CTV in Arizona > Cameron Wood day one interview

A week-long training regime in Colorado has Cameron Wood ready to thrive in Arizona and prepare himself to be a permanent member of the Collingwood team in 2009.

With the Magpies arriving in Flagstaff, Arizona on Tuesday for their two-week high altitude training camp, Wood, along with teammates Alan Didak and Ben Reid, had already spent a week in the USA training under the direction of assistant coach Brad Scott. 

Wood spoke to CTV at the conclusion of the club’s first day in Flagstaff on Tuesday and explained the purpose behind his early arrival in the country.  

“The three of us, Dids, Reidy and myself, I suppose we got away early, just to get a bit of a head start on pre-season,” Wood said.

“Obviously, we all want to be a big part of the campaign next year, so that’s probably the main part of it. (It involved) intensive training, but we broke it up a bit, did running, skills, did a hike one day, had to mountain bike up a mountain, which was nice and tough, it was good.”

The 204-centimetre 21-year-old, who played 13 games in his first season in black and white after being acquired by the club in exchange for the 14th overall pick in the draft and the end of 2007, is excited to be in Arizona for the first time.

“It’s really good. This is the first day we’ve been in Flagstaff, hopefully we can gel together and train really hard.

“There is a bit of snow on the ground, I can just about feel it through my shoes. I think it’s been snowing the last couple of days, but the weather is meant to get a bit better over the next couple of days, up to about eight degrees.”

After spending one night in Phoenix, which allowed the group to watch the Arizona Cardinals play the San Francisco 49ers at the venue of the last Super Bowl in February, the Magpies will now take part in a camp similar to those the club completed in Flagstaff at the end of 2005 and 2006.

Here they will again be able to utilise the fine facilities of the Northern Arizona University and train at an altitude of over 2100 metres, and also hike the Grand Canyon and nearby Mt Humphrey at an elevation of over 3.5 kilometres.

“We arrived this morning, we were up early in Phoenix, had a light jog and a bit of a stretch, then got on the bus. A three hour bus here, then we had a light session and a bit of a blowout on the oval here as well,” Wood added.

With his fifth season at the elite level looming, Wood is determined to make the most of the Arizona opportunity, and emphasised the physical benefits as well as the team bonding the trip will produce.

“The main message (from the coaches) is just to make the most of our time here.

“Obviously with training, train as hard as you can, and we’ll see the benefits when we get back to Melbourne. From a team perspective, to get around your teammates and talk to guys you don’t really mix that much with as well.”

CTV is in Arizona to comprehensively cover the 2008 training camp, so keep an eye out for daily CTV updates, player interviews, a photo gallery and Travis Cloke’s Arizona blog.