"When you think about high performance it is best on best," Horan said. "For all of these girls, physically being able to handle the rigours of rugby has been most important.
"Without the intense rehab treatment building the body we can't play the game we want to play.
"So the two most important people for the players in what they need to do to become the best athletes for the possibility of going to Rio are the physio [Jacinta Horan] and strength and conditioning coach [Matt Kritz] who live here."
One of the players living in Mount Maunganui is Bay of Plenty rep Alexis Tapsell, who has strong whanau ties to Maketu.
She says having so many players and key staff together has made a massive difference.
"When I was in Christchurch, being by myself, I felt quite isolated," she said.
"I would come to camps and they would be working on skills and technical areas I hadn't been exposed to.
"Now, being up here we all do gym together, we do our conditioning together, so we are always pushing each other.
"I think when it comes from your peers it is a lot easier to relate to. It is really beneficial being with the other girls."
Tapsell is one of three Bay of Plenty players named in the New Zealand team for Atlanta along with Morgan Morrow and Kelly Brazier. Sadly, a knee injury means Bay of Plenty's Lavinia Gould is unavailable for selection. Gould completed a two-year ban in January after testing positive for a banned stimulant at a tournament in Dubai in December 2012.
Horan says that, after the Atlanta tournament 18 players would have turned out for the team in the 2014/15 season, underlining the depth in the squad.
"Over the past three years we've had a core of good players and we've been able to grow a quality pool of players around that. It creates a competitive environment for players wanting to make the team and that's ultimately good for performance."
Horan's team lead the Women's Sevens Series having beaten Australia in the Dubai and Sao Paulo finals.
