The excitement is building for many of our fans ahead of the new season, but Chris McConnell has already experienced a different kind of adrenaline rush during his time off.
Our Head of Sports Science is pretty much prepared for anything, after doing a skydive over Salisbury recently.
“When the day came, the plane journey up was probably the worst bit!” said Chris. “The actual fall itself was incredible! It was really exhilarating, something I’d recommend, and I’d definitely be looking to do it again. It’s a feeling unrivalled, quite frankly.
“I was free falling for about a minute or so and just chilling in the air, taking in the scenery. It was good fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Chris pictured skydiving this summer
Such is the changing nature of modern football these days, Chris is becoming one of the longest-serving members of Johnnie Jackson’s backroom team.
“For me, it’s been about trying to maintain some form of consistency during some testing times,” said Chris.
“Covid hit three months after I joined the club and for a variety of reasons over three years there was quite a bit of change going on too. I’m up there now as one of the longest serving, but that sometimes is the way that football works.
“All I can say now is that I’m happy to be working with the gaffer, Skivo, Bayzo, Rob and Tom Daws. With Bobby Bacic coming in as the new physio this summer, we’re integrating him into how we do things and understanding from his perspective what’s best practice in order to keep players performing.
“It’s a funny way that football works – it can be a small world! Bobby was the head physio at Millwall when I was learning my trade, it was my first, full-time paid job. He moved on to Portsmouth, where he’s been for quite a period of time since then.
“I know Bobby, I get on really well with him and I’m happy for him to be here. We’ve had a successful pre-season between us, minimising any injuries, and so far everything has been going really well.”
Chris McConnell's first match day for the Dons
Chris feels that generally we’re in good shape with just over a week to go to our League Two opener away to Grimsby Town.
“Very much so,” said Chris. “We’ve had six really tough weeks, since coming back for the summer. Their attitude to work has been spot on - from all the players. The coaches have put on some really good sessions for what we’re trying to achieve.
“The last week or so we’ve just been trying to increase their match exposure, with the lads playing more minutes during the fixtures. From what we’ve seen, it’s been pleasing and it doesn’t harm to be getting some positive results alongside that.
“If we can back that up, in our final pre-season friendly away to Wealdstone tomorrow, we’ll be going into the new season with some momentum.”