‘There’s no silver bullet for becoming great in your field other than 100% effort’

It’s that time of year again. Our summer break is over and the harsh realities of pre-season training are well underway.

Like the first day at school, pre-season camp sees a host of new faces thrown together for eight weeks of intense conditioning, fitness testing and cramming the playbook as we build towards another season of Premiership Rugby.

For a player, pre-season can be like Marmite. Social lives are put on hold in favour of sleep and recovery. Nutrition is scrutinised and body fat tracked. It’s head down and relentless, unapologetic hard work.

Professional rugby is a unique (and often strange!) vocation. We are competing daily with one another in a highly confrontational environment. Our ability to compete affords us opportunities to earn selection to play, which in turn determines our job security.

That’s why we make a commitment to be in the best possible position – mentally and physically – to be able to perform.

I’m about to embark on my tenth season in this world and I’ve still got the same buzz for pre-season camp as I did as a rookie back in Auckland.

When you are fortunate enough to represent a club the size of Bristol Bears with the ambition and fanbase that we have, you can’t afford to leave any stone unturned.

Bristol Bears players Jake Heenan (left) and Luke Morahan (right) are the co-owners of Burra on Lower Redland Road and Gloucester Road, with Jake’s wife Adèle managing the business – photo: Rogan Thomson

Training sessions are detailed (you’d expect nothing less from our director of rugby Pat Lam) with attention on high skills and performing under fatigue. We play ‘conditioning games’ which is like a high-intensity version of touch rugby, except someone has set your lungs on fire.

We know it’s those hours out on the field at the High Performance Centre which shape the end product at Ashton Gate.

We’ve all seen those breakthrough performances from athletes – I’m privileged to understand the grind that produces them.

Success is anything but linear. I was the recipient of six surgeries within the first five years of my career – four on my shoulders, one on my hand and one on my nose (which isn’t any prettier for it).

There’s no silver bullet for becoming great in your field other than 100 per cent effort and commitment, and pre-season epitomises that for us.

Heenan touches down against Gloucester for his first try of the 2020/21 season – photo: JMP

But what a beautiful occupation it is. My brother often reminds me that I get paid to chase around an egg-shaped ball, which puts things in perspective on the days my body feels 100 years old.

If I’ve learned anything over the past decade, it’s to enjoy the process. Changing room beers after a win will come and go, but there will always be more days to get to work!

As professional athletes, we can be extremely short-sighted beings. The next match is always the most important match you’ll ever play, and it’s no different for training sessions in pre-season. I’ve been around long enough to understand the ebbs and flows of these, and where I need to be to be at my best.

Like every other season, there will be highs and lows, injuries, setbacks, breakout seasons and, most importantly, opportunities.

Enjoy the ride!

Jake Heenan is a professional rugby player at Bristol Bears. The back row forward, a native New Zealander, has lived in Bristol since 2018 and is the co-owner and co-founder of Burra, a growing chain of Antipodean themed cafes in the city.

Main photo: Fever Pitch

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