G’day guys, it’s good to be writing for you again and good to be another week closer to when #FootballReturns.
My home training has ramped up over the last week. I’ve been doing a few more runs to get the body used to higher training loads and more work with the ball.
When we re-start it’s going to be foot to the floor straight away and we don’t have much time to prepare. We have seen in other sports there have been a few soft tissues injuries and we are going to need everyone available with a lot of games in a short period, so it’s important we get this right now.
I know some of the boys have also been putting it in hard this week so they are up to speed once we resume full training in around 10-14 days.
Training aside, it has also been a busy few weeks in my role as President of Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), so I thought I’d give you a little insight into what that entails.
Normally it’s not the type of role you need to do day to day but the last couple of months has been different. There has been a lot going on with the Covid-19 situation and the Hyundai A-League postponement, so I’ve been involved in a lot of meetings with stakeholders to try to get the best outcome for all in a bad situation.
Representing the players is something I enjoy. Making sure we continue to build the game while supporting, empowering and developing players not only on the pitch but off it as well, is key to everything we do at the PFA.
It isn’t just me doing this of course; there is an executive board made up of 8 players, 1 ex player (Francis Awaritife) and the PFA chairman. We make decisions on behalf of the PFA and then there are delegates from each club who keep the information flowing to their colleagues. At Sydney FC we have Michael Zullo and Andrew Redmayne.
Over the last period we’ve had regular calls with the executive and calls with the delegates.
Every club has different situations going on so those delegate meetings are really insightful and important so the PFA can get a view of what is happening right across the league.
All the staff at the PFA have done a fantastic job keeping the players informed of the process we have gone through during this time, as well as keeping everyone united and motivated as we look forward to getting back to football.
I’d love to stay in football in some capacity after I finish playing and I’m not too sure if I really want to be a coach, so football administration could be an avenue.
I’m studying a sports business degree through ACPE at the moment, and it definitely interests me.
Nothing is decided and I want to keep playing for a few more years yet but it would be nice to transition into a role within the game in some capacity – we’ll see what happens.
