The full version of this interview featured in the Palace v Liverpool matchday programme.
Ward on fatherhood and mentoring Palace's young players
Approaching a decade at Crystal Palace, Joel Ward is more than accustomed to life in the Premier League fast lane. But after all these years, he tells Will Robinson what he can now offer the next generations, both on the pitch and off it.
Palace matchday programmes
Before the first sound of the referee’s whistle, there comes a peculiar time on matchday.
The pre-match build-up has been and gone. The bubbling anticipation rises, the collective butterflies flutter; the rain crashes down from a swirling, billowing south London sky. Cameras click and flash from left and right, and outside satellite television trucks beam the action to every conceivable corner of the globe.
The players are out, but the main event is yet to begin; the gladiatorial combat of Premier League football just moments away. Amidst the furore and the chaos, there is just enough time to take a moment. To think, to reflect and to look ahead.
Joel Ward takes that moment. If there is one thing life has taught him, it’s to appreciate that opportunity – to seek out peace and calm.
“We’re in a world now where everything is instant,” he says, pausing to contemplate this overarching philosophy. “Everything is on demand and everything is a million miles per hour. To step back from that and to recharge, and to reflect a little bit is great.”
Now a father, a new chapter of Ward's journey has begun. As we speak, he is heading home to be with his family. “I’m busy chasing my little boy around,” he laughs. “As soon as I walk through the door, he wants to jump all over me and play, so that become the pattern of the day.
“I go and give my wife a bit of a breather when I can, because he has got some energy and he enjoys being out and about.” Like father, like son. Ward has been quick to indoctrinate him into the world of football, but there is still work to be done.
Bless him, he enjoys it for a few minutes and then sees something else and runs off.
—Joel Ward
“He enjoys it and he plays it, but like many one-and-a-half year olds, the attention span won’t stay with something,” he admits. “Bless him, he enjoys it for a few minutes and then sees something else and runs off to do that. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it when he’s a bit older.
“When there’s a big exciting moment if he comes to games, he loves the noise and he loves the crowds. He loves it when the stadium erupts for a goal. It wasn’t until this season that he could come and watch, really. It’s a joy to have him there, as it is with having the family and the fans as well.”
So has fatherhood changed him? “Absolutely,” Ward says affirmatively. “When you have that dynamic and something comes into your life, it changes your outlook, your perspective, your priorities.
“Everything that you do changes. It’s the most amazing thing. I feel so blessed that I’m on that journey.”
Coming up for a decade at Selhurst Park, Ward has been moulded into something of a father figure in the dressing room too. Suddenly the squad around him is a young one, with talented, hungry players keen to make their mark.
“I like to think that I can add and help and encourage and build up some of the younger players,” he says, thoughtfully. “To have an impact on how they do things, and just encourage them to express themselves.
“They are such talented players. To go out there and make a name for themselves – if I can come alongside people and [help them] do that then [that would be] amazing.
“When I think about my time as a young professional, I had countless players who helped me as well, and guided me at times throughout my career. I would love to be able to return that favour.
As a young professional I had countless players who guided me at times throughout my career. I'd love to be able to return that favour.
—Joel Ward
“With any change, there are always challenges that present themselves. I think we’ve got a great balance. Obviously we saw some big characters leave in the summer, but we’ve got big characters still here and big characters that have joined.
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“I definitely think there’s some great cohesion in the squad, and as we develop and as we grow, and learn more and play more together, then there’s going to be a stronger bond going forward as well.”
For Joel Ward, there is no challenge that cannot be combatted with calm and careful consideration. Like any skill within the game, it’s one that needs training; his ability to step back and reflect honed over years of concentration on the important things in life.
As a footballer, a father and a human being, he craves that short period of tranquillity, the opportunity amidst the chaos around him to take a moment to himself and do something so simple, and yet so often neglected in the modern world: to stop and think.
It’s an opportunity he grasps.