Westy's Pre Game Preparation.

[wimberga]

Posted this on Big Footy but got no responses.

Alot of people in the game say that Scott West's Pre Match Preperation is the best of any player they have ever seen. Just wondering if anyone actually knows what he does??

[Dry Rot]

Posted this on Big Footy but got no responses.

Alot of people in the game say that Scott West's Pre Match Preperation is the best of any player they have ever seen. Just wondering if anyone actually knows what he does??

Do you mean immediately prior to the game or during the week eg focusing on tactics, his match-up etc?

[wimberga]

I suppose it would be a bit of both Dry Rot. Iv just seen it in many articles that his preperation for each game should be a model for all those young players in the squad.

[Dry Rot]

I suppose it would be a bit of both Dry Rot. Iv just seen it in many articles that his preperation for each game should be a model for all those young players in the squad.

Didn't he also criticise the group as a whole for poor preparation?

[LostDoggy]

Posted this on Big Footy but got no responses.

Alot of people in the game say that Scott West's Pre Match Preperation is the best of any player they have ever seen. Just wondering if anyone actually knows what he does??


I need to have a look around for this information. I'm sure I have seen it reported somewhere.

[wimberga]

Yes i believe in one of hte articles earlier in the year. He critiscized the way many of the younger players preperation. It was hte same article that he said he wanted Eade to get tougher next season.

[LostDoggy]

I think this is what you are after. Part 1

ON THE day before the Bulldogs' clash with the Swans, veteran Scott West talks about his preference for travelling early, his pre-match routine, and his desire to see more of the nation's capital, during his store appearance at the Diadora store in Brand Depot, Majura Road, Canberra.

Personally, I come a day earlier than the rest of the team for a couple of reasons.

One, I'm a terrible flyer. I don't sleep well the night before flying. Two, I also don't like to be rushed. I like to get to the place early and be a little bit more relaxed.

We trained on Friday morning, and we're not doing anything on Saturday morning, so I came up Friday afternoon, about 4.30pm. I had to do something for work before I had dinner and an early night.

I had a sleep-in this morning, had some breakfast, and I saw Luke Darcy at the hotel just before and he looked reasonably tired after the early-morning flight.

I haven't always come up early, and for the rest of the players it usually depends on the trip. Because this one is only 45 minutes to an hour away, they tend to get up here with the shortest amount of time available for the guys to get distracted.

I just find that as I get older I like to have time to settle into the place we're playing at and get a good night's sleep the night before the game.

I'm a lot more relaxed if I do, and I don't know if it makes me play any better or any worse, but it helps me with my preparation.

I'm afraid of flying. It's another way of saying I'm a scaredy-cat. I've haven't always been afraid of it – I used to love flying. I've been to Ireland a couple of times, and America, Hawaii, Hong Kong, so I've been to some places, but we had an incident on one of our flights to Adelaide four or five years ago and ever since then, I've been very nervous about it.

I know you can't fall out of the sky, because I've read up on it, but that's what it felt like. We sort of fell, and then we went up and fell again, and now I just get that sensation every time I fly.

It's just a bit of anxiety. I know "Granty" is also not a huge fan of flying, but also having the kids too makes it worse as you don't have a sense of control. If we were all on the same flight, I think it would be a little less daunting, but I think I make other people nervous.

I think I'm dragging everyone down with me, so it's good I fly early.

Selfishly, I room by myself when we travel. I'm at an age now where I don't need to share with someone. A lot of people say I should room with a younger player, with my experience, but we see each other enough during the day.

We train together, we eat together, we have team meetings together … the only time we're really in our rooms is to watch a bit of TV and sleep.

I also have three kids at home, and I think I need a good night's sleep every now and again.

The day before the match we keep things very low key. We'll go and have some lunch after this store appearance, and then all the other guys will fly in and we'll meet them at Manuka Oval for a training session.

After that, we'll go back to the hotel for a bit of physio, a bit of dinner, a meeting, off to bed, and we start again tomorrow.

Guys do their own thing in the hotel the night before an interstate match. Some get physio and massage, some eat dinner longer than others, and some congregate in rooms to watch movies or play cards.

It's usually match day we all come together, starting with a team breakfast. People have to understand we're with each other a lot these days because we're professional footballers, so coming away has changed a lot.

When we weren't full-time, it was a great chance to get to know each other and do all that, but now it's just a profession and it's what you do.

It would be nice to see a bit of Canberra while we're here. We had our Community Camp up here in February, and it's probably a little bit of a bug bear of mine that Manuka is going to be our "home" ground and we didn't get any opportunity to see anything.

