Peyton Ackley - The Beginning of Change

Chapter 24 - Australia

The week of travel and training had drained the players once again, but with the controlled exercises they were doing, it seemed like everyone was beginning to recover. Ice baths were everybody's best friend when it came to healing their cramping muscles and getting to go to bed early many nights in the past week meant I was adored by the team.

"You've done well," Tony said as he approached me during MD-1 training.

"Thank you," I replied.

"There might be a more permanent position here for you in the future," he suggested.

"We'll have to see, I'm definitely invested in Arsenal at the moment, but I'm glad the opportunity is there," I said with a smile.

As training wrapped up and the girls hit the showers and physiotherapy rooms I was greeted by two of my fellow Gunners. Steph and Caitlin dragged me into a more private area of the hotel to 'ask me something' as they told me.

"We don't know if we're ready to play," spat out Caitlin while we were still in a heavily populated area of the hotel.

"I thought you guys said you were feeling better with all the recovery," I replied.

"Yes we are, but what if something happens?" Steph asked.

"Steph, Caitlin, the first step of playing is trusting yourself, trusting your body. You both know that you can get on that pitch and captain" - I gestured to Steph - "and score your way through to the Olympics," I replied gesturing to Caitlin.

"Yeah, but what if we can't this time?" replied Steph.

"If you can't trust yourselves, you trust me," I explained. "You trust that what I'm saying is true, that what I'm thinking is correct, that I know you both well enough as people and players to know that you can get on that pitch and change the game." Caitlin and Steph both started nodding in response. "I'll make a deal with you. You play the first half, you judge how you're feeling and then you either sub or continue playing even if it leads to a sub at 60 or 70 minutes. Then, when we're back at Arsenal you will be rested."

"You can control that?" Caitlin asked.

"About resting you guys at Arsenal? Yes. I'm your physiotherapist, I get to judge your physical condition and if it is not meeting standards you can't take the field and that is my call."

Steph and Caitlin hugged and thanked me before heading off to their final recovery session before the last game of their Olympic Qualifiers.

* * *

During the first half, the team had smashed it. We were 8 - 0 up against Uzbekistan. The atmosphere of Marvel Stadium was incredible, nothing like the experience back in Uzbekistan. I could see green and gold that flooded the entire stadium each person waving a flag, or a sign, or even just their fist in the air as they cheered the Matildas on.

As the whistle went for halftime I intercepted Caitlin and Steph to ask them whether they needed a substitute or not. Caitlin told me she'd like to sub, the attacking front had been hard work in the first half and she wasn't sure whether she could keep it up. Steph had a similar idea but agreed to sub around the 60-minute mark instead.

I thought Tony was going to disagree with the request as I'm not a part of the coaching staff, but he claimed that if I figured it was necessary then he had subs prepared. I did have to assure him that I wasn't just watching out for the Arsenal players though, and that none of the other players were showing extreme signs of fatigue but that I would speak to them anyway.

Getting to see just how much soccer the Australians were playing was insane and something I'd never quite realised. Yes, all the players at Arsenal and every other club play a lot, but the amount of travel added for the Australians is just adding to their fatigue. Obviously, we can't just start cutting competitions and spacing out games, it just wouldn't be functional. But putting some thought into how many minutes each player is doing, how much travel they're required to partake in, and other non-skill-related statistics would surely help with injury control.

* * *

We did it. We actually did it. We just beat Uzbekistan 10 - 0 up. Now I see what the girls were talking about when they say they play better with a big crowd. I didn't expect the medical and training staff to be involved in the celebrations, but when everyone ran onto the pitch I immediately went with them.

Was I meant to be running full out? In reality, yes, in my mind, no. So when my knee took all my weight I was scared at first but it held out. I got jumped on by the Arsenal girls and even Ellie and Hayley as we all celebrated that we had qualified for the Olympics. Whether I would be at the Olympics with them wasn't even in my brain, I was just glad that I could help them get this far.

Adrenaline was definitely high as the celebratory shirts were handed out to each of the players and they did their victory walk. I sat back with the rest of the medical team admiring the hard work we'd put into each of the players as they laughed and smiled and cheered along with their fans. At least if I couldn't be out there wearing the green and gold as a player, it was nice to be a part of the process to get the players out there.

The massive plane ticket was definitely a surprise to all. I don't think the players, coaching staff or fans really had any idea a massive ticket was going to be brought out, but seeing everyone's faces light up at the sight of it made me smile. These girls are my life's work, literally. I've studied for nearly six years to sit here and make sure they do well, and seeing them all stand there taking in the fans and the actual achievement of the Olympics makes all the years worth it. 

I thought the celebrations were going to calm down after we exited the field but someone pulled out bottles of champagne and the locker room erupted in cheers once again. Even standing to the side filming the shenanigans resulted in you getting drenched in champagne as I soon learnt when Caitlin sprayed a bottle all over me. This team understood the hard work that the medical team puts into them, so being involved in the celebrations was a nice touch. 

Steph came over to the corner of the room that I was basically hiding in and slung an arm around my shoulder. "You coming to the after party?" she asked.

"There's an after party, I thought this was the after," I replied in shock.

"It'll be fun," she reasoned.

Turning to look at her she already had the 'please' gaze going so I impulsively said yes. Before I knew what was going on Steph yelled out to the entire locker room, "She said 'yes'." I must've missed the memo when it came to why she was asking because the room broke out into cheers again. Could they get louder? Apparently so. Did I think they could get louder? No, no I did not.

I'd been deafened by the cheering and laughter of the team but Caitlin jumped up on one of the benches to make an announcement. "Now... let's party!" Caitlin yelled at the top of her lungs with the rest of the team cheering along.

WORDS: 1262

a/n: not loving this chapter but the next one will be better, feel free to leave comments for other book ideas you want to see

on another note: you guys are actually amazing, how on Earth is this book already at 15K reads and over 500 votes, thank you so much xx