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Auckland outfielder Ben Enoka is the "fittest" of the world championship-bound Black Sox - but his team-mates are snapping his heels.
Last weekend, the New Zealand men's softball team completed their final round of physical testing before the March world tournament at Auckland's Rosedale Park.
"The boys are definitely trending in the right direction and there were a couple of standout performers," says Wellington-based strength and conditioning coach Jamie Tout. "We test them against speed, power, core strength, endurance and repeated speed ability.
"Ben was the No 1 performer across those disciplines and he's continued to improve, not just personally, but against the benchmarks that were set."
The tests included standing long jump, the "yo-yo" for intermittent/speed endurance, and pure speed over 10m and 20m. Auckland's Enoka was best over the sprints, with Auckland outfielder Jerome Haretuku close behind.
Hutt Valley infielder Tyson Byrne was next and also recorded the standing long jump. All three excelled in the yo-yo, with Enoka just ahead with a score of over level 19.
"A lot of sports use the yo-yo and to some degree, it's probably more relevant in others," says Tout. "In softball, we're more focused on the speed and power of an athlete, because they're often only sprinting 10-20 metres at a time, with longer recoveries.
"That said, we set our guys a goal to achieve and a lot of them are heading in that direction now. Some went over level 19 for the first time, which is a really great result, but ultimately in softball, you can't beat speed.
Enoka also clocked 1.52s and 2.67s respectively in the speed tests, but had to withstand a determined challenge from Haretuku, who attempted an extra 20m trial in a bid to knock off the champ.
"Not much needs to change from here on in," says Tout. "A lot of guys just need to maintain their level of fitness now - we can only make them so fit.
"My job is to get them fit enough so they don't fatigue to the point that their skills are compromised."
