For most players, the COVID-19 break saw everything come to a halt, but for Patrick Wood it was the spark he needed to push himself to new heights.
The 17-year old forward is currently dominating the NPL NSW scoring charts, having scored eight goals in seven games, and he puts his form down to the rigorous training he undertook during the layoff from football.
“When the season and training was shut down in March due to COVID, I made sure I continued to work hard and keep the training up,” he said.
“I went to the local park and completed all the training sessions set for us by our coaching staff. I also did some sprint training to maintain my speed and did quite a bit of gym work to build my strength.
“When the season was rebooted seven weeks ago I felt fit and strong and ready to play.
“At each training session I strive to do my best and continue to focus on improving so that each week that I play I am performing for the team,” he continued.
“We work hard each week at training and are a competitive team who goes into each game striving for a win. So far we have shown we can match it with the other teams in the competition.”
Making the step up to the NPL NSW Men’s 1 competition this season, Wood is juggling first grade football with his HSC studies, and it’s a challenge he’s relishing.
The star striker has his eyes set on the NPL Golden Boot, as he revealed he models his game off current Hyundai A-League Golden Boot Jamie Maclaren.
“I have really enjoyed the challenge, especially managing my football with my HSC studies at St. Paul’s this year,” he said.
“Although we are coming up against some players who are older and more experienced I feel our team approaches each game with a competitive and positive mindset and as a result have had some great wins so far this season.
“This season I have focused on my goal scoring at training. I am continuously working hard to keep going and scoring consistently.
“There’s never much time in front of the goal so I have worked on getting my shots away quickly.
“At this stage I want to continue to focus on scoring each game and helping the team to achieve and win,” he continued.
“I would be really happy to take out the Golden Boot for the NPL this season.
“I look up to Jamie Maclaren in the A-League and hope to be doing as well as he is one day in the near future.”
