HEADING into 2020, everything was looking golden for Callala Bay's Ben Atkins.
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He and his Pararoos had just come off a historic home victory against Canada - marking their first game on home soil in 19 years.
"Words can't describe how special that fixture [against Canada] was," Atkins said.
"I still get chills thinking about it.
"More than 1500 people were in the stands to watch us play - it was amazing.
"Then to win 5-nil, you can't ask for much more than that."
The series acted as the perfect springboard for the Australian side, who had a busy 2020 schedule planned, which included a trip to Spain in June.
"The timing of the Canadian clash was perfect for us to kick start our preparations for this year, most notably the tour of Spain," he said.
"Everyone in the squad really used that as the catalyst of upping our training loads - locking in to focus on winning our first ever international trophy."
However, all those plans were derailed when the coronavirus pandemic hit in March.
"It was a really strange situation - we kind of knew it was coming. However, until we had the Zoom meeting with the staff, I didn't really become a reality," said Atkins - who's cerebral palsy didn't make him anymore susceptible to the virus.
Football in Australia, just like every other sport across the country, was sent to the sidelines because of COVID-19, seeing the Pararoos' program put on hold.
"Personally and collectively, we've gone through a range of emotions [surrounding the COVID-19 situation]," the Shoalhaven High School alumnus said.
"Part of you knows you have to put it into perspective, as there is so much pain and suffering in the world at the moment and you shouldn't be complaining about a football trip being delayed.
"For many of us, we live and breathe this sport and this trip to Spain was one of our sole focus for the year.
"I haven't won an international trophy and it truly felt like we had the right mix of experience and talent to give it a red hot crack this year."
However, instead of dwelling on the situation, Atkins and his green and gold teammates have been working hard to keep themselves both physically and mentally fit.
"The staff have been incredible throughout COVID-19," Atkins, who's used the extra time to concentrate on his work in financial planning while also reading plenty of books, said.
"They've set up a private website full of resources for our physical and mental wellbeing.
"By accessing this, we've been able to stay locked in and focused on our goals, to ensure we don't slip up in a preparation for success.
"Personally, I got inspired by a friend from school Pat Little, to try and complete 200 kilometres worth of running in a month.
"It's one of the hardest challenges I have done and I basically had to run at least six kilometres a day and after three days, I realised how much of a mistake I'd made.
"I'm really glad I got through and completed the challenge, as it reminded me you can really push yourself a lot further than your body wants to be pushed."
The 28-year-old, despite the help of his coaches and friend Pat Little, admits it's been extremely hard to stay motivated the past three months.
"I've taken a couple of weeks off since the running challenge and I'm trying to convince myself to get back into the swing of things but I'm just struggling to get back into it," he said.
"I tend to beat myself up when I 'fall off the bandwagon' with training.
"Generally how I overcome it is to lower the bar and ease back into it.
"I suppose I'm just going to have to take my own advice and just do something.
"I might go out and do a bit of juggling soon to build some positive momentum.
"A big help for me through all this had been our Zoom team meeting, to see how we're all coping.
"Our regular catch-ups have been amazing - reigniting that banter has helped me want to get back out there and train.
"One thing we've all acknowledged is how lonely the period has been and so it's been immensely helpful to have that regular contact."
During this time, the Spain tour was understandably postponed until 2021, which was a tough pill for swallow for the whole squad.
"It [the postponement of the tour] was completely heart wrenching and deflating but we're used to facing setbacks - adversity is something we've all dealt with our whole lives," he said.
"It's been a great opportunity to reframe the circumstances and it gives us an extra bit of time to fine-tune our games, to ensure we're ready for when the opportunity does present itself to compete again."
Thankfully for athletes like Atkins, Football NSW has recently green-lighted the return to training, which will see the Pararoos return to practice next week.
This return edges Atkins, who has 72 caps for his country, closer to the century milestone.
"The 100-game milestone is definitely a goal I've had for a while and want to achieve," Atkins, who's other main goal now is to win his first international trophy, said.
"However, at this point in time, whether I do reach it or not is another thing.
"We have so many incredible players coming through and the amount of work I need to do to maintain my place gets more onerous each year - I'm still figuring out it's realistically achievable or not.
"At the end of the day, I never thought I'd be good enough to play one game let alone contemplate the thought of reaching 100 games.
"If I was to make it, it would be an incredible feeling and the culmination of over 20 years of hard work."
Atkins, between now and his next potential national cap, is hopeful his NSW side will have the opportunity to make it 12 straight national titles when the tournament is held in late October/early November.