It's good to have a ball at my feet again - and see the Eastbourne Borough fans

Eastbourne Borough midfielder James Ferry gives a first-hand account of his first post-lockdown training session at Priory Lane
James Ferry back in training at Priory Lane / Picture: Andy PellingJames Ferry back in training at Priory Lane / Picture: Andy Pelling
James Ferry back in training at Priory Lane / Picture: Andy Pelling

It was great to be back training at Priory Lane for the first time since March. I had not seen some of the fans of the club or some of my teammates from last season’s campaign properly in four months and it was good to be back in the Priory Lane environment last Saturday, talking and playing football.

The training session started at 10.30am and we were given a brief from the gaffer on what to expect and the rules and guidelines we must follow.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He outlined the need to keep two metres apart and that all parts of the session would be non-contact.

We started off with a warm-up which included dynamic stretching and passing in small groups.

As is always the way, as soon as you return to football you realise all the exercise and long distance running you have done during lockdown has not kept you truly football fit.

The ability to execute repetitive short sharp sprints and high-intensity movements when reacting to the ball or a misplaced pass is something you cannot work on at home on your own.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And even in the warm-up it is evident that a different kind of fitness is required when you are playing football.

The main body of the session involved three separate stations and while remaining in our small groups from the warm-up, each group spent roughly 15-20 minutes at each station.

There was a different coach for each station and we worked on on a mixture of fitness, strengthening and passing over different distances.

From a player’s perspective, I was glad we had the balls out for my first training session back.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When you have not played in a while it is a lot easier to motivate yourself to run and work hard when the balls are out as it improves the positive atmosphere of the session.

It was also great to chat and say hello to fans who came to watch.

From a distance we could wave and talk during our water breaks and it was a feeling a lot of us had missed.

The player and fan relationship continued after training when we all headed into the clubhouse and had a drink together, something we had all been looking forward to during the session.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The guidelines, rules and set-up were clear so we could talk with fans and team-mates safely and make our way to the bar one at a time at a safe distance.

I had certainly taken for granted the atmosphere and close-knit chats after training and games – and that particularly stood out for me in the Priory Lane clubhouse after training on Saturday.

Overall, it was great to return to training, blow away the lockdown cobwebs and see some familiar faces.

Related topics: