Tony Smith is encouraged by the attitude of his Hull FC players this pre-season. Completing week six of training, the Black and Whites have stepped up the intensity, with the head coach getting the response he desired.
Before the preseason began, Smith gave an intensity challenge to Hull Live, and the players accepted it wholeheartedly. There is a sincere desire to impress, particularly in trying times when there have been a few injuries and illnesses.
With a big team and some healthy competition developing, Smith believes that attitude is more important than skill as Hull gets ready for the rigours of another Super League season.
Smith clarified, “The big word that ties it all together is attitude.” “The proper attitude is what we need. Everyone has an attitude, but in order to grow, change, and overcome obstacles in life, we need to have the correct attitude.
That’s what our group is searching for. When things get hard, we not only need that individually but also as a group. Our training involves challenging exercises, so it’s important that participants adjust, accept, and derive pleasure from it.
Once you have that, something fairly potent starts to happen. Right now, they’re just going through all of that while developing their attitudes and relationships. Right now, I can’t find anything wrong with the approach they’re taking.
As we approach week seven of the preseason, the team will soon disband for the Christmas season. Smith has put together a plan to make sure the players return to training fired up, though, because he doesn’t want to lose the ground they’ve already gained.
Smith declared, “We’ll take a break over Christmas.” “They’ll spend about a week on a home programme. It’s crucial that players and staff spend time with their families, but on certain days, a few will need to be supervised during their rehab programmes.
We also have a keen awareness of the fact that we would hate to lose the progress we have made thus far. Right now, we’re conducting testing once more. It’s fantastic that they’re exceeding their personal bests from the previous year almost entirely. That demonstrates their improved physical condition and their methodical approach to the situation.
We have put them to the test in every area of their fitness and well-being. Despite being slightly unwell, one of our players came within a few seconds of a personal best. They’re doing great physically, I can’t really complain. It appears that the programmes are effective, but the players deserve praise for their self-motivation.
They want to reach new heights, and we require that. We want people to stay in that phase for the entire season. We want them to get better every single week. They are currently checking those kinds of boxes.
Hull has balanced the fitness and rugby aspects of pre-season so far, but after Christmas, the team will lean more towards the latter. Conditioning will still be a priority, and Smith will go over the drills that combine the two.
Before Christmas, “we’re managing the two pretty well,” he continued. “Right now, the physical department most likely takes precedence over the players. But they also mesh really well with the rugby coaching team.
In order to get them ready for games, we’re combining them and having them complete a lot of fitness drills. They currently do a lot of that, but as game time approaches after Christmas, the coaches will start to prioritise it more.
“There will be less emphasis on the conditioning aspect of things and more pitch time for us. Still, we will be attempting to increase our fitness up until the first round, and we hope to keep doing that throughout the year. It’s been a really good build up so far.”
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