Usain Bolt: Central Coast Mariners recruit starts A-League stint with training run

In surreal scenes, the king of sport stepped out with the Mariners, while lawn bowlers rolled a few nearby at the local club | WATCH

Usain Bolt during the Mariners’ first training session. Picture: Getty

Usain Bolt has walked onto Central Coast Stadium to start his trial period for an A-League contract.

He’s attracted a huge media pack, on his 32nd birthday, for what is expected to be a very light session that shows only the basic skills of the Olympic legend as he chases a new career as a professional footballer in Australia.

It’s a surreally fascinating scene. A king of world sport training with the Central Coast Mariners while in the background, the dear old lawn bowlers roll down a few at their local club.

Bolt went through a series of running drills. He looked good in those! He worked up a sweat in ball drills, finally discarding his tracksuit top. His explosive power as a runner needs to be complemented by the endurance needed to play football. He’s looking tired before any other player.

Bolt warms up during Mariners training. Picture: Getty

But he also looks comfortable enough with a ball at his feet, knocking around simple passes off his left foot. He will talk to the media after training alongside Mariners coach Mike Mulvey.

Bolt is on an indefinite trial. The foot speed of the world’s fastest man is of limited value. He takes 60 metres to hit full stride.

Footballers’ average runs are less than ten metres. He’s taller than most elite players. The sport is dominated by smallish blokes taking little steps. His long-striding prowess will only come into play now and then.

Bolt has tried and failed to get soccer contracts before. The message from European clubs has been clear. Too much work to do.

The relatively cold weather is obviously a shock for the Jamaican. He’s wearing a full-length tracksuit ... and gloves.

There goes the fastest man on earth @usainbolt having a trot with the @CCMariners ⚡️⚡️ pic.twitter.com/5sln3HWrfb

— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) August 21, 2018

Big media contingent for Bolt pic.twitter.com/BHu2vFak4C

— Ray Gatt (@Gatty54) August 20, 2018

“It’s exciting times for everybody,” assistant coach Nick Montgomery said. “It’ll be crazy for the Central Coast. It is a quiet place, everybody knows that. And we’re probably the smallest club in the A-League and work on the smallest budget.

“For us, it’s good to have the exposure.

“He’s bought into the club, him and his agent have done a lot of research on the club.

“I’m sure he could have chosen many other places to go and train. We’re very honoured he chose us.” Bolt will be eased into his duties with the Mariners.

Bolt on the training track. Picture: Getty

It’s been just over a year since he retired from athletics and while he is naturally fit and keeps active, diving head-first into training with a professional football team in pre-season mode is too big a risk for all concerned.

“He’s not going to be rushed into full training sessions,” Montgomery said. “Everything’s going to be monitored the same as with every other player coming back from injury or different stuff.

“We won’t be judging straight away, he’ll definitely have time to settle in and find his feet and get into some training sessions.”

Additional reporting: AAP