Pars star feels San Frantastic after US trip
Tom Beadling insists he is ready to hit new heights with Dunfermline – after spending his summer scaling the hills of San Francisco.
The 23- year- old was determined to report for pre- season in peak condition f o l l ow i n g a fr u s t r a t i n g 2018/19 campaign.
He w a s re s t r i c t ed to j u st 22 appearances last term as he fought back from a serious thigh tear.
And Beadling’s desire to make up for lost time shone through during his summer “holiday”, as he hit the running track back in Sunderland, put in the hard miles on the beach and even took to biking around the streets of San Fran during a Californian adventure with his mates.
However, he admits the famously steep streets of the Golden Gate City gave him the shock of his life.
Beadling explained: “I did a lot of work over the summer to make sure I would hit the ground running and the training wouldn’t be a shock to the system.
“I grafted over the break and, touch wood, it has paid off.
“It was a little bit of everything. Running on beaches, doing laps of the running track back home, lots of gym work and I spent a lot of time on bikes.
“I went to California with a few of my mates and we always had the bikes out in San Francisco, just to mix it up a little bit.
“It was a better work- out than I expected – we didn’t know just how hilly San Francisco was until we arrived and started exploring. It was like climbing mountains!
“But it was an amazing place and ended up being like a mini pre- season for two weeks with all the cycling.”
Remarkably, Beadling has completed his first full pre-season in four years after enduring infuriating knocks, niggles and set-backs during previous years.
And the former Sunderland youngster feels like he is finally ready to fulfil his potential with the Pars, starting with today’s Betfred Cup curtain- raiser against St Mirren.
He continued: “I haven’t completed a pre- season for four years, since I was a teenager at Sunderland. Now, I feel positive and like this is a really big season in my career.”