Life Of A Professional Footballer

5 days have passed being restricted to what feels like house arrest. The virus continues to grow and demand more procedures to be put in place around the world. The fear of containment remains a common factor in peoples day to day lives. The world is at a stand still, waiting, praying and hoping that the actions countries around the world are applying to the situation will succeed. Personally, being stuck in Austria is one of the most frustrating things for me. At a time like this all you want to be doing is spending time with family, being in the comforts of your own home. For me at this point that isn't possible. I am eager to get home but unfortunately I am waiting for updates on the time frame on when my season may or may not be up and running. There are many ramifications around going home and staying. And the decisions that are waiting to be made are all based of what if's and the potential consequences. Finding things to keep myself busy is another re occurring night...

Thousands of people around the world are being impacted by the coronavirus. Many world citizens in multiple countries are being restricted around their living conditions. The way they interact with one another, the distance allowed to travel and even the actions they take in and around their own communities. It is safe to say it is becoming a global phenomenon. Each country is following strict guidelines to insure their citizens, as well as the rest of the world, are safe and being protected in the best way possible to strengthen the chances of minimal spread. With thousands of cases already emerged, it is extremely important to stay safe, healthy and responsible in these difficult times. For myself in Austria, the restrictions are coming down like a ton of bricks. Within a 48 hour time period, multiple procedures were put in place to help counter the spread of the virus. These procedures meant no football training or games, no gym or workout sessions to take place and no access to a...

For every footballer around the world, the best thing is playing games. Playing games brings that extra bit of determination and hunger, knowing that at the end of the 90 minutes, you win, lose or draw. Whether it's winning in a friendly, cup game, league game or a social game with friends, it always feel good to win. The constant willingness to perform in training and earn a spot in the starting eleven is a huge incentive. And when that game on the weekend is cancelled or postponed, due to the potential of numerous amounts factors, it can be very frustrating. For me personally, it has been over six months since I last played a competitive. The 2020 season for me is a huge one, the importance of not only playing but starting as many games as possible is key. And just like that, six months of endless work and 'grind' has come to a devastating halt. This halt being dealt to me by the coronavirus. Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in European countries, football within ...

The 2020 season is fast approaching and without a doubt the most exciting season of my career so far. Being that it is my first season as a professional footballer makes it a very exciting yet important season personally. The consistency and performance of my game is the biggest thing for me and each game I plan to grow and get better and better. Over the years I have done everything and anything possible to have my body in the best possible shape and maintaining my overall fitness at the up most levels. But as many professional athletes know, injuries are a big barrier in the world of sport. Minor and major injuries can all hinder the performance of an athlete. For me over the last 5 years, I have suffered many minor and major injuries which have brought my career to numerous halts. Never the less, I have never let my setbacks affect my comeback. By being affected by injuries I can say it has made me work harder and take more care to insure my body is in top condition. Sometimes this ...

Becoming a professional footballer player seems like the most amazing thing in the world and to me it is. But the lifestyle of a professional footballer is not completely glamorous. I have made countless amounts of sacrifices to achieve all that I have. A lot of people think it is easy to sacrifice the little things and I was one of those people who thought I that making sacrifices were easy. Some of the sacrifices I have had to make include giving up living in a country where english is a second language, spending time with friends throughout the week and weekend. But the biggest one of all to me was moving away from home and living without family from the age of 15. I first moved away from home in 2015. As a young boy I was excited at the chance to move away from home and be in an environment where my life was based on football. The first place I went was Auckland, only two hours away from home. Being a young boy at an all boys boarding school, it was easy to interact and stay busy...

12.08.19, the beginning of the journey towards my first professional football contract. But in actual fact the journey began at the age of 4. From the day I was able to obtain the ability to walk and talk I was immediately obsessed with football. The feeling of excitement would rise within my body each time the ball was at my feet. No matter the occasion,  I always took the opportunity to kick the ball around with my parents and friends. I was lucky enough to have qualities passed down through the family genes,  father being a fantastic footballer himself and mother having the ability to be great at anything she does. So be able to have parents like mine has enabled me to possess the ability I have to this day. I started off my football career at the local football club, Blue Rovers FC. Playing and training weekly, the older I got the more established I found myself with the love of the game. At the age of 6, my first day of school banged on the front door. But that wasn't g...