World Footy News

Powerhouse AFL club Collingwood is preparing to turn around their poor on-field performance in 2005 with a post-season training camp - possibly to be held in Arizona.

Melbourne's Sunday Herald-Sun newspaper reports that Collingwood plans to take a leaf from St. Kilda's off-season training program, which saw the Saints travel to elite training centres in England and South Africa over the past two years. The Magpies will select a destination for their training by next Sunday, with 10 locations being considered in Australia and overseas. Arizona is believed to be among the preferred destinations, and its high-altitude camps (as high as 2500m) are renowned within sporting circles for increasing fitness levels in elite athletes.

Collingwood is Australia's largest sporting club in most areas of operation, including membership and sponsorship revenue. However, the club's financial successes have not been replicated on-field, and the Magpies are likely to finish in 15th place this season. A specialised training camp is seen as one method of improving their performance in 2006.

St. Kilda received widespread press coverage in late 2004 when they travelled with their entire squad to Potchefstroom, South Africa, for a 10-day high-altitude training camp. The trip cost the club $200,000, but players trained three times a day under the direction of Olympic athletes including Daly Thompson and Kelly Holmes. The Saints also undertook development clinics with local Australian footballers in South Africa - efforts hailed as a success by all involved.

worldfootynews.com will publish further news on Collingwood's proposed off-season training as it occurs.