A contingency of 16 players, predominantly in their first and second year, will spend the following two weeks based at the ASPIRE Academy for Sport Excellence, a world class sporting facility located in the capital of Qatar, Doha.
Carlton’s Senior Coach Brett Ratten said the team was looking forward to beginning their assault on the 2012 season.
“Our players are well aware that we need to keep improving, and this intensive training camp is the first step towards that commitment,” he said.
“We're looking for every advantage to ensure that we can move to the top of our game and believe that utilizing the outstanding facilities at ASPIRE will be of tremendous benefit.”
Carlton’s elite performance unit, which encompasses strength, conditioning, rehabilitation and medical staff has been planning this trip for a number of months and believe high altitude training mixed with heat will be a beneficial pre-season combination.
“Sports science continues to play an important role in the performance of all athletes,” Brett said.
“It is the basis of this training camp and confirms Carlton’s determination and commitment to provide our players with the best opportunity to boost their development and ensure they prepare and perform at their very best.”
Created in 2004, the ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence in Doha has the dual aims of identifying and transforming promising student athletes into world-renowned champions across a wide range of sports and to act as a beacon to draw sporting culture into the centre of life in Qatar and the surrounding region.
Unrivalled facilities, housed in and around the world's largest purpose built indoor sports dome, ensure the Academy's reputation as one of the foremost sporting and educational institutions in the entire international community, enticing an ever-increasing number of visitors and users, from sporting legends to global political leaders.
Every aspect of the development of elite athletes is catered for by one indoor and seven outdoor football fields, athletics tracks, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, diving pool, combat arenas, gymnastics arena, specialty fitness weight rooms, lecture halls, dormitories to accommodate what will eventually become 1,000 students, a medical centre and many more facilities.
ASPIRE has become a pre-season must for some of the world’s most elite sporting bodies, including the likes of soccer powerhouse Manchester United.
On top of their altitude training, the players will also be staying at a specialized altitude facility for the duration of their trip.
The second leg of Carlton’s pre-season training camp will begin in Abu Dhabi on November 3rd where a further eight players and coaching staff will spend seven days taking part in community actives, such as Auskick, as well as their daily training commitments.
