Category: Football

It was training before game day, and it felt like the longest foam roll and band session ever. But it was all good stuff. The physio had said to me to go roll out and do the warm up stuff and when they went into film review to come back for him to check me out. Luckily there was no pain with any of the movements he was doing, just felt a little weak in the knee and a little tight in the hip. So he said I really got away with on there, someones watching over me.

I trained fully and was able to enjoy myself because I knew my responsibility was no longer there and I didn’t have the pressure of performing and impressing the coaches. I did some extra work after training with Dean Shiels, who is the managers son. Dean is on the comeback from an ankle injury he sustained while playing for Rangers in Scotland. We did some speed and power work, and once again my knee and hip were fine. Good signs.

My afternoon was filled with the Olympics, but also I made a quick trip to the post office where a very valuable package should have been delivered for me. I hadn’t received the phone call I was expecting, but I thought I would check anyway. And sure enough the package containing my very important passport was there. Knowing that I had my passport, I finally booked my flight to England. And then I booked my bus from Derry to Belfast, so it is all falling into place.

Same training routine today. With some passing and possession drills, which I am sure the blue team (my team) will tell you that we got shafted. It happens, makes you work harder. Unfortunately in one of the last possession games I planted my left foot and my knee and hip gave away and I landed in pain. I was scared because the pain was quite sharp. I managed to get up on my own, and hobble in to see the physio. Turns out the knee was fine, just weakened, and the hip had just been over stretched. I was informed to take an ice bath after training, and then on our day off not to foam roll or stretch it and just let it rest, along with icing it. After training we headed to the ice baths and we had a 10min session in them.

Then we headed out for lunch. I was still freezing from the ice bath because I didn’t bring pants, just shorts to change into, and the weather outside wasn’t the warmest. Eventually I warmed up. We we out to a new coffee/tea place after lunch and it was a nice place. I decided to get a hot chocolate this time!

 

Eventually we got home and I continued to do more and more visa preparation along with speaking with someone on the phone who is helping with my next move to another team in England. Other than that, my evening was filled with the olympics and conversations with my family.

Back into the routine today for a big week of training for the team. We had a decent field session in the morning followed by a good gym session in the afternoon. The field session was similar to most with some plyos, passing drills, and small 7v7 games. Nothing too out of the ordinary. However more youth players showed up, so the numbers continue to rise. I am now just making the most of the opportunity to train as I am now preparing for my move away from here in search of other opportunities.

We eventually made it home and had a casual afternoon, where I was able to continue to watch the Olympics. The frustrating thing for me is that the TV channels showing the games is solely focused on all the British athletes and teams, so unless NZ is in the same event or competing against the Brits, I don’t get to see much coverage. I guess thats just the way it goes.

I am continuing to plan for my next step which is looking likely to be England. The information is still being gathered regarding visas and stuff, but I am getting a better understanding of it all finally. My night consisted of a good meal and a nice FaceTime with Shannon to catch up on her events of her first few shifts as a full time Nurse!

 

Today was game day, so I was able to get some rest in the morning. My late morning and early afternoon consisted on more phone calls and emails trying to gain more information regarding my travel and visa things. Finally I got some helpful answers which will allow me to implement a plan come time. I have part of the process planned, now I just need a destination.

Instead of getting dropped off at the stadium 3 hours before kick off, Wardy left his car for me to drive in later. Safe to say the manual driving skills are still being practiced, and it sure didn’t help getting stuck behind a tractor trailer at an intersection. However, I made it to the ground without too many blushes. This time my training partner was Chaz, who has been recovering from injury for way too long and he is now at the point of very close return. Chaz is a very well connected, well travelled guy, spending time playing in Australia and New York, along with an extended stint with Derry when he was younger. We did an extensive warm up and chatted the whole time and then we didn’t a 20 minute run. After the run, we got into the real tough work. The heart rate was going, the lungs were doing their best, but it was tough. It is work that we both need, especially for him getting back up to fitness to play matches again, and for me to be ready when my opportunity comes. This was the longest session prior to a game that I have done. We didn’t get back into the dressing room until the game had kicked off. We missed the first 15 minutes, and of course that is when Derry scored. Safe to say we didn’t miss too much after that. A game that never reached any great heights really, and it seems to be that this is becoming a theme.

