From boxing to rugby league - and now the beautiful game

Otago Daily Times

30-04-2025

Sports journo Sam Coughlan has been in the boxing ring, trained with champion rugby league team Hornby Panthers and today he reports on his session with Christchurch United. Not that roundball is foreign to him – he is a fairly useful goalkeeper in his own right.
Who plays football at seven in the morning?
That was my exact thought as I arrived at the United Sports Centre in Yaldhurst with the sky still dark and the birds are yet to start chirping. Pummelled by the Panthers
'Some pretty hefty punches'
To make matters worse, I was told we would not be training on the two artificial turfs the club owns. Instead, we head for the dewy, soggy grass fields at the back of the facility, to help the team prepare for their pre-season clash in Blenheim the next day.
That came back to bite me. Midway through a quick six-a-side game, I tried to change direction and ended up on my backside.
I was more nervous for this session than others I've joined for this series.
With other codes, I had no expectations going in, but football's a different story. I've played since I was six, so part of me hoped I could hold my own.
Fortunately, I didn't feel totally out of place – even at a club like United, who finished third in the Southern League last year and won it the two seasons before. I leaned on my years of experience to try to keep up.
That said, being a goalkeeper hasn't exactly prepared me for the amount of running, passing and shooting outfield players do. Keepers, you know what I mean.
It was quick, really quick.
One drill had us in a tight space with two defenders trying to win possession from five attackers. I got caught out a few times trying to play the ball under pressure.
Later, we moved to shooting drills and with plenty of encouragement from my new teammates, I managed to find the back of the net past goalkeeper Ben Graney on a couple of occasions, exchanging passes with another player before being sent through on goal.
It's not something I'm used to. By my calculations, the last outdoor goal I scored was back in primary school.
While I didn't quite earn myself a contract offer from head coach Ryan Edwards, I'm confident I didn't completely embarrass myself. Hopefully.
But it wasn't all close control and clinical finishing.
In a seven-a-side game to finish the session, I found myself one-on-one with the keeper again, only to smash my shot into the crossbar.
That's also when I lost my footing on the wet grass trying to turn quickly. Classic.
Thankfully for my ego, there didn't seem to be any sense of frustration at my lack of skill, or questions of 'who is this guy?' Just a few smiles and, I suspect, a collective effort to stay in the reporter's good books. Smart lads.
Surprisingly, the early start didn't feel so bad by the end of the training session. I had done a solid hour of exercise, and it wasn't even 8.30am yet.
Maybe these morning workouts aren't such a terrible idea after all.