Players Putting In Great Work

[ian1964 10,377]

JIM HENRY has been thrilled with the strides made by each Rangers player as they continue to improve their fitness levels in North America ahead of the 2014/15 season.

 

The club’s Head of Sports Science has been working hard with Ally McCoist’s squad in Ventura and now here in Sacramento and that will continue up until the club’s first competitive game against Hibs on August 5.

 

The roasting hot conditions in the United States have helped push the players to the limit and Henry believes the trip across the Atlantic will prove crucial as the Light Blues look to build on their recent success in the Scottish Third Division and League One.

 

Jim said: “I think the tour has been really good and the boys are training really hard. We are getting all the football sessions in and the strength sessions that were planned at the very start of pre-season.

 

“So we are slowly getting there. It’s going to take time and a number of weeks before we are up to speed but we are going in the right direction.

 

“The players are stimulated by the heat. They probably get a little bit higher intensity sometimes with that weather but we also have to be careful they are drinking enough fluids and they are taking enough salt. We have some sodium tablets that they take and they drink Gatorade which has a little higher quantity of sodium.

 

“So although they enjoy training in the sun we are always a bit more careful about how much fluid they are losing so we give them more drinks in between the sessions to hydrate them better.”

 

Fans who have been following the club’s tour of North America on the Rangers website and on RangersTV.tv will have seen the GPS systems the players wear on vests which give Henry and the coaching staff the opportunity to accurately track the work put in by each player, helping to maximise performance and reduce injuries.

 

This summer Rangers have increased the number of systems they have taken on tour which means Henry can now assess every player after every session.

 

He explains: “For the first time Rangers have the 25 players covered, before we only had 10 players. That gives us consistency because having 12 or 13 players missing from those sessions was a problem for us.

 

“To be fair to Rangers we have all that on board now, they have funded that this year and it’s a three-year deal for us. It’s an upgraded system that allows us to look at every player and the volume of their training.

 

“We look at the intensity of the training, the speed that each individual has within the sessions and the metres per minute within small-sided games or large-sided games. It’s crucial and it’s modern football, that’s the way it is going now.”

 

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/7258-players-putting-in-great-work

[Super Cooper 0]

Always find these things amusing, why not show us instead of telling us? We can see for ourselves if great work is being put in.

[craig 5,195]

Or we could take their word for it.

 

What gives us the right to see stuff that no other club is providing to its fans ?

 

I don't see Chelsea, City, Barca or Real providing the analysis to its fans, do you ?

[craig 5,195]

Speaking of Sports Science though....

 

Our boys here are going on a residential Rangers training camp in a couple of weeks and there is a scheduled Sports Science session for all the boys.

 

Interestingly, and I know this wont appease the haters.... but Rangers have a sports science department specifically for youth and they also have some medics for the youth too.

[Gribz 743]

didn't look like it the other day against fusion. in fact they looked the complete opposite

[pmu 0]

Jim henry will no doubt oversee ss for the youth as well as first team. Ss starts at age 11/12 ar pro youth academies. Its not as sexy, as in Big Bang Theory, kinda science. mostly a series of tests that are monitored ongoing, looking for continuos lines of improvement. Overall a major step in terms of raising the bar fitness wise. I have heard that it forms the basis for selection for some managers rather than ability and form and whether it actually balances the team. I see he says rangers have funded extra equipment for US and a three year contract. Is henry a freelancer or employee? At otherclubs they use resources at local uni's etc to carry out the testing and compilation of result data etc.. Hope your boys dont get the beep test. Its just a f@***ng joyless slog...

[pmu 0]

Or we could take their word for it.

 

What gives us the right to see stuff that no other club is providing to its fans ?

 

I don't see Chelsea, City, Barca or Real providing the analysis to its fans, do you ?

 

Maybe sc did want them to release all the data, but i read the post as "show it on the park in terms of futness and performance" cos it sure as heck didn't look like he did a good job last season

[BrahimHemdani 1]

It would be interesting to know what part if any the fitness levels have in team selection; I suspect not a lot.

 

Let's say, for example, that McCulloch was 25th out of 25, would he still be in the team? You betya he would.

 

And let's say that McKay was the fittest, fastest thing on two legs, would he be in the team; probably not.

 

So what's the point?

[Super Cooper 0]

Or we could take their word for it.

 

What gives us the right to see stuff that no other club is providing to its fans ?

 

I don't see Chelsea, City, Barca or Real providing the analysis to its fans, do you ?

 

Lol. What on earth are you talking about? I don't want to see bits of paper with stats, figures, analysis on it! I want to see it on the pitch, in our play Craig!

 

To be fair to myself fans have been listening to our players, coaches and managers talking talking and more talking for years and rarely does what they say ever happen or ring true. We're doing this, we're doing that, we're going to do this, do that. It get's boring after a while, fans switch off and don't want to hear it.

[Super Cooper 0]

Maybe sc did want them to release all the data, but i read the post as "show it on the park in terms of futness and performance" cos it sure as heck didn't look like he did a good job last season

 

Thank you, i thought that was obvious to be honest.