Reporter Nicola Park trains with Barrow AFC
Last updated 08:30, Monday, 07 July 2008
MY running technique has always been slow and steady wins the race, so I wasn’t looking forward to testing myself against two dozen semi-pro footballers, even if it was their first pre-season training session.
By Nicola Park
Joint-managers Dave Bayliss and Darren Sheridan had promised me they would be taking it fairly easy on the lads in the first session but I still had my doubts.
Both managers are keen to see their team not only survive the Conference but also do themselves proud.
Dave set the tone of professionalism at the beginning of the session when he reminded players that anyone turning up to training in anything less than full kit would be fined.
Easing us in, we set off on a 10 minute warm-up jog.
I made the most of the steady pace to chat to some of the players.
They hadn’t been warned that there was a reporter in their midst, and one of them confessed he had mistaken me for a ‘super-fit athlete’ before the session started. I assured him that he was very much mistaken!
There was plenty of happy banter between the players during the warm-up run, but that all changed for the second circuit of the playing fields.
After stretching out, it was time for another 10 minute run, this time at pace. The fitter players shot off and there was no chance of me keeping up with the pack.
I asked Dave if the players kept themselves fit out of season.
He explained: “Our lads have a lot of natural fitness anyway.
“We can’t be with them all the time, so we just have to trust them not to go out on the lash every night and not train. It’s the same with their diet. We can advise them, but we aren’t there to watch what they eat so they have to take responsibility.”
After the hard run it was time for a bit of a breather, and some more stretching.
Whilst I certainly couldn’t keep up with them on the run, I felt quite smug during the stretching exercises and pleased that my yoga classes are paying off.
I don’t think a mean rendition of the lotus position would be much use in a football match though.
The lads then moved on to 10 minutes of ball skills while I took the chance to chat to Dave about their plans for the next season.
“I’m really impressed on first impressions, the lads look really fit. No-one likes pre-season work but it has to be done,” he said.
“We are expecting to have a really good season. We are going to push on and try and finish in the top half.”
Then came the moment I was dreading. Ballistic bursts of speed are vital for a footballer, and the only way to achieve this is sprint work, and lots of it – combined with a bit of natural talent, of course.
As I am blessed with neither a natural talent or inclination for sprinting, I knew this was going to hurt.
Two sets of cones were placed about 50m apart, and we split up into groups of six.
Even though I was placed with the ‘slower’ group, I still didn’t have a hope of keeping up.
After a few goes at the sprint course it was time to leave the lads to it. They completed 24 sprints altogether that night, moving the cones closer together after each set of six.
Judging by their first training session, I’m sure by the time they’ve got through a few friendlies and into the season, they certainly won’t be held back by a lack of fitness. Good luck in the Conference lads!
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