You may think you are too old to play, but you just have to understand your limitations

I was at a good friend’s wedding last week, a few drinks where had and shapes where thrown. The craic was mighty from start to finish. Early in the night I bumped into my old pal and yours from across the page, Steven Poacher, at the bar.

As fate would have it I was in a round with a mate of mine who played county football for a good number of years, so with him on my right, and Poacher on my left, the conversation inevitably turned toward the current state of GAA.

“Why are you not still kicking county football, big man?” enquired Poacher.

“The game’s changed over the last few years, Steven. It’s a running game. You need to be mobile, be able to get up and down the pitch, and do it from start to finish. No place for men like me anymore” was the reply.

“**Rubbish, do you not read what this man writes every week?” said Poacher, pointing at me as he spoke. “If you can stay injury free and play to your strengths there’ll always be a place for a man who can field the high ball in the middle of the park and win the dirty ball in the full forward line.” (** Rubbish is the newspaper friendly version of what was said.)

The conversation gets a little hazy and the language a fair bit more colourful thereafter, but regardless of that the underlying point rings true – If you are able to be there week in week out, stay off the treatment table and contribute on the field then you add value to your team.

If you play to your strengths and avoid exposing weaker areas of your game then you become important.

It can be a swift kick to your ego’s gut when you realise that as much as you’d like to see yourself as a scoring threat you’re as dangerous as a mouse to a lion inside the 21, but understanding that can be a game changer.

Sit down and talk to your manager, ask him how he sees you making the biggest positive impact on his team. Build on those strengths. Time is valuable so make sure to put it to good use. Develop physically and build on the skills that make sure your name is one of the first ones down on the team sheet.

On the flip side, have the awareness that if you have a glaring weakness, put a little time in to polish that up too. Just because you’ve decided the best course of action is to play to your strengths doesn’t mean you might not find yourself in a situation where you’re forced use your weak foot, or carry the ball further up the field, make the long kick pass or do whatever it is you feel has the potential to let you down.

If you don’t fit in to what’s expected of the ‘modern footballer’ it doesn’t mean you can’t be an important part of your team’s success. Stay injury free, train hard, do the basics right and let your strengths shine through. Many a man’s made a county career out of that, never mind been a good club player!

For more information on training, fitness and nutrition log on to www.pgthept.com and join my daily newsletter. Alternatively, tweet me @PGthePT or like my page on www.facebook.com/PGthePT for more of the same every week!
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