Our specialist Football Sports Therapist, Hannah, supports local football team ‘Horndean FC’ to become Double Champions 2022/23!
Read Hannah’s story…
Hannah our specialist Football Sports Therapist, shares her story supporting a local Football team achieve greatness this season! After a long 10 months of matches Horndean FC were crowned Champions of the Wessex Premier League 2022/23 after a 1-0 home win against Portland, the winning goal coming in the 95th minute!
After a long season it had come down the last game of the season to determine the top league position with the other four top teams also playing that night.
Top league position was not confirmed as we had to win the last game of the season as 2nd and 3rd place Bermerton and Porchester of who had been top of the table until the last week of the season were also playing to finish top. After a 3-0 win for Bemerton it meant that they would finish second with Horndean finishing top of the table.
At the start of the season both the players and backroom staff were positive that this season was going to be the time that we lift the trophy and after everyone’s hard work and dedication that became a reality. We are not made up of individuals we are one team who both win and lose together.
To see what it meant to be boys as the season progressed and it started to become closer, it was rewarding to see all the hard work the players had put in from that first day on pre season back in June paying off.
Football Sports Therapist, Hannah’s journey with Horndean FC
I started working with Horndean FC as part of my placement alongside my final year of my degree during the 2021/22 season. This then led to the opportunity of being offered to remain with the club as their lead Sports Therapist.
Some of my main roles within the club is to work with the managers and the other backroom staff regarding players performance and injuries. Providing injury prevention interventions such as strength and conditioning and specific training sessions. Management of both acute and long term injuries by assessing and treating injured players back to full fitness.
Pre season was a very important element in the preparation of the season with the main focus being to progressively increase the muscular load to help meet the demands of playing football for 10 months. This included strengthen training along with cardio football training where the intensity of the sessions increased throughout pre season.
As a result, it meant that there were only a few muscular injuries towards the closing end of the season which only resulted in a total of 3 weeks of combined playing time lost. That was a result of the targeted pre season sessions increasing the strength and endurance that the players would sustain throughout the season.
After a long season we all went to Benidorm for the weekend to carry on with the celebrations. Fifteen hours after we landed, we played Fareham in the Portsmouth Senior Cup Final at Fratton Park. Both teams had very different preparations for the game over that weekend with Fareham getting in some last training sessions while we were out enjoying the Spanish sun!
That did not affect the boys and the motivation they had to bring another trophy home which would lead us to becoming double champions.
It was a tough game right from kick off with Fareham being a strong side like they had been all season, but our character and team spirit didn’t let that get in the way when we were 1-0 down in the first half. It was a 95th minute equaliser which meant the final result would be decided with penalties. It was at this moment where we became double champions with us scoring all our five penalties after our goalkeeper prevented Fareham from getting their first.
After a long season a well deserved break was earned before our new challenge in the Isthmian South East League. Pre season is now right around the corner with some strength and conditioning sessions already planned to help the players prepare for another season of football.
At Physio-logical I enjoy working with footballers who want to improve their football performance and prevent football injuries by offering strength and condition sessions. I also assist footballers with their niggles, aches and pains too.
If you would like to book an appointment with Sports Therapist Hannah, you can book online, email enquiries@physio-logical.net or call on 023 9435 0270.
