THUNDER BAY -- Zetroy Robertson readily admits age is starting to catch up to him.
But what the Thunder Bay Chill defender lacks in speed he makes up in smarts. Entering his seventh season in the Premier Development League, the 30-year-old Jamaican-born Robertson is the heart and soul of the Chill.
But more than that, he’s the guy the coaching staff is counting on to provide a rock-steady performance on a back end that had its share of heartache a year ago, no lead safe until the final whistle blew.
Robertson knows he must adjust his game to be a success.
Unlike a lot of players his age, he’s intelligent enough to realize it and has no plans to get by on athletic ability alone.
It’s that elusive PDL championship that keeps Robertson – who calls Thunder Bay home year round – returning to the pitch each summer.
“I’m chasing it, yeah. I’m taking it day-by-day. I wouldn’t say season by season,” Robertson said on Sunday after taking part in the Chill’s second day of training camp.
“I’m 30 years old and I don’t have it like the young guys. I can’t go all down the line, so I have to take it day-by-day and see how my body feels. I spend a lot of time in the gym trying to get prepared for this. And after the session I’m in the gym, in the hot tub, just to recover for the next session.”
It’s the mental aspect of the game where he’s pretty sure he can outmaneuver his opponents, said Robertson, who will make the full-time switch to centre-back this season, a position he played in the final few games in 2015.
“It’s a place where I can communicate more and talk to the guys in front of me,” Robertson said.
“(Coach Gio Petraglia) thinks I’m good at that, at organizing everything, so that’s why he wants me at that position.”
Petraglia has the utmost confidence in the veteran defender, and age doesn’t really come into the equation, he said.
In fact, as far as he’s concerned, Robertson is still in his prime.
“That’s the fear that every older player has at the beginning of the season, seeing the young guys in each session who seem to run more than you,” Petraglia said.
“But experience is important. You can anticipate the play mentally and get your foot there one second before everybody else. And in this game, being there one second before means a lot. I believe as a soccer player you become a better player around 28, 29, 30, especially in that delicate position of centre-back.”
One things certain, Robertson will be welcomed back until they have to carry him off the field, the second-year coach said.
“He’s a Chill. Z, his blood is blue.”
