Danny Bracken (Corinthian-Casuals Goalkeeper)

I’m Staying Away From Bikes After Horror Fall

I’VE been playing a lot of cricket this summer, but one sport I’m never going near again is mountain biking.

Back in November 2011, not long after I’d broken into the Corinthian-Casuals team, I had to do a ‘mental toughness’ exercise as part of my sports coaching degree.

Basically, it involved the lecturers taking us out on mountain bikes. We were going down this steep hill and he told us to brake just before we got to the bottom.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t been on a bike since I was about eight, so I had no idea what I was doing.

I braked a little bit too late, collided with a root that ended up being a ramp, and took off over the handle bars.

I flew about 15 feet through the air, then came down on my neck and shoulder. I was knocked unconscious and when I came round the paramedics were looking over me.

One of them said ‘Where’s the pain?’ and I just said ‘All over the place’.

He squeezed my shoulder and said ‘Yeah, that’s definitely broken’. They were also worried about my pelvis and my spine.

To make matters worse, they didn’t know how to get me down.

They tried to get an air ambulance in but then decided it was too hilly to land it.

Eventually, they carried me down in an inflatable stretcher, which was pretty painful. Thankfully, when I got to hospital, the diagnosis was no worse than a heavy concussion and a shattered collarbone.

With the pelvis, I think being a goalkeeper really helped because rather than going headfirst, I instinctively twisted to land side on.

It was obviously very painful, and I found it difficult to write during my exams. I also missed football because that’s my life.

But in the long-run it wasn’t that bad because it was only six months out. They said I could have been killed.

Obviously, as a goalkeeper, I was really worried about coming back. You think ‘Do I really want to be diving at someone’s feet?’ But it didn’t affect me at all once I got into the games.

Other than wearing a padded shirt, it was like I’d never done it. I probably had the best season I’ve ever played.

Height Should Not Be So Big An Issue

WEST HAM released me at 15 because I was too small. Now I’m 6ft 4ins, which tells you how accurate their tests are!

For me, there’s too much emphasis put on height. I was doing some coaching at the Brighton academy and I saw it in action. They say ‘This kid’s good but he’s not tall enough’, then they release him.

Besides, as a young goalkeeper, nobody really trusts you. Even in Non-League, they like to go with experience over an untried kid.

Luckily enough, I found a club in Corinthian-Casuals who put their faith in me. I’d like to think I rewarded them.