CBC-Sports

Cronin's got guts

February 3, 2009 10:21 AM | Posted by   Jason de Vos  

For the first time in 18 years, I attended the first day of pre-season training without the usual sense of impending doom.

They say the anticipation of pain is worse than the pain itself, but having been through 18 pre-seasons, I’d have to disagree. Pre-season hurts and no amount of training in the off-season makes it any less painful.

Toronto FC began their 2009 campaign in typical pre-season fashion on Monday, with the dreaded “bleep test.” Thankfully for me, they didn’t make the members of the media take part.

There are various forms of the “bleep test” out there, but the basic principal is the same for all of them. There are two lines of cones set out, usually 20 metres apart. A CD is played on a stereo, and when it bleeps, you run from one line to the next. When it bleeps again, you run back to where you started. If you fail to get to the line before the bleep, you get a warning. Miss the line twice in a row, and you’re done. The coaches record your score, with either a nod of approval or a stern look of disappointment.

Some veteran savvy

There is a trick to all this, though, and only the veteran players know it.

Most teams will do the “bleep test” at the end of the season, as it gives the coaching staff a base line to use for comparison. Your pre-season scores are put up against your end-of-season scores to see if your fitness levels have dropped off.

The veteran players, like Carl Robinson, Danny Dichio and Jim Brennan, all know this. They will all remember what their score was at the end of the season, and they will have that target in their mind as they are running the test. “I’ve just got to beat last season’s score,” is a mantra that plays over and over in your mind, and it pushes you through intolerable levels of pain. I know this because I did it myself. In 18 years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a veteran player fail to better his end-of-season score.

The veterans also know that you don't win a spot in the starting 11 by killing yourself on the first day. They do well enough to avoid the attention of the fitness coach, but they don't push themselves right to the wall. The season is a marathon, not a sprint, and the slow-and-steady approach works best in pre-season.

Fullout on first day

But the young guys don’t know this. They think that they’re running for a gold medal in the Olympics, as though their entire career hinges on the result of this test. In a sense, they’re probably right, because if a rookie isn’t the last man standing when the "bleep test" is over, you can be sure the veterans will gloat about it for the rest of pre-season.

It does, however, show the coaching staff how badly those rookies want to make the team. And from that perspective, John Carver and Paul Winsper will have had a smile on their faces after training.

Hats off to Sam Cronin, then, because when it was all said and done, he was the last man standing. The team’s top draft pick, taken second overall in this year’s MLS draft, kept running until there was no one left. It nearly killed him, but he showed everyone that he’s not here to make up the numbers. If he’s half as good with a ball at his feet, Toronto FC fans will have something to smile about too.

----------

It was quite funny listening to the players doing interviews before training, and I certainly felt a sense of déjà vu. Year after year, I had trotted out the exact same lines.

“It’s great to be back.”

“It’s great seeing the boys again.”

“This is going to be the year that we do it.”

This is all “football-speak”, and you certainly don’t expect to hear anything different. But I got the distinct impression that they are all very genuine. There seems to be a real belief in the camp that this year is going to extend into the post-season for the first time in club history.

I’ve been involved as a player in pre-season media days where you say all the right things, but deep down you know you’re going to be in for a long, hard struggle. There is no real conviction in your words, and you fear that people can hear the apprehension in your voice.

I didn’t get that feeling today, and if Mo Johnston can bring in one or two more players to add to the group that ran their hearts out on Monday, I think this could very well be a season to remember.

" Previous Post | Main
  •