A couple of years ago, Brent Moloney started a mid-season boxing camp with Matty Whelan.
The idea behind it was to try and fast-track the first and second year players.
Beamer has a background in boxing and he’s pretty good at it, so he knows what he’s talking about. He has a connection with Rod Ryan, our former boxing coach, who is based at Warrnambool and where Beamer comes from.
With boxing, it correlates well with our game. For the younger players, it gives them self-belief and confidence in their own body. If they get hit and can cop the punches, there is no need to worry when they come to playing footy. That’s the reason behind it.
Beamer owns the camp and for me, I wanted to jump on board, help out and develop my leadership. It’s fast-tracked Beamer’s leadership and he really sets a great example around the footy club, with the likes of Jimmy McDonald, who is the No.1 example.
Sam Blease, Max Gawn, Luke Tapscott, Jordan Gysberts, Jack Trengove, Jack Watts, Brent Moloney, Nathan Jones, Col Garland and Jack Fitzpatrick were among the attendees.
2.30pm - Afternoon tea at the McKenzies
“On the way down, we stopped at Jordie McKenzie’s parents place for a ripping afternoon tea. Jordie was unable to come with us, which was unfortunate because he had a uni exam on Wednesday morning.”
5pm - Boxing session at Rod Ryan’s gym
“This was had our first boxing session and that was our first real hit-out. We did some technique work and got used to getting hit. We learned how to protect ourselves.”
6pm - Recovery session
“We had a quick dip in the water and did some body surfing.”
7pm - Dinner and Leading Teams session
“It was a pretty early night because we were up again early.”
Day two - Wednesday
6am - Boxing session
“This was probably our most solid session. We did a warm-up and then went straight into it. For the first sparring session we didn’t wear any head-gear, so some of the boys really copped some hits. But it was a positive session and the boys got a lot of belief and confidence from it. We then had a recovery session and jumped off the big break wall at the end of the beach and had to swim back in.”
10am - Community visits
“We did some community visits, with Beamer being from down that way. We went to a couple of hospitals and signed some Melbourne memorabilia.”
1pm - Leading Teams
“We did a session with Jimmy Plunkett from Leading Teams. They included a ‘stop, start and keep’ session and ‘peer assessments’ of what the players can improve on and what they are doing well. The feedback was positive.”
3.30pm - Boxing gymnasium
“We went to a gym that had a proper boxing ring. We did some more technique work and then did some proper sparring with some head gear. It was really positive to see the quality of the training and how the boys had improved in that short time. It was impressive by the end.”
6.30pm - Dinner at the Moloneys
“Beamer’s parents Greg and Anna and his sister hosted us for dinner. Anna cooked up a huge feast and his sister helped out. It was one of the best home-cooked roasts the boys have ever had. Wednesday was a long day - we were on our feet all day - so it was beautiful to have a roast. Their hospitality was great. We also went to South Warrnambool Football Club - Beamer’s old club - in between the recovery and dinner and that was great to help out with a runaround and kick.”
Day three - Thursday
6am - Boxing session
“We had one last session at Rod’s gym. We did a bit more light sparring and technical work. It was a really positive session, considering where the boys had started on Tuesday.”
9am - Depart Warrnambool
“After the session, we packed up, reviewed the camp and meetings we had. It was a really positive camp and for me, it was the first time I’d been to Warrnambool and to the boxing camp. I really enjoyed it and I’ll be looking to help Beamer out with it again over the next couple of years. I really hope to stay involved in it. You get to know the young guys really well and you get to find out about their personalities and hopefully it will all help us towards reaching our goal a bit quicker.”
