Special Feature: Mid-season switch hasn’t affected Wandi Jajaw
The talented 23 year old was looking for a permanent opportunity to play in the first team and Parramatta FC seemed to be a natural fit. He is delighted be playing for the western Sydney based team.
?I spent most of my junior years at APIA and I was at APIA at the start of the season, but I went to Parramatta FC a few weeks ago,? he said.
?They?re very good at Parramatta FC. Lee Sterrey [coach], Franco Cosentino [assistant coach] and the whole management there has been spectacular.?
Jajaw, who has committed himself to Parramatta FC until the end of the current NSW Premier League season, has certainly not turned his back on APIA Leichhardt either. Under the advice of APIA Leichhardt president Tony Raciti he made the move in order to play regular first team football.
However Jajaw, who works for computer giant Dell, is hoping to make the move to the A-League one day even though opportunities to date haven?t materialised.
While the NSW Premier League has been his home in recent seasons, like many players, he would relish the opportunity to play at the higher level.
?The [NSW Premier] League is great,? he said. ?The boys are great; they are all wonderful team-mates and opponents and every game is a new game where I am learning as I go on.
?The only thing for me is that injuries have been a bit of a setback recently, but I am always looking forward to the next step.
?I would love to play in the A-League but I haven?t had anything offered. Maybe this year I can work a few things out. If the opportunity does come along, I wouldn?t let it go.?
For a semi-professional player who in a few weeks time may be experiencing an off season, Jajaw has the attitude and determination of a fulltime professional.
He is extremely aware that both fitness and diet are an important part of his game as he awaits his next career move.
?I try to maintain my food pattern,? he said. ?My eating and my dieting in the off season are very important and I do like to train as much as I can.
?You do get a bit of free time in the off season. Basically you go from training three nights a week to zero and, in some ways, the season does take a toll on your body with all the training and playing.
?The off season does give you a time to recover from injuries. Pre-season for me is about improving on what I did last year. I always aim to try to come back a better player the next year and never just be the same player.?
-By Joe Russo
