Sharman: Bydgoscz Here I Come

Things are hotting up with the Bydgoscz training camp less than 2 weeks away.

I have been finding things difficult working with my new coach simply because his English is not very strong (with all due respect).

So here comes this training camp and I will have to fund it in the hope that I see the returns by having a great season by coming back in the best shape of my life and pushing that form into an upward trend through the season… that’s what we hope.

A few weeks ago I had my doubts, this training group is mostly comprised of females, (not a bad thing, they smell nicer and look prettier than blokes in skin-tights) but this means that I can’t really be tested in training by any one.

The way I am looking at the forthcoming training camp is like this: it’s worth going because if I don’t go, I will train here in the cold UK by myself and the chances of picking up new ideas are slim, I can only train using old ones. Secondly, a focused training environment is better than a lonely training environment, with no coach and no other athletes,

Whatever Bydgoscz holds for me I will put my mind to it and gain whatever I can, the main aim is to be able to train without any distractions and to receive undivided attention by my Coach George.

[FIRST POST] Will Sharman: Working with Benke Blomkvist

So far we’ve bought you only the views of football players and Managers but now we’re branching out. The latest name to be writing a blog here on mysportsthoughts is athlete Will Sharman, who is hopeful of reaching the Olympics in 2012.

The 110m metre hurdler will be keeping us up to date with his trials and trbulations, starting with his recent ‘coaching saga.’

At the end of the summer season in 20008, my former coach John Anderson very honourably opened the door for me to seek a new coach after what we considered to be an unsuccessful season; narrowly missing out on the Olympics in Beijing.

So in October 2008 I moved from the East Midlands to South Wales to work with UK Athletics appointed coach, Benke Blomkvist. Wales is a long way from home for me so it took a lot of arm bending by UKA to get me down there. As far as UKA were concerned, only a hurdles specific coach employed by themselves would sustain the lottery support that I had been receiving over the past 12 months, my other coaching suggestions were snubbed.

When I did move to Cardiff the appointed hurdles coach was taken sick for three months only two weeks after my arrival. Making my prospects of a well guided ‘winter’ bleak. He did return on the day of my first competition and it made such a huge difference to be coached again! The downside was that it was pretty late into the winter to make technical changes, it was competition time and a lot of technical changes were long overdue.

Credit where credit is due, Benke is a fantastic coach to work with. Or was should I say because Friday the 13th March 2009 was his last day in office as a UKA coach, he now goes back to Sweden and therefore I also return home.

In the few weeks Benke had worked with me on technique, we had improved my indoor personal best by almost a tenth of a second – from 7.77 in 2006 to 7.69 in 2009. This is really encouraging as it was almost 3 years since covering new ground and there is a still lot more to do.

Such is life, but it’s always a shame when you move coaches unexpectedly after moulding a high level of communication. I will keep in touch with Benke so it’s more of a ‘cya later’ than a farewell.

[FIRST POST] Bobby White: The season is coming to an end

Bobby White is another new recruit to mysportsthoughts as he keeps us up to date in his long quest to make it to London 2012.

The 25-year-old goalkeeper is part of the British Handball Association’s World Class Development squad based in Denmark as they look to overcome the recent blow of a cut to their funding.

As well as training with England, the Northampton born star, plays in the Danish league with BMI, he will be providing us with regular blogs from his base in Arhus.

The Danish Handball season is coming to an end and after an impressive first competitive season, I am looking forward to a couple of weeks off and then getting back into pre-season training.

The season has had it’s highlights and low points. At our Danish base camp, Idraetshojskon, Arhus just 6 of the 12 athletes that started the year remain due to the financial difficulties the programme has experienced. Other opportunities were presented for the more experienced members of the squad as they joined Bundesliga outfit TUSEM Essen in the German top flight.

For the remaining 6 it has been a difficult period as our daily academy sessions have suffered due to lack of numbers however stand in coach Jesper Holmris (GB Womens Head Coach) has made the most of the situation and has kept us motivated with competitive and enjoyable training despite the lack of players!

In two weeks the season will be over and I will be leaving Denmark for home to begin what I hope to be an intense physical training period to get myself into the best possible condition for the summer training camps.

A new coach is set to be in place in a couple of weeks and it is up to us to impress in our first camp at the end of April so everyone will need to be in peak condition.

After the pre-season training, there is still a question mark as to where the majority of the squad will be with offers coming in from all over Europe, I am hoping one will arrive which will allow us to continue our exponential development while also being financially viable for the players.

Wayne Allison: Setting The Record Straight

I wanted to bring you up to speed with my current situation, contrary to media reports I have not left my role as Assistant Manager at Bury because there was never a formal arrangement in place.

I agreed to go in and help Alan Knill out after his Assistant, Chris Wilder, left to go to Oxford. I went in over the Christmas period to see how things went.

We have now both decided that the situation wasn’t working for either of us.

I will now go back to looking for jobs and getting out there to as many games as possible and I am looking forward to furthering my coaching career.

I would like to thanks Alan Knill and Bury Football Club and wish them all the best in their quest for promotion.

Wayne Allison: I’ve Left Chester

I wanted to bring people up to date with my situations, as I have now left Chester City.