Onward from this game, with the weekend off. I managed to 3-point turn out of my parking spot and get all the way home unscathed driving, progress.

 

Another morning of training, with the regular pre training routine. A shortened version of film analysis so that we could get out on the pitch and get into it. Training wasn’t too extensive really, with a warm up of hand-ball, before going into 11v11 to help prepare for the match tomorrow.

After showering we headed into town for lunch and then off to get a cup of tea/coffee. There was 7 of us so it was good to just spend some relaxed time away from football. A quick stop at the supermarket before we headed home. Wardy and I also got haircuts. For me it was certainly time for a trim as it was getting very thick and bushy. A fresh look which always feels nice. The sun has been shining this afternoon which allowed to read my book outside for an hour or so.

A relaxed evening in which I continued to do research and contact people to see who can assist me and where I could go to seek out other opportunities.

Even though we got in late last night, we still had to be at the gym for 9am. We did our gym routine, then rolled out and stretched before we headed across to the field to begin training. For those of us who had played 90min in the friendly, we didn’t think we were going to train fully and just do recovery. We assumed wrong. A warm up, a few passing drills to get things ticking before a little possession rectangle and then numerous 7v7 games to finish.

Today was the day where I finally got answers regarding my future. Unfortunately after being here close to 2 months, I am not required and nor will I be required come January. These decisions are all part of football, and I’m sure there are many other opportunities out there for me. Now that I know, I can start planning and seeking out what other opportunities I may have. The time spent with Derry City FC has been very valuable for my experience and I will use it in my future opportunities. While I figure out my next move I will still be training with the team.

My afternoon at home was nothing too exciting as I began to lay out options and things I needed to get sorted and know, before I began to seek out new opportunities. As always, a good conversations with the parents helps.

Before I went to sleep, I was able to catch the first half of the Olympic game between the NZ White Ferns and the USA Womens National Team. NZ competed, but the USA showed their class.

Today Wardy and I got to asleep in as we were playing in a friendly match later on, while Conor had to go and do recovery with the team at 10am. The day was not filled with too much excitement. I did a few errands, did some more research and just relaxed.

Wardy and I headed off to meet the rest of the lads who were playing in the friendly that night to travel down in a minivan. Our trip was disrupted due to what seemed to be a bad crash and we were diverted. Eventually we got there. The game was against Magaherafelt Sky Blues FCThe pitch was narrow, but very long. The grass was cut but still long. Our team consisted of all the subs from the night before against Limerick, some youth players, and myself. It was a difficult game to fully get into, but it was more about not making mistakes and doing the simple things right for me. The pitch was making some things difficult but we adapted to the conditions. It was a good challenge nonetheless and good to get solid minutes under the belt. We went into half time up 2-0, when it should have been a few more. At half time we were told to be more ruthless and put them away and dominate more, which we did to an extent. Our keeper only had to make one save. We won the game 6-0. Most our goals came from set piece play. I managed to put two in the back of the net via my head. Always nice to score goals, but its the whole performance that matters.

We showered in what had to have been one of the smallest changing rooms I have ever been in and then went down to a local bar for some food before we headed on home.

Today was the semi final of the EA Cup against Limerick. The day was fairly casual and laid back. Got a few things done around the house, read a bit of my book, but mostly just relaxed. The boys dropped me off at the stadium as they headed to the hotel for the pre match stuff. I was pretty early, but eventually others that were doing extra work before the game showed up. We did our rolling out and then he youth team coach had set up some speed and power exercises on the training ground for us. After a warm up we were straight into it. The work was tough, short, sharp explosive sprinting and turning. I was certainly blowing, but it was needed thats for sure. Our work was done and we headed in for a shower.

