Port Adelaide captain Travis Boak turns to Olympic sprinter Andre de Grasse and Mick Fanning’s breathing coach to stay on top of his game

PORT Adelaide captain Travis Boak has turned to breathing training and alternative recovery techniques to better hold his nerve in big moments this year and ensure he joins two other Power guns in being fit for Saturday’s season opener.

Port Adelaide Power captain Travis Boak stretches during his press conference at Alberton on Monday. Picture: AAP Image/Morgan Sette

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PORT Adelaide captain Travis Boak has turned to breathing training and alternative recovery techniques to be fit for Saturday’s season opener and better hold his nerve in big moments this year.

The skipper who has been nursing a sore hamstring on Monday declared himself, Sam Powell-Pepper (shoulder) and Tom Rockliff (knee) all set to play Fremantle at Adelaide Oval on Saturday after overcoming injury niggles.

Having trained with Olympic 100m and 200m medallist Andre de Grasse — who finished second and third behind Usain Bolt in Rio in 2016 — in the US over summer, Boak said he had noticed dramatic improvements in his core strength this pre-season.

But it was his work with legendary surfer Mick Fanning’s ‘emotional and stress control specialist’ Nam Baldwin on the Gold Coast in January that has him embracing the start of the season more than anything.

He’s also been doing yoga, pilates, meditation and floating recovery to help with his mental wellbeing as much as physical.

Boak spent time training with surfer Mick Fanning’s (above) breathing coach Nam Baldwin on the Gold Coast in January.

“The biggest thing I learnt (from working with Baldwin) was how to deal with things under pressure and your breathing under pressure,” Boak said.

“That was huge for me especially as a leader and senior player when there are pressure situations in games to actually be in way more control than I have been in the past.

“Because you can get flustered under these circumstances so learning that I feel like I’ll be in a better space and I can relay that to our leaders and the rest of the playing group.”

Boak, who turns 30 in August, is conscious of not wanting to slow down so spoke to the Power’s fitness coach Ian McKeown about arranging a training/holiday in the US over summer.

It included speed technique training in Arizona with Olympians including Canadian superstar de Grasse as well as improving his biomechanics.

“I didn’t take him (de Grasse) on, but there was weight training specific to how they run and a lot of speed work,” Boak said.

“And even just watching and seeing how they train and run, their technique and how effortless it is to gain speed.

“I wanted to do something that I’d never done before, something that was a little bit outside the box.

The Port Adelaide captain also trained with dual Olympic sprint medallist Andre de Grasse, left, in the off-season. Picture: Adam Head.

“First it was a lot more about body mechanics and my positioning, little movements that could help me because I’m getting a little bit older.

“It’s known in the AFL world that at 30 it becomes harder so I just want to continue to improve and there is so much more to learn by thinking outside the box.

“There was a lot about having my core switched on the right way, doing things in a different position to what I was used to, and from that I’ve become so much stronger whether it’s doing a groundball or overhead marking.

“And I felt coming back from that, so much better, and the little tweaks that I’ve had I recover a lot quicker because of the stuff I’ve learnt over there.

“The other thing is bringing that back to our group and trying to share with them, and hopefully next year we can take some other guys over to learn, especially guys who are younger who have so much left to play that they can learn this stuff early on.”

Boak speaks to the media on Monday where he said he, Sam Powell-Pepper and Tom Rockliff would recover from injury complaints to play in Round 1 this Saturday. Picture: Morgan Sette (AAP).

Boak said he would be right to play the Dockers having taken a cautious approach with a “minor hot spot” that showed up on his hamstring a fortnight ago.

“I got through training on Saturday and have to get through Tuesday and Thursday but it feels really good, I’ve got to tick a couple more boxes and I’ll be right to go,” he said.

“Rocky (Rockliff) trained Saturday and got through that session so he’s looking forward to finally wearing the Power colours and I can’t wait (to play with him).

“Sam is good to go again, he trained Saturday and got through that session so again he’ll get through this week and be ready to go.”

Boak expects to play a similar role to last season where he was predominantly across half-forward with spurts on the ball.

“I think I’ll be through there (midfield) at some stage, we have a pretty deep midfield now and that’s the beauty of our group, it will be similar to what I’ve been playing along with Robbie (Gray), Chad (Wingard) and Rocky who will rotate through there as well.”

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