We went past the War Memorial and Parliament House, but I thought it would have been great for them to give us time to go in and see them.

I know it's important to get out to the schools and do all the community stuff, but I think for us to grasp the concept of coming here and playing and really gain an appreciation for the place, we need to go out and see those sorts of things.

Unfortunately, we haven't had a chance to do it yet, and we certainly won't get a chance to do it this weekend. It's maybe something our club and the AFL should look at.

[LostDoggy]

Part 2

SPEAKING after the Bulldogs' loss to the Swans at Manuka Oval in Canberra, Scott West talks about what he did the night before the match, how his pre-match routine panned out, and why he loves hotels with swimming pools.

After we finished training yesterday, we went back to the hotel and I had some physio done, I had a massage and then I had a swim. We had a team meeting, then there was dinner, and then it was about relaxing.

I watched a bit of television and then I went to bed. It was very nice to have the peace and quiet, although the guy in the room next to me was a bit noisy, but I'll forgive him.

It's always nice to have your own time and think about what's ahead.

Once we got back to the hotel, our time was in our own hands so I went for a swim. It's just what I like to do, as it loosens the back up and I walked a few laps, swam a few laps. It's just my preference.

Our pre-match routine is a lot different when we're interstate. We get up, probably a little bit earlier than usual, because you go to bed so much earlier, and we went down and had some brekkie.

I then went back to the room and put my bathers on for another swim, walked in the water, had another stretch for about 40 minutes, and then I listened to my iPod for a bit before I needed to be on the bus at 11am.

I spend so much time in the water because I like wet weather conditions. No, not really. Swimming is just something I've always done, probably for the last five or six years especially, and I've swum three or four times a week.

I get a bit of mobility that way, so I don't have to run and I stay off the legs a bit more.

It's important to find something that works for you, and that certainly works for me.

I am really looking forward to getting home now the game is over.

Some lucky player will get to sit next to me on the plane on the way home. They're all probably in the rooms now, drawing straws on who gets the job.

Whoever wins is certainly going to lose out.

[LostDoggy]

Slighlty off the topic

WITH the Bulldogs in Canberra for the weekend we took the opportunity to chat to Luke Darcy, Robert Murphy and Cameron Wight about their likes, dislikes and experiences of interstate travel – and they also told us why Scott West is considered a high-maintenance teammate.

Do you like travelling interstate for matches?


LD: "It's a chance to get a good night's sleep. I've got three young kids, so I certainly enjoy that part. I slept well tonight, but I'd prefer to be at home."


RM: "I like some bits of travelling, but not all of it. Some guys are pretty pedantic about little things, but I'm fairly relaxed in that way.

"I room with Daniel Giansiracusa every time we travel, and there are some things you just get used to. He and I are used to each other, and we're like a little old married couple. You get used to it, and you find out what works for you best."

CW: "I do enjoy travelling sometimes, it's good to be in a different area from Melbourne. I'm not sure exactly how much I've travelled but probably for about five or six games now.

"I'm starting to get used to what to do, and how to prepare for the game and that sort of stuff."

Who are the best – and worst – Bulldogs to room with when on the road?

LD: "You tend to pull rank and get your own room as you get older. As I've got three young kids, I don't really particularly want to room with an 18- or 19-year-old while I get the chance to get away.

"I've had a few different roommates over the years. I roomed with Scott West once, which was the worst experience I've ever had.

"He's obsessed with there being no light in the room, and when he went to bed, he taped the actual curtains so no light gets through. He brings his own masking tape.


"He even pulled down the exit light, because that was causing him grief. It was the most stressful thing I've been involved in throughout my whole life.


"He rooms on his own now."

RM: "I wouldn't want to room with ‘Westy’, because when he doesn't like his pillow, he has been known to punch it. He's quite particular about his pillow. I think he takes his own now. He's a bit highly-strung.

"Gia and I get along well. I'm a good sleeper, you see, so I go straight out to it and don't make a peep. He thinks that's great.

"It's not the conversation or the companionship, it's the fact that I don't make a noise. He gets the run of the room, basically."

CW: "It varies who I room with. I've roomed with Will Minson a couple of times.

"Blokes that don't snore are the best to room with. Will is one of the worst – he's just a smelly kid."

Do any of your teammates have strange travelling superstitions?

LD: "Scott West has got a few issues. He's not a great flyer, and Chris Grant is another horrible flyer as well. You try and avoid them.