The team had warmed up, got their last little pep talk and then headed out for the game. We grabbed a cup of tea and then headed into the stands. It was a frustrating game to watch. Yes, Limerick are in the league below Derry, however they only got relegated last year and are right in line for promotion this year, so they were a bad side at all.

Derry tried to put them under pressure but it just wasn’t cohesive enough and they were able to break us down too often. They scored fairly early in the first half and that is how it stayed. Both teams had good opportunities to score more but both keepers made some excellent saves.

Limericks keeper, Freddy Hall, graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2010, so we had a connection. I was able to grab him before he got back on the bus and we had a quick chat which was good. Very nice down to earth guy.

 

We headed for home finally to get some much needed sleep.

Roll, stretch, mobility, video analysis and eventually we were on the field. A sharp warm up before we went into some attacking phases of play which lead into an 11v11 game to practice a few things that Kenny wanted the team to work on. Before finishing with set pieces, which ended up dragging on for a fair while. When they were finally done and the boys went for a stretch, I went to do some of my own extra running. It is becoming more and more important for me to raise my fitness levels, because I am not playing 90 minutes each week, and also if I am to go away from Derry I need to be fit and ready for whatever team. So I was about 75% of the way through the extra work I had decided to do when Donal and 3 of the other younger lads were setting up some sprinting things. I jumped in that knowing that extra work would always be beneficial, and just put the head down and got on with it. We were out there for another 15 minutes before we were finally done. After a fairly light session, I felt like I took something away from the session for my own personal benefit.

Wardy and I stopped at the supermarket to get food before we headed on home. While I was at the supermarket, a friend from my high school, Garin College, Katy Sinnott sent me a message as she was driving through Derry on her way back over to the East coast. We had been in touch earlier that week after she found out I was in Ireland, as I wasn’t aware she was, and I let her know where I was. So it turned out that she was driving through Derry and she picked me up and we went for a cup of tea/coffee and a catch up. It’s crazy how small and connected this world is. It had been at least 4 years since I had last seen her and there is always lots to talk about especially good old high school times and what all our friends were up to. It was a lovely afternoon. The sun had come out so we went for a walk across the Peace Bridge, before she dropped me home and then headed on her way. She lives about 90 minutes away working as an Au Pair for a family, who happens to have various holiday houses around Ireland. I have next weekend off, and depending on how things go this week, I may finally get to see a bit of the country and possibly stay at one of the holiday houses. We shall see.

I fairly uneventful evening with a nice FaceTime chat with Shannon who begins her second week at Yale New Haven hospital. Her first official shift in the Pediatric Emergency Department isn’t until Tuesday however as it has all been orientation and education so far.

 

Early morning for all. The team didn’t arrive back until 1.30/2am last night, so for them it was even earlier. Fortunate enough, management had brought a few boxes of cereal, some loaves of bread and tea and coffee so that everyone could begin their mornings right after a short night. A 30 minute video analysis of EA Cup opponents, Limerick FC for the semi final on Monday before the players were split. Those who played last night stayed and did recovery, massage, ice baths, treatment etc. and then the subs, myself and two others went out and trained. We started with a passing drill, then some possession, a bit of crossing and finishing, and then finished off with passing sequences leading up to finishing. A fairly productive morning and good to get the legs going. Although my ankle was on my mind, I did not feel it during the session at all which was nice.

A nice shower and icing of the ankle before we headed home. I was able to watch more of the Blackcaps vs Zimbabwe test match, and also the Super Rugby Semi Final between the Lions and Highlanders. A little more reading of my book and then I headed outside just to see what I could do/keep busy with around the house. As much as I wish we had a lawn mower so that we could tidy the place up, we don’t so for now all I could do was weed one of the boxes out there. Nothing productive is growing in there, but at least weeding it gave me something to do and made a difference to the look of it.

I kept myself fairly busy in the evening, with the sun finally coming out also. I enjoyed a very good dinner. The sunset was just as lovely too. Watched a show on tele and then sat outside and read a chapter in the dimming light. It was finally clear enough that there were stars out, which I always enjoy gazing at!