Watch Scott Pendlebury speak to CTV in Flagstaff, ArizonaScott Pendlebury is set for a big Arizona training camp after recovering from the broken leg that ruined his 2009 finals campaign.
Speaking at the end of the first full day of training at the Magpies’ two-week high altitude camp, Pendlebury explained how he voluntarily traveled to the US a week early with a group of teammates for some additional altitude training.
The group that headed to Boulder, Colorado for a week, before the rest of team arrived in Flagstaff, consisted of Pendlebury, Travis Cloke, Dale Thomas, John McCarthy, Sean Rusling, Dayne Beams, Tarkyn Lockyer and conditioning coach Justin Crow. They each paid their own way.
“I think about four of us had surgery… and we sort of wanted to get a head start on altitude training,” Pendlebury told CTV.
“For a lot of the guys it was their first session today, but we (Colorado group) have been here (in the US) nine days now. It was definitely worth it, and we had a good trip.”
The 21-year-old had yet another fine season in 2009, but was sorely missed by his team after breaking his leg against St Kilda early in the qualifying final.
But he is well on the way to regaining full fitness and is keen to make the most of his third Arizona training camp with the Magpies.
“First week back at training I got pulled out of a few things, but at Colorado I was able to do every running session, and so far so good here,” Pendlebury said.
“So it’s come along really well, and the surgeon and the docs are happy with it.”
It’s not as if Pendlebury or his teammates have been given any time to ease into the altitude training though, with Tuesday’s first full session extremely intense.
“We started off today with probably the toughest session we’ve ever done here, so it was a pretty tough first day.
“I think most of the blokes knew what to expect. When Butters (director of sports science David Buttifant) says something is ‘light’, you know it’s going to be ten out of ten intensity, and all the boys responded well.
“There was a fair bit of running at the end, and all the boys got through.”
Pendlebury certainly got through and showed no discomfort whatsoever in his surgically repaired leg, a great sign for everyone involved with Collingwood.
