This week, we’re joined by Charlton Athletic and Northern Ireland international forward Conor Washington.
Conor took an unusual route into professional football, and approached it with an even more unusual mindset. Where most who enter the game have seen a career in football as an ambition, that was never really a goal for Conor. Never attached to an academy while growing up, he was relatively set on living what you might call a ‘normal’ life while playing for non-league St Ives Town in the United Counties League. Only when he was signed by Newport County at the age of 20, having plundered in plenty of goals in the lower reaches of non-league football, did a career in football seem plausible.
We talk about how his attitude towards football while growing up, different to many others in the game, has shaped him and how becoming a professional has not changed his identity, the overwhelming challenge that adapting to professional football posed, the testing elements that exist in player-fan relationships, as well as relationships within a dressing room that have been difficult to build given the restrictions in place as a consequence of the pandemic, the importance of sport psychology and developing conviction in himself as a footballer, and the fact that footballers are just real human beings.
If you’re new here, follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram @WellBallingPod. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @K_AndrewsPhotos, and most importantly of all, keep well, keep safe, and keep talking about mental health.
