The Richmond youngster, who was taken by the Tigers with the second overall pick in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft, has spent the lead-up to his first three years managing his body as it copes with the demands of elite football.
But Cotchin goes into the 2011 campaign having barely missed a pre-season session for the first time since joining the Tigers.
"My first few years I didn't run until late February. I really only got eight weeks of running in before I started training and then played games straight away," Cotchin told afl.com.au.
"Those years were just about match fitness and that's pretty much all I had. When the going got tough I really didn't have anything to go with it."
He said the shackles had been thrown off as he tried to establish himself as a key part of Richmond's midfield.
While Cotchin was not selected for Richmond's clash with the AFL Indigenous All-Stars in Alice Springs, he does expect to play as often as possible throughout the NAB Cup and NAB Challenge.
"Last year I had a limited pre-season because of my hip and they were trying to manage my achilles and make sure it didn't flare up again, but this year they've been pretty good," he said.
"They are still monitoring my pre-season but they've let me do just about everything. It's been quite enjoyable," he said.
"I think I'll play the majority of the NAB games. I might miss a couple of the early ones leading into the season so I don't play too much footy and it holds me in good stead for the back end of the season. It's a long year these days."
The 20-year-old has been taking part in three sessions a week of training, missing only a couple of hill running sessions, undertaking cross-training instead.
Cotchin has had no pain in his troublesome achilles, which he has had to manage for most of his career so far.
"To be totally honest, I don't even think about it any more. It's just when people ask me questions about how my body is going," he said.
Like most on Richmond's list, Cotchin is not overly familiar with the feeling of team success at AFL level, but he says there are exciting times ahead, particularly for the on-ball brigade.
"We're still very young, which is exciting for us, but we're starting to learn not only about ourselves but other players around us and the way we want to play with regards to structures," he said.
"Also the additions of (Bachar) Houli and Griggy (Shaun Grigg) are pretty exciting for us and it adds another string to the bow for our young midfield. It should be exciting to see how we go in the early part of the season."
Live streaming of the Richmond versus Alice Springs will be available via afl.com.au from 5pm CST (6.30pm AEDT).
