We love what we do’
zones should you overload in, and when, and why, and how much risk is too much risk?
The caveat to this drill, the coach tells me, is that players often go long to move the ball quickly. This happens just twice. It is like trying to keep pace with a frenzied Whack-a-mole game.
It is worse, apparently, for goalkeepers. “The outfield players have two drills going on, but it’s the same drill,” says Allen. “We do five-minute drills and keep changing. We work to such a high intensity. It takes 1½ hours to drive to training from Surrey, and I then have 30 minutes to prep and get myself mentally ready. To stay switched on solidly for two hours – it’s a lot.”
“There’s no respite,” nods Jade Keogh, a tax accountant. “It’s the tactical side. There’s a lot of information you’ve got to take in. After a long day at work, the last thing you want to be doing is think about what movement you’ve got to do. It can hinder you – but having your brain on the ball helps.”
Keogh travels 40 minutes each way to training. Others drive from Reading and Oxford, almost two hours away. “It’s only recently that travel expenses started being paid,” Keogh adds. “I’ve played football for over 10 years and not got a penny.”
My limbs are heavy with lactic acid by the time we play 11-a-side. I cut inside to create my team’s first goal, but I am otherwise of limited use and rely on my full-back, Hope Nash, to cover me. I console myself by remembering that Cristiano Ronaldo burdened Gary Neville with his entire defensive load so I am, if nothing else, not the only player to have done this.
“Professionals train three times a week and then play once,” Nash says. “We do the same thing as well as trying to earn money to support our lives. People underestimate how hard it is because they don’t experience it. But we come here for a reason – because we love what we do.”
Crystal Palace Ladies v Lewes at Hayes Lane stadium, Bromley, on Thursday. Tickets can be bought online at tickets.cpfc.co.uk or on the gate: under-16s free and Palace season ticket holders and members £2.50.