Adrenaline putting in the early work

Written by Kirralee Thomas

While thousands of people in South Australia were spending the end of November and December preparing for Christmas, the Adelaide Adrenaline were on the training ground gearing up for an April 22 puck drop.

Players from the Adrenaline have started training for the 2017 Australian Ice Hockey League season months earlier than it ever has before.

Usually the team starts off ice training after the New Year at the end of January for the upcoming season. However, this year they started their fitness training the first week of November.

It’s a different approach under new head coach Sami Mantere, one the players hope will hold them in good stead for the 2017 season.

Graham Charbonneau, who is heading into his fifth season with Adrenaline, said the players were starting earlier because they were disappointed with the result last season.

"It’s a good opportunity to get out and build some fitness and build a bit more of a team mentality so they we head into the season all on the same page,” Charbonneau said.

“It’s about building the energy early and sustaining it.”

Adrenaline veteran David Huxley said the early start means the team can’t make excuses halfway through the season. 

"If you put in the work you don’t make excuses because there’s no questioning ‘If we did this where would we be?' because the work has been done,” Huxley said.

“We’ll build some confidence with each other knowing that we’ve put in the hard work and can stick it out.”

The players said that the expectations for this year were the same as every year, to win.

“If we weren’t trying to win, we wouldn’t be out here in November,” Charbonneau said.

“It’s not any fun to just be there, you’re there to win and anything less than that would be disappointing,” Huxley said.

For the younger members of the squad, starting training early is a great chance to prove themselves to the more experienced players.

Seventeen-year-old Marcel McGuiness said hard work is important for a younger player on the side.

"By working hard and getting ready for the season it is a good chance to gain the respect of the older guys," he said. 

“The fitness is also really important, it’s as much off the ice work as it is on the ice, if you aren’t fit you’re going to struggle.”

“The guys that stand out in this league are usually the hardest working guys, so that’s what we have to be like.”

Even club president Eric Balnar has joined in for a couple training sessions.

"The preparation is important," Balnar said. "But above that we need to see the guys gel as a team, have each others back and push each other to succeed."

The Adrenaline were training 2-3 times a week before a Christmas break. Originally, the club was going to break until the end of January but the leadership group has requested the plyers get back to work the first week in January.

"It's great to see that committment and leadership," said Balnar.