Adam O’Brien is a coach who is planned.
He works with facts and deals with detail.
So, it’s little surprise he’s already working on a plan for when the nib Newcastle Knights return to the field.
The coach said his players are in good spirits despite the NRL season being suspended indefinitely with the players forced to train from home as they self-isolate in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“The instructions now are, we need to prepare for the best-case scenario,” O’Brien said on Fox League.
“If we’re lucky enough to get back on the field at the earliest possible date, we need to be in a good position for that.
“The performance staff have been really good, they’ve loaded them up with a heap of weights. There’s a lot of garage gyms going on.
“We’re staying connect with the software available these days, the main thing is to try and get some structure in the players’ lives and keep them connected.”
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Players are used to routine but so too are the coaches.
In remaining productive and proactive, O’Brien said he is using the time away from the game to keep fit and study.
One area of interest is the NFL Lockout.
The 132-day lockout occurred back in 2011 when the game stopped after the NFL and NFL Players' Association couldn’t reach a new collective bargaining agreement.
O’Brien also has plenty of reading material he plans on getting through.
“I know myself, that I need to keep physically and mentally active,” O’Brien said.
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“Using this time wisely, we can always up-skill ourselves from home. I’ve thought about looking at things like the lockout the NFL went through, can we learn something from that?
“Physically active, my wife’s mad on the training, she’s got the circuit set up in the backyard that apparently, I’ve got to log into at 7am every morning, so that keeps my mind at ease.
“I’ve got plenty of books I haven’t managed to get through, so I’ve got plenty of these (to read).”
