LEAVING no stone unturned in its preparation for the 2012 season, Gold Coast has decided to send four of its injured contingent to Arizona to ensure the club has the foursome fit for round one.
Sam Day, Josh Caddy, Trent McKenzie and Josh Toy are the four Gold Coast players heading for 15 days of intensive altitude training at Flagstaff University in Arizona with the Suns hoping all will be available for the season opener against Adelaide on March 31.
The four will be accompanied by high performance manager Andrew Weller and assistant coach Dean Solomon.
Day, 19, played seven games in his debut season before succumbing to a knee injury after the round 14 win against the Brisbane Lions. He has subsequently endured an "annoying" summer but is thrilled to be given a chance to play in round one.
"I only started running two and a half months ago," Day said
"It's an exciting time, the start of the season is rolling around, all the boys around the club are hyped up, ready to go.
"It would be great to be a part of that this year."
The South Australian product certainly sees the benefits of a trip to Arizona to train at altitude, saying he hopes to use the trip to "get that fitness base back and build from there".
"The four guys that are going over again didn't quite get the benefits [last time] because we couldn't do as much training as the main group," Day said.
"This time we'll be doing a lot more running.
"Hopefully we can catch up to the rest of the group and get our times back to standard.
"You can definitely notice [the impact of altitude training] when you get back down to ground level. I love how much easier it is to breathe."
Solomon said a trip to Arizona is just what the four youngsters on the comeback trail from injury need after interrupted pre-seasons.
"We see it as being the right thing to send them back to Arizona and give them a little boost before round one," Solomon said.
"It makes real sense to send them to speed up their fitness levels and get them right."
While the long-term benefits will he plentiful for the young Suns, the players should not expect a holiday in the Grand Canyon State.
"There will be very little time off," Solomon said.
"It will be a full program."