"I try and avoid superstitions. In my youth, I had quite a few.

"The only thing I do that is superstitious is I still run around the banner. I tripped over the banner in my third game and brought the whole side down.

"That's more of a practical thing now, rather than a superstitious thing."


RM: “I'm sure ‘Westy’ would drive interstate if he could, as he's not a great flyer, and neither is ‘Granty’. But they're just two weird men anyway, so they're going to be weird wherever you take them.

"Overall, there's not too many surprises with our bunch. They all think I'm a bit strange."

CW: "Flying can be hard. I'm not that good a flyer.

"I get the sweaty palms. I don't sit next to ‘Westy’ though, as he's just as bad as me.

"My first interstate game wasn't great. It was against Fremantle, and it was a few years ago. I remember it well because I broke my nose that day, so it wasn't a good first experience interstate."

What travel tips can you share with young players yet to hit the road?

LD: "The big tip is about over-eating. You have so much time and there is a buffet, and every time, there is someone who will go interstate, eat too much food, blow out, and can't perform.

"I still do it myself. I look down and I think, ‘I don't need that, I wouldn't eat that if I was at home’, but you have too much time on your hands.

"Trying to eat what you'd normally eat is a big tip."

RM: "The most challenging thing about travelling is the quality of sides you play.

"Generally, the interstate sides are the ones in the top eight. On their home deck, they seem to get extra confidence, so you're always up against it.

"You have to be playing at your absolute best to beat a side interstate."

CW: "I haven't really picked up any tips yet, just that you get there early.

"You just have to get rid of the jet-lag, if you're going to Perth or Darwin, and make sure you really acclimatise to the conditions up there."

[wimberga]

Ahh thanks very much for those articles BB

Was laughing pretty hard when Darcy was talking about Westy obsessing in the room LOL

[Bulldog Revolution]

Its a great insight into the meticulous preparation of West - the absolute knowing of what it takes for him to consistently perform at the high level he does. The extra swimming and stretching which all adds up over a year to avoid the soft tissue injuries that plague other players.

[mjp]

Here is the text of a West article I have saved from 2001.
=======================================
An unknown achiever

IT'S round six of the 1993 season and a talented teenager named Scott West is making his first trip interstate with Footscray. A week
earlier, the kid had played a great game, got under the guard of Essendon and kicked six goals.

Confidence was naturally high as the veteran of five games ran on to Subiaco Oval ... but it didn't last long. By the end of the day, he left the ground black and blue and football had turned sour for the dogged 18yearold from Keilor.

West lay on the floor of the dressing room, redeyed with emotions and pondering football life. ``I never wanted to go to Western Australia and play footy there again. Directly after the game, I was pretty shattered about it.

``To be on such a high the week before, the highest of highs, and then the lowest of lows within two weeks, you really knew you were in league footy then.

``You certainly have to enjoy your good times when they come, but you have a lot more down times than good times,'' he said.

Football has been a rollercoaster ride for West. Even the highs have provided him with lows but that first low turned into a lesson that hasn't been lost on the midfielder.

``It was one of those situations when a young guy had kicked a few goals the week before. I hadn't travelled before in a senior team, went over to the west and got some pretty close attention from Johnny Worsfold and Chris Lewis. At that stage, I thought, `These mongrels, how could they have thought of even doing that?' but it was probably one of the best things that could have happened to me at that stage.

``It was a real eyeopener. It was what footy was about, so I have probably got them to thank. They let me know what senior footy was about, and it was not going to be all chocolates and roses. It was going to be tough at times.''

During the 1996 season, he was dogged by injury and unsure of what the future held for him or Footscray, but that was the start of the rise. Yet that, too, has provided the most miserable of lows. Beaten in preliminary finals by eventual premier Adelaide in both 1997 and 1998, West is well aware of what the consequences could be from the losses.

``I think about the missed opportunity. The window of opportunity comes ... well, you don't really know how many times. We have had it there twice, we are just hoping like hell it is there for a third, fourth, fifth time, but you just can't count on it.'' Yet, according to Terry Wallace, West leaves little to chance.

``He is the benchmark, Chris Grant is the superstar, but Scott West is the benchmark,'' said Wallace. ``To him, second best is not good enough. In an elite competition, a lot of players are satisfied to be there, but not him.''

It is a trait Wallace hopes West never loses. ``I remember four or five years ago, after his first best and fairest, the other players were a bit jack of him. We were running to Skinner Reserve and he was doing it like it was a fourkilometre time trial. The others were saying, `You don't have to compete all the time'.

