Monday (6 February 2017), is a travel day for the boys and
after a great performance against the Warriors in East London, they definitely
earned their rest.
(Away first class games (Sunfoil Series), basically are 5
days away from home. We normally leave
Johannesburg on a Wednesday morning, get to our hotel around 1pm, catch a quick
lunch and head of for training around 2pm to prepare for a game. A training day, before a game, away from
home, allows players to absorb the conditions they will face for the next 4
days and then we return to Johannesburg on Monday).
Our game against the Warriors was an extremely memorable one
indeed. This for various reasons. The
weather conditions for the 4 days, were extremely poor. Our favorable result, was purely due to the 2
captains. Home captain Simon Harmer and
Lions captain Stephen Cook, decided to make a game of the situation. All teams in the competition could win the
trophy, and both captains knew it was an all or nothing situation. Going into the last half an hour, both teams
could have won the game, but we were lucky to be on the winning side. Hence, we find ourselves in a must win situation
going into the final game of the season.
We could still win the competition.
Monday morning, was an early start. Being the driver for the staff bus, which
includes Head Coach; Geoff Toyana, Bowling Coach; Gordon Parsons and Captain
Stephen Cook; we are always the first to the airport, to make sure things move
smoothly for the rest of the team.
At the Lions, we are extremely blessed to have great staff
at the Bullring. Drivers, drops us off
and picks us up from the airport on every away trip. Thanks to them we all arrive safely back to
HQ and all the guys, head off, to their wives, girlfriends.
For myself, the day had just begun. All Lions players, that are injured and
required my attention, were booked to see me at The Wanderers Sports Medical
Centre (WSMC). My weekly physiotherapy
report of all Lions contracted players, were sent to the Medical Staff, coaches
and captain, following the game. This is
important for me to make sure the all the parties mentioned are communicated
well.
The team, arrived back to the Bullring on Tuesday (7
February 2017) to start preparing for our last first class game for the season,
against the Knights. Many of the guys,
started their day, at WSMC. My
appointments began at 8:30am today.
Between 8:00am and 9:30am, I usually treat players that
require maintenance work (they have slight niggles, but are fit to play). Many of the other players, were following
their “flush out” and flexibility session, in preparation for their training
session. Between 9:30am and 10:00am I
strap players who require strapping.
From 10:00am to 10:30am I assist players during their warm up for
practice and from 10:30am to 1pm I treat the injured players. Hence my treatment would include “hand on”
physiotherapy and rehabilitation at the Elite Functional Conditioning Centre
(EFCC) supplied by Origin Fitness SA. An
environment conducive to healing.
For the rest of the day, I look after WSMC. My day involved, meetings and treating
private patients. Since the beginning of
WSMC, I have been blessed to meet and treat people other than cricketers, which
is a break from the mundane. Today was
actually meant to be the launch of the Running Club at WSMC. We have been planning something rare and
unique for a few months now. WSMC and
Grant Thorthon (Auditing Company), will be collaborating to establish a Road Running
Club. This is an exciting initiative,
and many of the practitioners at WSMC, are excited to share their vast
knowledge with the runners of the club.
Unfortunately, due to the persistent rain, we had to cancel the launch
for next week.
Lets hope that boys pull it through this week at the
Bullring. A victory against the Knights
and a few favorable results in other games, could see us winning the Sunfoil
Series trophy.
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