Revolution Raring to Tackle the Northwind

The Revolution squad that will take on the Canadian Northwind in the 49th Parallel Cup in Edmonton, Alberta, on August 3 has been announced and it is the best squad to be named in his time, according to Head Coach Matt Bishop.

"The selection process was the hardest we have completed since 2009 with interest in the program at an all time high and as a result several recent Revolution players have not been selected in this squad."

Fifty-two players from 20 USAFL clubs attended a training and selection camp in Los Angeles in early March and they were put through their paces over a grueling day and a half of activities. The player group consisted of many Revolution veterans as well as first time potential Revolution players, including 16 under the age of 25. More importantly six of those players were under the age of 21, with the youngest at 15.

The camp began with the first meeting at 6am on Saturday morning where players were briefed about  the fitness testing they were about to undertake. The fitness testing included a range of activities to test the player's strength, speed, agility and endurance. The top results for each activity were outstanding:

3km Time Trial: 10 mins 44 secs - Cameron Freeman (Florida Redbacks)
Beep Test: level 14.5 - Cameron Freeman (Florida Redbacks)
20m Sprint: 2.9 secs - Shawn Furlong (Columbus Jackaroos)
AFL Agility Test: 7.0 secs - Michael Murphy (New York Magpies) & Ryan McGettigan (Philadelphia Hawks)
*times were faster than typical AFL Agility Test times as cones were used, not poles.

Strength Test (max per 60 secs):
Burpees: 31 - Michael Murphy (New York Magpies)
Squats: 76 - Jake Moyer (Baltimore DC Eagles) and Stephen Fashant (Minnesota Freeze)
Push Ups: 73 - Andy Vanica (Denver Bulldogs)
Sit Ups: 90 - Jesse Carcamo (Houston Lonestars)

The players were then put through a skills session by Assistant Coach Jason Becker. The session was not only designed to assess players' skills but to also provide them with drills that they can take back and use at their own clubs, even with a small number of players at training.

The lunch session on the day 1 included a review of the AFL Laws for 2013 and an overview of the plans for the Revolution program through to the 2014 AFL International Cup. After lunch the players were back out at the field working on the team's game plan.

The evening activities were based heavily on team building with Assistant Coach Denis Ryan conducting a "Leading Teams" session on team culture and communication. This was followed by a talent night where teams of 5-6 players demonstrated their skills outside the realm of football. It was an entertaining evening where the players learnt much about their peers. Finally the evening concluded with the squad making their own version of the "Harlem Shake" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ingmarg5ZnA

The players were back at it on Sunday morning with a 6am meeting on the fitness results and fundraising opportunities for the program. From there the players began preparing for games later in the morning.

The Revolution squad was divided into two teams, Revolution Red and Revolution Blue, and they played each other in 2 x 20min games and each team also played a Southern California Australian Football League (SCAFL) representative team. All three games were played competitively and in good spirits. The Revolution are very grateful for the assistance provided by Coach Chris McNeill (and the Orange County Bombers) and Coach John Fragomeni (and the Los Angeles Dragons team) during the weekend and helping to organize the games.

The overall outcome from the training camp was that it provided the coaching staff with a significant amount of information on all the players and subsequently the following squad has been selected to play Canada:

Bryan Dragus (Golden Gate Roos)
Stephen Fashant (Minnesota Freeze)
Brent Fischer (Minnesota Freeze)
Eric Floyd (Louisville Kings)
Cameron Freeman (Florida Redbacks)
Danny Hansen (Minnesota Freeze)
Kyle Johnson (Golden Gate Roos)
Ryan Kastl (Seattle Grizzlies)
Daniel Lehane (New York Magpies)
Ryan McGettigan (Philadelphia Hawks)
Brent Mergen (Minnesota Freeze)
Tyler Mounce (Orange County Bombers)
Jacob Moyer (Baltimore Washington Eagles)
Luke Nemeth (Nashville Kangaroos)
Chet Ridenour (Columbus Jackaroos)
Dan Sarbacker - Captain (Chicago Swans)
Kevin Stanley (Seattle Grizzlies)
Saleh Tyebjee (Sacramento Suns)
Andy Vanica (Denver Bulldogs)
Kevin Waden (Golden Gate Roos)
Rob Ward (Columbus Jackaroos)
Zach Weaver (Minnesota Freeze)
Andrew Werner - Vice Captain (Minnesota Freeze)
Jason Wilhelm - Chicago Swans

Emergencies

Melvin Chen (Golden Gate Roos)
Noor Jehangir (Austin Crows)
Mat Kiefer (Kansas City Power)
Robert Sears (Golden Gate Roos)
Robert Strange (Baltimore Washington Eagles)

Plans to have the squad prepared the best they have ever been are now being implemented, as are plans to bring together the most talented group of Under 25 players in to the Development Squad.

Thank you to all the players that attended the camp and congratulations to those selected in the team. Finally thank you to the coaching staff, Team Manager Greg Borchardt, Team Trainer Steve Budrick and my wife Amy for all your support.

Matt Bishop
Coach, USA Revolution