``So I took him aside and said, `Don't let it get you down'. It is a team game, but individuals must get the best out of themselves.''
West looks comfortable among the elite but leaves you with a sense that he would find comfort no matter where he was.

He is a football talent but unknown achiever.

With sporting ability inherited from both parents, West has won premierships at local level with Strathmore; played in Essendon Grammar's first 18, usually the domain of 17 and 18yearolds, as a 14yearold; toured the United States with a basketball team at about the same time; ended up in the Footscray under19s as a 15yearold and won three best and fairest trophies, a team that included the champion Grant and two Brownlow medallists in Scott Wynd and Tony Liberatore.

He is an All-Australian and a celebrated rookie. It all goes to making him one of the most decorated players in the game today but there
has been a lack of media attention.

West reckons good publicity is fine, bad publicity is rotten and no publicity is preferable. Quite happy to let Chris Grant have the headlines, he obviously likes to go about his job with the minimum amount of fuss.

``Sometimes I think it is unfair on Chris that he has got to put up with all the pressure of being a superstar, but it does help a little bit (to take the pressure off others). His name is up in lights all the time and he well and truly deserves it,'' West said.

``If you read in the papers that Scott West is a superstar, then the people out there automatically think he is. Then it puts you under added pressure, where if nothing is written about you, people can make their minds up as you play and that is the way I like it.''

While the lack of personal kudos doesn't ruffle the feathers, he thinks the Bulldogs have not gained the praise the team deserves. ``It was very annoying at the time we (started) playing very good football,'' he said.

``YOU would pick up the papers the next day and they were talking about missed opportunities, Carlton missed a goal or Essendon didn't kick well or couldn't have played any worse. It wasn't, `The Western Bulldogs have really turned the football world on its ear', `They're playing really good football', `Their game's style hasn't been seen' and `They are hard at the ball'. That is what you want to read.

``I think people were looking at what other teams were doing wrong, not what we were doing well.''

Still only 24, West has being doing things well for most of his 126matches, but the past two years have been superb, winning backtoback bestandfairests.

This year, his goal is to play for Victoria (remarkably, he has not won selection to the Big V) and for the Bulldogs to see action on the last day of September.

``To play a state game, especially if it's going to be the last, would be special. Last year, I did an ankle the week prior to the game and the year before, I got into the squad and didn't get picked.

``It might be a little bit selfish, but people have got to have those ambitions. Also to go one step further and make a grand final would be good. But to win roundone, that would be a very good start for us,'' he said.

Wallace doesn't see anything selfish in West's ambitions. ``He was pretty dirty two years ago when he never got to play. We always encourage our players to achieve the best levels they can be a part of and not to shy away from it.''

Wallace believes there is a maturity in West - who has a similar game and football philosophy to his coach - that will produce even better football in coming years.

``His naturals are not as high (as some other players), but he has a desire to push himself,'' said Wallace.

Former Essendon premiership player and now Magpie Rick Olarenshaw has been watching West push himself since the two were teammates at Essendon Grammar, rivals in the Essendon District League and neighbors in Keilor.

``Scotty has always worked really hard. He has always had great skills, plenty of skills, but has developed his game in tight,'' said Olarenshaw.

``He was always levelheaded, good at anything he did. He was always wellliked. We've always been friends, we speak regularly. Now that he has gone to the next level and I am at my second club, I probably go to him for advice.''

As juniors, West and Olarenshaw would be teammates on a Friday afternoon playing for Essendon Grammar under the tutelage of Ken
Fletcher, then go off to their respective teams at the weekend, be it Keilor (Olarenshaw) and Strathmore (West) or Essendon and Footscray in the under19s or reserves.

``I've played on him in small stints, not a full game. He is very smart and covers a lot of ground. It's really hard because he is so good in tight and you can't play wide of him because he gets too much of the ball,'' said Olarenshaw.

West admits he doesn't always like the rough and tumble of modern day footy and the constant presence of a tagger.

``It is something that you have got to put up with,'' he says. ``Footy works in strange ways, you have to become the best player that you can and then all of a sudden, they want you to stop you from becoming it.

``You have to look at it as a positive that the other coach has thought that much of you that he is putting a player on you to give you a hard time to try and stop you.''

West will give other coaches plenty to worry about this year, but not his own.

``When I put my head on the pillow, before grand final day, or preliminary final day, or any day, I don't have to worry about Scott West,'' said Wallace.

[Bulldog Revolution]

another great insight