New Signings & Pre-Season Training : Thu Nov 24, 2011 7:36 pm
The club will be announcing two more signings for 2012 on their website tomorrow morning...Meanwhile the Dons start their pre-season campaign this weekend with a trip to the east coast. The players and coaches will be walking from Scarborough to Whitby which is certainly not as easy as it sounds.
As the crow flies it's approximately 20 miles but following the coastline makes it a challenging 26 miles. And to make things worse the players will be carrying a 50kg log with them as well as their rucksacks.
The players will split up into three or four groups and will start the walk at 8:30am on Saturday morning. The teams will have to demonstrate good teamwork as it's a very demanding walk in places. The Ravenscar area is particularly tough with bleak and windy conditions and peaks at 631 feet above sea level.
This will be the second time the club has used the walk as a pre-season opener and it is more than a worthwhile activity according to the Dons' fitness conditioner Pete Bell: "The lads got a lot out of it last year but it was very tough going as we had the heavy snow to deal with.
"I've checked the weather forecast ahead of this weekend's trip and have been told that it is going to be fine which is good news for the players!
"Last year there were quite a few of the lads who thought it was going to be easy but it suddenly became quiet around 5 miles in to the walk.
"Because of the snow we had, it took almost 8 and a half hours to complete but I'm hoping they will finish it much quicker this year and the aim is 6 and a half hours.
"I'm really looking forward to the weekend and I'm sure it will prove to be a good team bonding session with the old and new players that have joined the club.
"There's no doubt that it's a very tough walk so the players will need to be well-prepared - I've advised them to take plenty of food and fluids for the journey."
The team will be staying in Whitby overnight but will have an early start on Sunday morning and will be participating in various goal setting and team building exercises before heading back home.
"The players will become very familiar with a particular Whitby attraction on Sunday morning - in fact all 199 steps of it!" added Bell.
