ELITE
WINGING IT
MIXING DEVASTATING SPEED WITH
REMARKABLE LEAPING ABILITY,
PORT ADELAIDE’S CHAD WINGARD IS
ONE OF THE AFL’S MOST ELECTRIFYING
PLAYERS. USE THE RISING STAR’S
TRAINING SECRETS TO HELP
YOURSELF RISE ABOVE THE PACK
BY BEN JHOTY
DON’T BOTHERasking Chad
Wingard who he thinks might
tag him in Port Adelaide’s round
onegameagainstStKildaina
fewweeks.Chancesarehewon’t
haveaclue.Indeed,hemaynot
evenhaveheardoftheplayer.
That’snotbecausehetakeshis
opposition lightly; he just
preferstogeekoutontheNBA
ratherthantheAFL–ithelps
himavoidthehypeandhoopla
that surrounds the game in
footy-mad Adelaide. He doesn’t
read the papers, doesn’t know
thebignamesand,asaresult,
doesn’t fear them either.
“Itdefinitelyhelpsmeinmy
football,” says the 22-year-old,
who last year made the All-
Australian team for the second
time. “I’m not playing blindly,
butIdon’thavetogetworried
about who’s tagging me, or what
they’vedonethepreviousweek.
I’mcompletelyfocusedonthe
task at hand.”
The irony is that as Wingard’s
careertakesoff,youcanbet
opposition players and coaches
know exactly who they’re up
againstandarebusymaking
planstocombathim.
Good luck with that. Already
one of the league’s best small
forwards with 53 goals last year,
he’snowsethissightsonthe
midfield. “You’ve got to
challenge yourself constantly
andnotgetcomplacentwith
where you’re at,” says Wingard,
who grew up in South Australia’s
Murray Bridge. “You’ve got to
find that next thing to achieve.
Being single-minded can really
bring out your best performance.”
There’salottobelearnedfrom
amanonamission–use
Wingard’s training secrets to
make your mark.OVERHAULYOURENGINE
Asaforward,Wingardisableto
usehisspeedtoblastoutof
stoppages and run down
defenders attempting
clearances. “The running I’m
used to is spurt running – theSEECHADFLY
USETHEFREEVIEWAAPP
TO SEE WINGARD’S 2014
MARK OF THE YEAR118 APRIL 2016