Pushed to the limits – fitness guru building a stronger and faster Pride

SCOTT Callaghan knows how to make a footy player sweat.

Not just a trickle of perspiration, but a cascade that slicks the skin akin to a monsoonal downpour.

As the Northern Pride strength and conditioning coach, Callaghan has worked with players since November to hone their bodies for the coming Queensland Cup season.

It’s a big responsibility. Few contact sports in the world demand the potent mix of power and speed that rugby league does from its athletes.

Physiques must be fortified with enough muscle to withstand impacts equivalent to a small car crash, but also infused with adequate agility to scythe through an opponent’s defensive line. Finding the right blend is an evolving science.

Callaghan started training the Pride in their debut year in 2008, and is constantly updating his knowledge to ensure the club remains one of the physical benchmarks of the Queensland Cup.

“It’s a learning process,” he says. “This was the first thing like this that I’d done (in 2008). You had guys coming back from the Cowboys at that stage, and it was a bit intimidating to step up and tell them, ‘This is what you’re doing’. And Duney (inaugural coach Andrew Dunneman) was an intimidating sort of character anyway. He was always looking over your shoulder to see what’s going on. But you learn and plan more.

“Maido (Pride coach David Maiden) is good in that you say to him ‘What do you think?’ or ‘Do you want something in particular?’. He says, ‘Look, I’ll leave it in your hands – you’re good’ and we’ll talk about what we’re going to do. We want the players to come back stronger and faster every year. Definitely, strength’s up pretty much across the board from last year, which is what we want to see.”

But a trainer is only as successful as the dedication he inspires in his clients.

Callaghan praises the Pride’s work ethic on the training paddock, crediting the senior players for setting lofty standards teammates can aspire to.

“It’s the guys like Ty (Williams), Rod Jensen and Ando (Brett Anderson) leading the way,” Callaghan said. “They’ll occasionally have their whinges, but only when they feel something is not going anywhere. You see them getting stuck in. If they’re doing something that’s moving them ahead, moving them forward, then they’re happy.”

The Pride’s first trial match is against the North Queensland Cowboys under-20s in Townsville on February 11