The Next Chapter - 23rd March 2013

The Next Chapter - Present & Future

Following on from the last post discussing my future and my aspirations for the next few years, I will delve further into the details of what I plan on doing and how I plan on going about it.  Since around January I have been putting small pieces of my future plan into action, doing research into what is required and sending emails to people who are in a position to help me along the path I would like to take.

Since my intense amount of physio treatment following my knee injury in October 2010, I have become increasingly interested in the physical side of the human body and how it works, develops and repairs itself when damaged/injured.  Although at the moment my knowledge is pretty basic, I feel I have the foundations to build on and more than enough interest to progress myself in the Physiotherapy field.  Something I have discovered about myself during my education over the years is that I must be interested in the topic if I am to succeed.  Based on my previous results and qualifications, this is proven and my higher marks have always been in the topics or subjects that I have found interesting so this evidence coupled with my more mature approach to learning is a recipe for success in my eyes.

Throughout life I have challenged myself to various tasks and so far passed the test on all occasions up to Honours degree level, something which I am proud of but intend to work on further.  The people who know me and are aware of my future plans have all encouraged me to go ahead with my plans and most of them have even said they imagine me in the Physiotherapy field for a long term career, after all, I love sport and I am constantly updating myself with how things work as well as discovering ways of improving my own performance in football, both technically and physically.  A prime example of this would be my recovery from serious injury.  It was once upon a time a career ending injury, when a cruciate ligament was torn, but in modern day sport and life in general, people recover to near their previous ability, if not fully recovered.

I personally to date have found myself in a comfortable position and feel better than I ever have since my 3rd and final operation, just over 1 year ago.  I feel at my fittest since then and I am at my lightest for many years, although I no longer do as much weight training as I used to, which no doubt contributes to my lighter body weight. 

Left; Barely Fit Into My Shirt - Right; More Than Enough Room To Breathe

I myself have felt and seen the benefits personally, both physically in terms of my body and fat levels along with my cardiovascular fitness levels.  Pre-season was tough, much tougher than I thought, my fitness allowed me to play about 15 minutes at full capacity, then my muscles became tired before anything else, but I constantly felt heavy and I wasn't in the shape to play football, especially as a right winger!

As I continued to work hard and also play more minutes on the pitch, my fitness considerably improved.  Although I didn't notice major changes until around January 2013, as well as a few comments from people, generally asking if i'd lost weight, then it dawned on me that my body was actually doing what I wanted it to do for once, as it felt like an age since I felt physically half decent about myself and in terms of self esteem, that was rising a little too, although it was at an ultimate low so the only way was up!

To start my path onto Physiotherapy I have recently booked myself a place on the FA's emergency first aid course, just to give myself a basis for development.  I intend on building on that and progressing myself a lot more before I even start my degree in Physiotherapy.  I will be studying a level 3 Science access course from September which will give me the knowledge equivalent of GCSE, AS level and A level, all in one academic year, so I can then progress onto what will be level 4, Honours degree level.

I guess this is the start of another part of my story.  Although I would like to put my knee injury and everything that came with it behind me, I can only face the truth and see that it will always be there and there will be no way of hiding it, even by covering my physical scars, the emotional ones will always be there no matter what I do in life, but I am using this as a positive point and using it to push me harder and overall it has made me a more mature and determined individual and I'm now wearing my heart on my sleeve more than I ever have done!