Swansea City Under-18s Austria pre-season
2nd July
Swansea City head to Austria for a two-week intensive training camp as part of their 2016-17 pre-season preparations this weekend.
The young Swans will be based at Südstadt National Sport and Recreation Centre, south of Vienna, as part of an Erasmus-funded education trip.
The extensive complex offers facilities for a number of sports and is used as a training base for Austrian athletes heading to this summer's Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
And U18s coach Eric Ramsay believes the trip will offer the squad the perfect opportunity and environment to get match fit ahead of the new campaign before a pre-season warm-up game against Hull on July 15.
"We will be located at a really good setting and hope to get the best from the squad at a top class training environment," He said.
"The trip will also allow us to get involved with some education and sight-seeing activities, allowing our young players to discover some culture whilst in a new country.
"The trip is an ideal opportunity to blend the group together and give our first year players and introduction of how we work and what it is like to be a scholar.
"We plan to have an intense few weeks of training to get all our players match fit ahead of a the new season, rounded off with a pre-season friendly against Hull City's Academy, who are also in Austria.
"Last season gave us a real understanding of what Category One football is like, we want to build on that season and this two weeks will help our players prepare for that."
On Friday, the U18s reported back to Landore Training Ground for fitness test and assessments with the clubs Doctor, physios and medical team.
The young players took part in a number of routine health checks including a concussion and cardio vascular (heart) assessments.
"The checks are basically like a health MOT for their body," said U18s physio Amr Bayoumi.
"We carry them out every year with all the academy players to make sure everything is okay and whether there is anything we need to further assess before the season starts.
"The players have a medical with the doctor and strength and condition tests with us to make sure everything is in good working order.
"The cardiac health of our players is very important. The players have to go through an intense season so we screen to make sure their bodies can handle that high level of intensity for a long period of time."
