The Calm Before the Storm

Mar 1, 2016 - Anxiously counting down the days, an ongoing theme since the injury back in early January. In two days I will be back in to see the surgeon and hopefully get an idea of when and how surgery will take place to rebuild and replace my evaporated ACL ligament.

I've put in 4-6 hours of physiotherapy every week since the injury and am feeling great - all with a grain of salt of course, but nonetheless I'm optimistic, moving freely and am pain free. Rob at Nova Physio tells me I'm at and even beyond the strength he would like to see before going in for the procedure, which is great news - my work is paying off.

Twist and Pop

January 13, 2016 - I've a week of hard-work under my belt at this point and starting to feel good again after the holiday break. My local men's soccer team's winter league is starting up again tonight and I'm itching to get back on the field. We have a league of 4 teams within our club that plays once a week as a way to incorporate new things from training into game like situations and also to maintain fitness over the snowy months here in Newfoundland. The club (Feildian's Athletic Association) fields one Premier Men's squad that competes in the Newfoundland & Labrador Soccer Association Challenge Cup League, which sends its annual winner to Canadian Soccer Association National Championships.

Manchester, England

Welcome to Manchester, one of England's busiest, most historic cities. Its rich history in both industry and football make it a major player in England for locals and tourists alike. Hell, even the age-old Coronation Street soap opera is filmed and based out of Manchester.

The United Trinity - George Best, Denis Law, Sir Bobby Charlton.

The foundations of the city are industrious, hardworking people. My first foray here as a young teenager was very eye opening as we drove through the countless factories to reach a rough community pitch where we'd be playing against two local football clubs. We (a select team from Nova Scotia, Canada) were trounced on the day but I was able to take away the player of the game nods and a club banner from Boundary Park FC - great memories.

Now with that bit of background, you'll understand my main draw to Manchester being football...but even I was shocked at just how much more the city had going for it.