I felt it would be a difficult situation to remain at the club after the change of circumstances, although I must stress that Mark Wright had wanted me to stay on in a coaching capacity and didn’t want me to leave.

I have enjoyed my time at Chester, I have really enjoyed working with the players and the fans have been absolutely fantastic.

I also want to thank the Chairman for providing me with a fantastic management opportunity and now I am looking forward to progressing my career elsewhere.

I would like to wish Mark Wright and Steve Bleasdale all the best for the rest of the season.

I will now go back to continuing my studies at university, which I have neglected over the past few months, while I seek further management opportunities.

WAYNE ALLISON EXCLUSIVE

I was as shocked as anyone to hear the news of Simon’s departure. It came as a complete surprise especially with games coming up against Morecambe and Aldershot, games which I think we can win at home.

Simon is a great bloke and a very good coach. We had an excellent working relationship, one which I hope we can renew again in the future. I firmly believe he will go on to be a successful Manager and hopefully he will be back in the game very soon.

I felt it was a difficult time for him, with Chester’s limited resources and the Club in the transfer embargo which prevented him bringing any new faces in, which could have freshened things up, made a real impact and probably got us out of the position we are in.

So to say it is hugely disappointing is an understatement.

I have spoken to the club and I was asked to be Caretaker Manager for the Morecambe game. I will be taking training and preparing the players for the game.

I also had a long chat with Simon about my position. He bought me to the club, which I am extremely grateful for and now I have his full backing which is very important to me.

I would like to state that I am not going to be putting my name forward for the vacant Managers job.

I feel that at this time in my career I want to continue my development as a coach and have more experience as an Assistant Manager, which will hopefully stand me in good stead for the future, when hopefully I will be a Manager.

Wayne Allison: I’m almost ready

First of all I better apologise for a lack of updates. It’s been a busy few weeks, the games have been coming thick and fast and there has been a lot of planning to do.

I am beginning to realise now why managers age so quickly, there is always something going on and something to do, be it watch dvd’s, go to games, plan training sessions or write reports on the opposition.

Throw into the equation getting myself back to full fitness, so I am available for selection you can see why it’s been so manic!

I would just like to set the record straight about me signing on as a player for Chester. I may have just celebrated a big birthday but I never retired. I have read a few stories about the Manager persuading me to come out of retirement, but I always hoped that I would get another chance to play.

I always wanted the decision to finish playing to be mine, not forced upon me by any managers. I am still feeling good and I know I can do a job if needed.

It’s been a while since my last game but I have been joining in training and I am getting closer to full fitness, so if needed I will soon be ready to hopefully help out Chester City.

Sean St Ledger:Tougher than ever!

It’s Swansea tomorrow and we know it will be another tough match. I have not been surprised how well they seem to have adapted to live in this league.

They did really well last year and they are a passing team and if you are a passing team then it makes the step up a lot easier. We get all the stats sent through to us and I think they are the team who made the most passes last month, so they have come up and they are trying to play football the right way.

They had a great result against Cardiff last week and it will be another tough game but i think every game in this league now is really tough.

You look at the three teams that came up, Nottingham Forest, Swansea and Doncaster all massive teams and then obviously the three that came down in Derby, Birmingham and Reading are three massive clubs again so the league is obviously a lot stronger now than ever before.

A lot of those teams are averaging crowds of over 20,000 for every home game, so when you do play these clubs there is a great atmosphere, they have a great away following as well so that helps them.

We are expecting it to be pretty loud at Deepdale on Tuesday but it is down to us to make sure it our fans doing all the singing.

Bobby White: I have returned to England

So the Danish Handball season is over for myself and the rest of the squad at the Academy and I have returned to England where I am currently taking a week off from training. I am using this time to concentrate on my studies as well as planning my training for the coming weeks and spending time with friends and family.
The GB squad still await news from the British Handball Association regarding the appointment of our new coach and also the date for our first training camp which is likely to be at the end of April.

Looking forward, there may be an opportunity to return to the Sports Academy in Arhus, Denmark depending on scholarship and sponsorship opportunities that are currently being looked at by the Academy. I have been invited to join Second Division club Skovbakken which is close to the Academy so this may be a good prospect for next season, providing a financial solution can be found.

Sean St Ledger: I can’t wait for the Derby

It’s a really big game on Saturday the two games I have played in at Burnley have both been really exciting games with loads of action. I think Preston’s record at Burnley is good and everyone is really looking forward to it. There is no better game than playing in a local derby, especially after the way we performed against Wolves, we all feel we have got a point to prove.

Last year there were a couple of sending offs at Turf Moor and the games are really heated and I am sure because of last season it will give it an added edge and bit more spice to the game.

There is also the added spice with Graham Alexander now at Burnley and Richard Chaplow is here. They have swapped sides but we don’t really think about that too much, that is probably more of a personal issue for them. For Chappy he wears the Preston shirt with pride and I am sure he will be putting in 100% if he is picked to play on Saturday.

I don’t know too much about the history of Preston and Burnley but the rivalry is quite strange because the two towns aren’t that close. Coming from Birmingham, Birmingham v Villa was the main derby and that’s only a couple of miles apart, obviously there is the Liverpool and Manchester derbies where the rivalry is understandable.

But whatever the reason for the intense rivalry I love playing in these games, it is what you play football for and it is why I became a professional.