PRE-SEASON’S end was a chance for Ballarat ‘sons of the west’ to go Inside the Club at Whitten Oval.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
More than 300 men from across Western Bulldogs’ western front, stretching from Melbourne’s West to Ballarat, went for advice and insight from specialists in the club’s football department.
The exclusive event was for the the Bulldogs’ Sons of the West men’s health pre-season program graduates. Any men who had attended at least six sessions were invited.
An hour-long panel discussion featured Bulldogs’ pro scout Dan Fisher, sports dietitian Claire Saundry, sports science assistants Nathan Pitchford and David Corbett, physical conditioning coordinator Nick Stone and sports psychologist Lisa Stevens.
Graduates also broke into groups to participate in some physical activity on the Bulldogs’ home turf.
The pre-season program offered workshops in recognising potential barriers to exercise, mental health, nutrition, as well as musculoskeletal condition, injuries and exercise.
It was a taste of the Sons of the West premiership program, which is set to launch in late May.
Programs aim to offer free sessions encouraging men to take up simple, healthy activities and improving general men’s health awareness in a fun and inclusive environment.
The program was introduced to Ballarat last year, with bases in Sebastopol and Wendouree.
They produced a combined 76 graduates while in comparison, the Bulldogs’ five Melbourne-based Sons of the West programs had a combined 94 graduates. Sebastopol and Wendouree graduates continue to socialise and meet up for exercise informally before the pre-season program launch.
This year’s pre-season program involved more than 600 men across seven local government areas and 13 sites in the western suburbs and into Ballarat, including bases in Werribee, Sunbury, Newport, Melton, Footscray and Deer Park.
The club aims to address some of the state’s toughest health issues found in western Victoria, in which the rate of sedentary men in Melton is almost double the state average and 19.3 per cent of Central Highlands men are classed obese.