From Champions League to isolation fatigue: City keep tabs on all players
HAD things gone differently, Glasgow City would have been preparing for a UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie against Wolfsburg this evening.
The dominant force in the Scottish women’s game, as they head for their 14th successive title, City were due to host the Germans tonight prior to the suspension of all football due to the Coronovirus.
But instead of looking at what might have been, the club’s sports scientist Andy White and sports psychologist Stephen Leckey have worked to ensure that the focus is on the here and now – and surviving it in optimum health. No easy task given the recent lockdown measures that have been introduced by the government this week.
White, co-founder and director of Athlete Focused, was introduced by Glasgow City to give each player a tailored work-out which can be carried out at home so that they can sustain their fitness – with White well aware that there are challenges in keeping focus amid the chaos.
“For many of our players the game that should have gone ahead tonight against Wolfsburg would have been the biggest of their careers,” he said. “I was brought in by Glasgow City in January with a view to training hard in the build-up to this tie, so for the last two months these players have been working their socks off to get to a particular level.
“Having it taken away from them is difficult. But I don’t think you can afford to look too much at what might have been. It is far better to think, ‘Right, what can we do in the here and now? What can we do to ensure that we are in the best shape we possibly can be, both mentally and physically?’
“I talk to the players most days through [social media app] WhatsApp. We are trying to introduce group training things that we can do on [video conferencing app] Zoom. I’ll be in my spare room working away and we can all join in. It is about trying to sustain some of the dressing room camaraderie and keep up their spirits as well as keeping us all moving.”
For some that is a players, though, tougher ask.
Australians Isobel Dalton and Aoife Colvill were signed by City in February ahead of the new season and are now in Glasgow without the ties of immediate family.
“They have not long arrived here,” said White. “One of them is staying with cousins and the other with a team-mate but it is hard for them being so far away from home and so soon into their careers here. I am trying to check in with them every day and it is important because there is no doubt that the mental health aspect of what is going on at the minute will have an effect. We have to be as resourceful as we can.”
City manager Scott
Booth has insisted that he remains enthused by the challenge of keeping players motivated physically and mentally as they seek to sustain their fitness levels through the current isolation period.
“With our club operating on a hybrid model, many juggle their commitment with work or study, while others are fulltime with club attending all sessions,” said Booth. “This makes it all the more important that there is a strategy in place so that everyone has professional support.
“Andy and the team at Athlete Focused have worked with us to ensure there is nothing left to chance.”