Jamie Lawrence knows what it takes to emerge from lockdown as a stronger and better footballer.
He should do. Lawrence did two stretches in prison before making it as a Premier League player.
Now, the 50-year-old is doing his bit to help footballers – professional or otherwise – stay fit during this unprecedented crisis.
“Of course, it’s nothing like doing time,” said the former Leicester City and Bradford City man. “But it is all about structure. From the moment I went into prison, I had a structure.”
And that involves an early-morning workout, which Lawrence now broadcasts on social media during the lockdown.
Lawrence has already helped Chelsea stars Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Reece James with personal fitness schedules and he hopes to help young players stay on the right track, both physically and mentally.
“Every day I was in prison I had a schedule,” said Lawrence, whose professional career seemed a world away when he was first convicted of robbery aged just 19.
“When I first went to prison, there were guys laughing at me because I could not bench-press five kilos on each side.
"So all I did all day was go back to my cell and do press-ups, dips, everything. When I came out of there, I was lifting 130 and 140.
“I say to all these young players that, when you are not playing, do not use it as down time, but use it to get ahead of the game.”
Lawrence’s career is one of the Premier League’s more remarkable stories.
“My parents went back to Jamaica when I was a teenager and I didn’t want to go,” he explained.
“I stayed in London and ended up getting into all sorts of trouble. I got two prison sentences – one for three years and the next for four years. They were for robberies and assault.
“But the four-year term was the making of me. I had a great mentor at Camp Hill prison on the Isle of Wight, Eddie Walder, who was as a physical training instructor and he motivated me to keep disciplined.
“I played for the prison team and we played against Cowes Sports and I scored two. They were a semi-professional team and they approached the governor after the game, asking if I could play for them.”
Lawrence wondered if he would get the nod.
“I’d had one fight in prison because someone tried to bully me and you have to stand up for yourself,” he recalled.
“But, other than that, I was a model prisoner.”
He got permission and, after starring for the semi-pro team, was snapped up by Sunderland on his early release.
Away from his London haunts, Lawrence prospered and, after a spell at Doncaster Rovers, went on to play in the top flight for Leicester – where he collected a League Cup winner’s medal – and for Bradford.
He made more than 150 league appearances for the Bantams and is still revered by their fans.
Now, he provides motivational schemes for young offenders and regularly visits prisons to try and inspire those on the wrong side of the tracks.
Those visits are currently on hold, but, with his online workouts, Lawrence is still giving footballers a lift.
“Self-isolation is mentally challenging,” he added.
“When I first went to prison, I was an angry young man, but I found fitness and a structure and got through it.
“This is nothing like prison, but if I can help, I’m happy to do it.”
