Having played as a youngster for Burnley Cricket Club, it is perhaps no surprise that Ollie Norwood is of the opinion that sportsmen can get better with age. The club produced Jimmy Anderson who is still taking Test wickets at 40, while Norwood is going strong with Sheffield United and making a case of being the Championship’s most impactful player this season.
Norwood, 31, has been lying deep in midfield, orchestrating play for Paul Heckingbottom’s team as they look for a way back to the Premier League. He has been fuelled by the heartache of falling short in the play-offs last term, along with a training regime to keep him ready for another gruelling campaign.
His highest score for Burnley CC as a batsman was 196 – “I just tried to leather it as hard as I could” is how he described his style – but he will pass the double-century of appearances for his club soon. Before this weekend’s FA Cup tie at Millwall he is two away from the milestone in his fifth season at Bramall Lane, with no intention of slowing down his run-rate of games.
'I've never missed a single training session'
“I’ve not missed a training session since I’ve turned professional,” he said. “It is down to looking after myself properly away from football. When I retire I might enjoy a couple more beers than I do at the moment.
“But the training is within me now. I’m doing extra bits on my bike on days off to make sure I’m available in every game. Mentally, we are tuned to doing something every day. I’ve played football every day since I was six and I can’t sit still.
“It used to be ‘get to 30’ but now players are well into their 30s. Look at Sharpy at 37, Phil Jagielka at 40. People are looking after themselves better now and there is so much done with nutrition and recovery and facilities.”
It was when Norwood was in Manchester United’s Academy that his eyes were opened to the importance of looking after his body. His role model was Paul Scholes for his passing range but he needed a wake-up call from his coaches to get into better shape for his career.
“I didn’t really understand the nutrition side,” he said. “Basically, eat what you want and burn it off. Warren Joyce was the reserve-team coach with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and he pulled me in and said: ‘Physically you can’t get around the pitch, you’re not lean enough.’
“He went into the kitchen and asked the chef for five 1kg bags of sugar. He asked me to hold them and told them that was what I was carrying, ‘Just imagine if you lost that.’ It hit home and I realised I needed to sort it out. I was grateful to Joycey for that chat. Any chance I had I was ruining it. He said Scholesy was eight or nine per cent body fat and you are 14 or 15 per cent, so how do you expect to give yourself a chance.”
Norwood’s route back to the Premier League came via becoming a promotion specialist, playing his part in Brighton, Fulham and Blades taking the step to the top-flight. His experience has helped this season as younger players like Iliman Ndiaye and James McAtee in their first promotion campaign.
Like Scholes at United, Norwood has taken it upon himself to be an ear for the young players if needed and offer advice if asked.
'Scholes was such a role model at Manchester United'
“He was such a role model and would be happy to speak to the young players,” Norwood said. “He always said to be two or three passes ahead of the game. Before receiving the ball, you should know you have the big switch of the play, the one into the striker or a pass in behind. He said before you receive the ball you should always have a picture. It is easier said than done. But if you look, he is always looking the other way when he receives the ball.”
Moving the ball around the pitch for his team has been Norwood’s function, starting attacks from the base of midfield, and also withstanding some heavy challenges as opposition look to stop the source of control. But nothing has hurt as much as losing to Nottingham Forest in the play-offs last season on penalties, giving Norwood extra motivation to go one better this time around.
“Sometimes football kicks you where it hurts,” he said. “The best thing to do was get away with the family straight away, you put a brave face on but you dwell on it.
“On my first running session back I said to myself: ‘I’m not going through that again.’ On that first day, the lads cracked on straight away and I think there is a different feel, a determination to get promoted. Even if nobody is saying it, they are thinking. It would put last season to bed as it still hurts. It was probably the worst feeling in football ever.”
It will be a different summer if Blades hold on to their place in the top two of the Championship. Before pre-season, Norwood might even be seen at Burnley CC watching some cricket at his old club in the shadows of Turf Moor.
It is where Anderson, the Burnley Express, used to steam into bowl and he is still at the top of his game. It is what Norwood hopes to do too. “That is my aim, to play as long as I can. I’d love to play until someone says ‘Ollie, that’s enough’,” he said.