Are You Truly Prepared

Each year, dedicated footy players looking to make the leap from the NAB or local competition to the AFL or state league choose Prepare Like A Pro services.

Their goal: Prepare for the biggest job interview of their life, the AFL Draft Combine, and their first year on an AFL/state league list.

Prepare Like A Pro (PLP)

A training program that is designed to help you develop a strong, balanced, well-conditioned body that moves well and is free from injury. This football-based training program is suitable for all levels of strength and fitness, from beginners to the most elite athletes in the country. I want to teach you the techniques I use to perform these movements in the safest and most efficient way possible to help you achieve your goals. This program has everything you need to develop all your physical capacities to better prepare yourself to play the game of football at the highest level.

First create the program based on your unique biomechanical + positional needs, athletic testing results, and goals. This program includes closely monitored, supervised all the support you need to unlock your potential. I will personalize your weekly strength and conditioning programs to work with your schedule and advise you when its best to do your upper or lower body weights sessions in conjunction with your conditioning sessions. It’s not just about having the best programs, it’s also about when you do them and the life you live that ensures you get the maximum effect.

The first step toward achieving REAL gains in athletic performance starts with a truly accurate assessment of an athlete’s mental & physical condition.

Fitness testing, Medical history, outside football life interests. I make use of the latest technical research to inform my coaching and programming.

Screening

My scientific screening and physical evaluation tests enable us to tailor an athlete’s program to meet his/her unique needs. Specific upper and lower body, front and back strength tests discover any muscular imbalances, which may have resulted from prior training habits or injuries.

Combine Event Training

The single most important part of preparing for the combine. As each event requires its own specific set of skills, each must be addressed individually. Here the athlete will learn how to perform each specific event in the most efficient manner possible. Practice makes perfect, but actually improving one’s mechanics makes results even better. There are strategies to taking any test and the AFL Combine is no different. Ultimately our objective is to make our clients Master Test Takers. No athlete at the combine will be better prepared and that knowledge will instill the confidence that will allow peak performance.

Results you can expect following my program:

• BODY SIZE: Body mass & Skinfolds
• STRENGTH: 3RM Trap bar, Benchpress, Prone row, Box squat
• POWER: Vertical jump test + 5m run-up
• SPEED: 20 m sprint (5 & 10m Splits included)
• AGILITY: AFL agility test
• ENDURANCE: YO-YO test and 2-kilometer time trial
• MOBILITY: Sit and reach test

Lifestyle

What an athlete puts in their body is the foundation of athletic preparation and a true sign of athletes’ commitment to success. The key is learning the knowledge to make good decisions that allow athletes to perform at their best. My advice helps the athlete with the right meal type, energy, nutrients, and fluids to keep the body well hydrated and functioning at peak levels.

What are the benefits?

Increased knowledge on how much to sleep/eat and when Develop better lifestyle habits to help you achieve your goals

An AFL experienced coach providing you specific advice on what you currently and what are the most important things to change

Access to my sleep + nutrition private presentations exclusive designed specifically to develop the athletes I coach.

Sprint Training

I believe sprinting on a regular basis is one of the most important physical training methodologies for Football players. It is possible to improve one’s 5, 10, and 20-meter times. Understanding proper stance, first-3 step technique, use of arms and acceleration, maximum velocity mechanics.

Strength, Power, Agility Training

Each athlete is different, but a stronger, better-balanced athlete will perform better at every combine event. Max force production is the ceiling to all athletic tasks. My program may include maximum Strength ie working up to a rep max for the day, Dynamic Effort or velocity-based training, Repetition/Time under tension training to develop body armor, Plyometrics, Isometronics, or eccentrics for performance and or injury prevention/body management. Very often all it may take is a change in intent for an athlete to make break plateaue and or enjoy training again.

Flexibility Training

Flexibility is one of the most overlooked components of training the athlete. The PLP program places special focus on flexibility as we recognize the dramatic effects it can have on performance and its importance in reducing muscle soreness.

Anaerobic / Aerobic Conditioning

This is accomplished through our one-of-a-kind “Dynamic Warm-up.”  Learning this skill alone has been proven to increase our client’s results.

Recovery Techniques

Most athletes who come to us know how to train hard, but few know how to train smart and read their bodies to make smart decisions to change their training and still get high-performance results. Merely increasing the workload without a change in lifestyle habits or understanding of how the body adapts is a disaster waiting to happen. In fact, proper recovery is the absolute key to performance and improvement. We accelerate the recovery process for the athlete with the best restoration methods available. This includes advice on Self-care, cold baths, and nutrition supplementation.

Jack McLean

Jack McLean is the founder of Prepare Like a Pro. He loves coaching people so that they can reach their personal/professional goals and become the best that they can possibly be. He is currently the Strength & Rehab Coach of Melbourne Football Club and has worked as Strength & Conditioning Coach at Hawthorn Football Club. Jack is a Level 3 Australian Strength & Conditioning Association and Professional Coach and a Level 1 Australian Weightlifting Federation Coach.