Hi Guys,

This is my second blog for Season 2011. It has been a relatively quiet week for the younger guys as Sandringham has the BYE this weekend and the senior side has an early game on Easter Thursday.

I hope you enjoy reading my blog.

Monday

After playing for Sandringham on Sunday, I was in at the Club on Monday morning for recovery. We did some light flush runs and stretching, just getting the legs moving and our bodies prepared for the week ahead.

I also went over my game edits from the weekend with Huddo (Paul Hudson) our Development Manager. He is fantastic at picking out areas that need improvement, but also said there were a lot of positives in my performance on Sunday.

Tuesday

The guys who played for Sandy on the weekend had the day off on Tuesday. Getting a whole day off is rare so you have to make the most of it when you can! I used the spare time to head down and do the shopping! Meanwhile the senior side had their main training ahead of the clash against Brisbane.

Wednesday

We trained at Linen House Oval at Moorabbin on Wednesday, which was something different. Despite not having a game this weekend, it’s still really important that we train extra hard to keep our skills and fitness levels up.

Thursday

We had weights early in the morning down at Seaford and it was pretty quiet with only a small selection of players at the Club, with the rest of the team in Queensland preparing for the Rd 5 match against the Lions. I think Paul Cahill and Jarryn Geary, who are recovering from long term injuries, enjoyed having us around as it can get quite lonely when you’re training by yourself.

Since joining an AFL Club, one thing I have noticed is the huge increase in weights training. Weights training wasn’t something I did a lot of prior to being drafted, but it is an essential training aspect, especially as a first year player. It is vital to do regular weights training so that we can condition our bodies to the rigors of AFL footy.

Friday

Today we have main training which like earlier in the week, will be held at Moorabbin. It will be a high intensity training to emulate the workload of an actual match.

The Zebras have been playing good football so far this season and we want to keep progressing and lifting our standards. We matched Port Melbourne for the majority of the game last week, but couldn’t overrun them in the final quarter. It was disappointing not to come away with the points, but there were still plenty of positives from the match.

Weekend

Saturday will be a day off, so I’ll just relax and chill out. On Sunday we’ll have a training session down at Linen House Centre at Seaford.

Have a fantastic Easter everyone!

Go Saints!

Jamie Cripps #35