TOO MUCH TIME ON OUR HANDS, OR NOT ENOUGH?

BEFORE you know it the season has ended. The team party has been held, you’ve had a few too many drinks, you’ve said a few things to the assistant coach that you shouldn’t have. You’ve also had a small argument with the star player about his attitude and also told one of the new players that he is crap. Again, too many drinks can loosen your tongue, so you need to watch what you say! But it’s all ended well, with the boys having a drunken song together at the end of the night, and the married players leaving early – most of them anyway! The club awards have been handed out and you’re not among the winners, but you never thought you would be. The obvious awards are the Player of the Season, Top Goalscorer and Most Improved. You don’t want to win the Most Improved if you’ve been playing professionally for more than a season – that’s an award for a young player. Then there is the Chairman’s Award, the one the players bet on. This season it is shared by the coach and the captain. Nobody won the bet, so all the money is used to buy drinks at a club after the party. So now you’re free for a few weeks, you’ve been given your letter by the team manager ger highlighting when you need to report back for pre-season ason training. g. You’ve ve also done one your last ast weighin and you are e warnedd not to come back to o preseason more than a few kilos over weight. eight. This is not news ws to anyone. Once e you have good eating habits it’s hard to get out t of them. So once the season ason ends, there are very ry few players who will ill suddenly let themselves mselves go. But t there are excepceptions. I remember mber one player ayer who cameame back afterfter pre-season ason and nobody obody recognised ised him! He had put on 10 kilos, mostly with no ideas! Your friends are all working. The only friends who are also free are other players. So you end up hanging around with the same guys – you plan a few golf days, watch a few movies, hit the shopping malls… but by week two you’re a bit bored. You can only play Playstation so much before that is also boring. Even going out and having a few drinks is not the fun you thought it would be. You start to think of pre-season and what you can do to improve your game and get in among the prizes. You start to prepare mentally, getting into focus, watching what you eat and drink and how much sleep you get. Your gym sessions get harder, and you find yourself pushing the limits. You are excited that you are ahead of the curve… no more excuses! This is the season that you make them all notice. Little do you know that the chairman has called a meeting with the coaching staff to hear what they are going to do to make sure the team is stronger next season. Your name is mentioned, as well as the names of three young players who all play in your position. It’s all about time. Is it free? Or is it something you are running out of?