Happy Birthday, TBA!

25 November 2009

The gentle glare of the floodlights in the dark winter sky. The feel of the pitch beneath my boot and the cushioned judder of the ball against my foot as I take it in my stride. The early stab with my toe at the ball and the ripple of the net. That feeling.

TBA was one year old yesterday, with me using my first proper training day with Nick as my starting point. The scene that I have described was from last night. I had dreamed in my wildest dreams at the outset of this project describing putting the ball in the net on a Tuesday night in November 2009 would have been detailing my antics in the Champions League. The setting for my goal last night was rather different - on a local university astroturf at a practise session for a team I am not elligible to play for.

Things have changed in a year.

The physical transformation required to change from an average bloke to a Premier League footballer has occurred. From day one, to the six month point to now, this metamorphisis is apparent (in more than just my tan). Having not been thoroughly tested since May, I cannot be as specific as I have been previously but what I can say is that I have continued to grow far stronger, my jumps are higher, I feel quicker and I recover much more quickly between interval sets than I used to. I am now around 84kg and look slightly leaner than I was a few months ago. I reckon I've still got a kilo or two of flab to lose which I'm very pleased with when I think of what I have been using as a recovery supplement since I ran out of "The Magic Water" around six months back. I am a mean, lean machine and will continue to venture into personally unexplored fitness territory (I will have more specifics in the next few weeks when I have been tested) without much of the resources that I began the journey with.

The footballing side of the transformation is a different story altogether. At this point, having only played around five times since the end of July, my footballing skills are average. You may have alarm bells ringing and the question, "Why the hell has this guy who's aiming to be a Premier League standard footballer only played five times since August?" My answer is through choice. I have kept up my conditioning because I can do it alone, wherever I want, whenever I want. With football, this is not the case. In looking for and carrying out work to keep financially buoyant and move forward, my timetable has been highly irregular making it almost impossible to attend any regular team practise sessions (Boro Futsal; I hope to be of better service this coming season) or schedule regular work with training partners. (Let me take this opportunity to thank my most regular training partners from throughout the year:

• Tomás O'Connor, my only football training partner. You are a star for turning up whenever you could, for however long you could. Your level of commitment was exceptional. I thank you for your contribution to TBA.
• Jamie Jalleh, the man who's happy to run monsterous interval sessions, even though I now you hate them, come rain or shine. Thanks for everything so far, bud.
• Tom "Batfink" Dowrick. When ever I'm back in Liverpool, my training partner from b-boying days gone by is always up for sprints, plyo, intervals, strength, whatever. Cheers, man.)

I know from my experience in the first six months of this project that the footballing/NLP modelling side of this project requires a level of focus, time and attention that I have not been able to give in the past six months. When I can fully commit to this, then I will resume, will quickly pick back up the level of skill that I had worked up to previously and use all that I have learnt so far to streamline my future work on this crucial aspect and move far beyond my previous skill levels.

When I do recommit, I will be the majority of the way to my outcome, with the fitness to support a higher level practise than I have ever been capable of before and the skill that I have already attained although am not currently displaying.

Last night may not have been the Champions League, this year has most certainly not gone to plan and there were no parties or candles to celebrate my one year point but I am proud of coming this far, learning what I've learnt, getting to work with and know the fantastic people I've had the privelege of being alongside me and I look forward to kicking this all back off properly when the time is right. My work stands tall. My aim remains.