Fearless swagger: The Secrets of Jack Grealish

London, Tuesday When the lights are switched off at Aston Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground and most players have gone home, the captain is not even thinking about clocking off. Jack Grealish’s performance for England against Belgium proved what Villa coaches, players and fans have known for some time — this is a remarkable footballer who always had the talent and temperament to shine on the international stage, if only he would be given a chance. What fewer people recognise is the ferocious dedication Grealish has shown to reach this level. Building work at Villa’s training ground means players can no longer sleep on site, but when they could, Grealish would finish his session at lunchtime, grab a bite to eat and a couple of hours’ kip and head to the gym with close friend Oli Stevenson, Villa’s strength and conditioning coach, often staying until 7pm. During lockdown, Grealish installed fitness equipment at his home in Barnt Green, a village 10 miles south of Birmingham, where neighbours often spot him pounding the treadmill. He relies on resistance bands to increase strength and power. As the most fouled player in the Premier League this season, Grealish is often battered and bruised after matches and wears a compression suit to ice his aching muscles and joints. Stevenson has played a key role in Grealish’s rise. The pair were in the Villa youth set-up together before Stevenson was released in 2013, with illness ending his chances of earning a professional deal but after a sports science degree at Loughborough university, Stevenson returned to Villa and was soon promoted to work with the first team. ‘He’s worked extremely hard in the gym,’ said Villa boss Dean Smith. ‘His old youth-team mate is our strength and conditioning coach and he spends hours in the gym with him. ‘He’s got unbelievable balance. that comes from the strength work. People try to knock him over but he can go past people either way.’ Yet all the gym work in the world can only take a player so far. Luckily for Grealish, he has always had abundant natural ability, which was honed playing Gaelic football for the John Mitchels club in Solihull, West Midlands, where he grew up. ‘I loved playing Gaelic football when i was younger and I think it played a massive part in my development as a footballer,’ Grealish has said. His coaches at the time watched the Belgium game with huge pride — tinged with some disappointment that he chose England rather than Ireland, the country of his grandparents. The qualities that bamboozled the Belgians were apparent when Grealish was playing Gaelic football, aged 12. ‘Jack was superb at soloing (the equivalent of dribbling),’ says JP Walsh, chairman of John Mitchels. ‘People still talk about a goal he scored when he ran the length of the field. He was very courageous, very strong on the ball, not frightened of taking responsibility.’- Daily Mail

Fearless swagger: The Secrets of Jack Grealish

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Fearless swagger: The Secrets of Jack Grealish

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