CTV> Sports science director, David Buttifant, speaks with CTV ahead of the team's preseason trip to Flagstaff ArizonaCollingwood will fly over to Flagstaff Arizona on November 10 to participate in a two-week high altitude training camp.
Sports science director, David Buttifant, spoke with CTV ahead of the team’s departure.
“The program has been conducted for the last three years in altitude”, Buttifant told CTV.
“We have a pretty good ingrained template of how to go about it. The results we have received, post-altitude, have been unequivocal with really positive results.”
The team will train at Northern Arizona University with a student population of 21,000.
“Flagstaff is based at 2200 meters and it’s optimal for high-altitude training with a lot of world class and Olympic athletes training there.
“We will be doing some hikes; predominantly it will be a lot more technical kind of training.”
Buttifant explained the advantages of training in a high-altitude environment.
“What you do in altitude sometimes may take you three of four weeks at sea level as opposed to one week in altitude.”
The team will travel over with most of the playing group with a few players staying back to work on their rehabilitation or other preseason preparation.
“We have a party of about 30 players going across to the States for training camp.
"We will have roughly eight or nine players remaining behind.”
