September had lots of NEW things, but sadly it's been 2 steps forward but 4 steps back!!... Here's why...
NEW School
I started secondary school, having earned 1 of only 120 places at my local Grammar School by doing the 11+ exam back in September 2019. The school has amazing sports facilities and I'm learning new things in Maths, Sciences and learning to speak German too (just in case Bayern Munich come calling one day 😉). I've made new friends quickly and so far I'm loving everything about it.
NEW Kaliaaer Gloves
Kaliaaer brought out their new colours in the XLR8aer gloves, which I absolutely love. You can see my review video on these here. I love the Red/Black/Silver colourway - which one is your favourite ?
Spurs
We watched the Amazon Prime series "All or Nothing - Tottenham Hotspur". This gave a great insight into the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on at a professional football club and it was really interesting to watch. I think the issue with Dele Alli now is because he is embarrassed about being called 'lazy' by Jose Mourinho in front of millions of viewers. We'll see if he can change his attitude and get back in the team or if he'll be loaned/sold by the end of the transfer window in October.
I also did the Spurs Dare SkyWalk with my Dad and a friend. You can watch my video of the experience here.
Spurs also beat Chelsea in our Carabao Cup match which was great to see, with a much-changed team as we'd been playing every 2 days in the Premier League, Europa League and Carabao Cup too.
Goalkeeper Coaching
My weekly sessions with Terry Mason of TMGA started once more, but I only attended 1 session in September. I missed 2 sessions with my Evolve Academy as I was playing in pre-season friendly matches for my new team.
NEW Football Team - NEW Season
During September I played in our 4th, 5th & 6th pre-season friendly matches for my new football team. In those matches we lost 2-5, drew 2-2 and lost 4-6. It was all good experience and lots of practice for me 😀.
Then at training, the day before our 1st match of the new season, I started getting a pain in my left foot. I hadn't hit it or twisted it, but the pain got worse through the session. The next day I played in our 1st league match with quite a bit of pain. We then did R.I.C.E. - I applied ice to it when I got home, rested it that week (no school PE/Games and no goalkeeper coaching sessions), I wore a compression sock and elevated it when sitting down at home.
The following Sunday I played in our 2nd match of the season, but I really shouldn't have! The pain in my left foot was slightly better, but still there and I could hardly move. So it was pretty useless me being in goal to be honest.
2 days later I went to see a physio and she confirmed that I have torn ligaments in my left foot. The only way to heal is 5-6 weeks rest and then gradual strengthening. In addition, to stop this happening again I must do regular stretching to keep my leg and foot muscles/ligaments stretchy and supple so that they don't tear when I'm doing sport. I have strong leg muscles so it's about getting a balance between being strong but also flexible.
Golf
Luckily I could still do my fortnightly golf lesson as it was just a putting session and I have no pain when standing and walking. In our 1 hour lessons we always do practice then have a little competition at the end. I was really pleased to win the putting competition this session. Next lesson is on our short-game (chipping, bunker-play, etc.).
Hashtag United
It was great to see Hashtag Utd win their FA Cup plenary round match on the BBC! Who would have thought Spencer Owen could create a team who go on to be a massive YouTube phenomenon and become a non-league team playing in the FA Cup on National TV ?!! Well done to everyone at Hashtag Utd and I'm hoping to watch the next round vs Braintree Town on 3rd October.