We grill AFC Wimbledon & England U17 Goalkeeper - Joe Bursik

It was great to chat to AFC Wimbledon and England U17 Goalkeeper Joe Bursik last month about football and his experiences of football tours.

Joe & the CE Sports Team

How long have you been playing football?

I started when I was about 9 years old, that was just like kick about every weekend with your mates and I joined Wimbledon at that time as well, so we were just playing Sunday league really playing against other little local teams. That’s when I joined the team, but I’ve been playing football for as long as I can remember.

What memories do you have of going on tour?

It was great fun. To be honest it was just like being in and around your mates in your rooms and just chatting and laughing around, playing PS4 the whole time.

What kind of things do you do on tour, aside from the training?

On the spare days off they’re quite big on having a lot of rest. Obviously when you’re younger its not quite as important but you do things like having a walk around the local town, get some time off, have a look in the local shops, just explore really cause you’re not there for that long really, maybe a week. Its good to get to know the area you’re in.

What would a traditional day on tour be like?

Most recently on my England tour they’re very big on rest. You’d wake up about 9, have breakfast, education, there’s a 2 hour slot for that which everyone has to do, which is basically a BTEC sport and your club sends though the work that you have to do, lunch, then after lunch we’d have a team meeting about how the game the day before went, then go out to training, come back, recover and rest really.

What kind of things do you eat on tour?

It is usually a buffet, a lot of meat and salad. Its all good food.

Where is your favourite place to play football, other than England?

Anywhere around the world is good as its different and out of your comfort zone and you get to play on different surfaces. Its good to see the different facilities that they have in different countries.

Read part 2 of the interview in next weeks blog. Thanks Joe!

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