just like a Slurpee'. But seeing we won the tournament, they would have had a bit of a think."

RedGed2010-01-07 12:48:23

Its winter in SA, don't think the heat will be oppressive, especially as I think all our games are in the high veldt.

it will still be about 20-25 degrees.

No it won't - might get to 20 something in Durban, but it'll get pretty cold in night games.

Expect temperatures should be in the 12-18 degree range.

Johannesburg, South Africa <!-- average conditions statistics --> MonthAverage Sunlight (hours)TemperatureDiscomfort from heat and humidityRelative humidityAverage Precipitation (mm)Wet Days (+0.25 mm) AverageRecord MinMaxMinMaxampm Jan81426633Moderate755011412 Feb81425733Moderate78531099 March81324531Moderate7950899 April81022-129-7444384 May9619-626-7036253 June9417-724-703381 July9417-723-693280.9 Aug10620-726-642980.9 Sept10923-330-5930232 Oct91225032-6437567 Nov81325234Moderate674510710 Dec81426633Moderate704712511

If temperatures remain moderate during the World Cup, well and good for our boys. How were they for the AWs in the Confederations Cup last year, does any one recall?

Mind you perhaps there's also an advantage to be had from the slurpie drink to enable our boys to "kick on" as it were, perhaps finish stronger in the final 15 mins or so, when it will certainly help.

So will the AW's be using slurpie drinks at WC?