Sam Byram has returned from an eventful summer in the United States to start his pre-season training at Rush Green a week early.
The West Ham United full-back travelled to Los Angeles with his brother Mike, where the duo visited Universal Studios, the Walk of Fame, Santa Monica Pier and Dodger Stadium.
However, the highlight of Byram’s trip to The Golden State was the hike from Griffith Park up the Mount Hollywood trailhead to the world-famous Hollywood sign – despite the fact the siblings got lost!
“Summer has been really good,” the No22 confirmed, having returned to Rush Green ahead of the official start of pre-season training on Wednesday 5 July. “It is an important time to go away and rest your legs and have some fun and do some things with your family and friends. I’ve had a good four or five weeks, but it’s time to put the work in now.
“We had a really good time in Los Angeles. It’s pretty chilled over there and the weather was nice and there’s lots of stuff to do, so we kept busy and it was a really good trip.
“We got up to all sorts! We’d never been there before, so we did all the tourist stuff, went to a few beaches and just enjoyed ourselves.
“It was a tough walk up to the Hollywood sign! We got a bit lost at the start because there is one track that is pretty easy but longer, so we ended up [taking a different track] and going up the side of a cliff and were on our hands a fair bit trying to climb it! It was good fun and we got to the top!”
Byram’s Hollywood trek came on his second visit to the United States, as he had previously headed to Las Vegas for Michail Antonio’s stag do, where he witnessed more examples of the winger’s unique dance moves!
“It was really good. It was my first time in Las Vegas as well and Ashley Fletcher was there as well. Darren Randolph was also meant to be there, but he was with Ireland, which was a shame.
“I really enjoyed it and will definitely go back again in the future as it was a great trip. Michail is an all right dancer to be fair! He’s not bad!”
Having enjoyed his holidays, Byram returned to Rush Green last week, where he is one of a number of first-team players working on their fitness and rehabilitation.
I think anyone who says they enjoy the first week [of a pre-season camp] is probably lying!
Sam Byram
“We’ve got a programme to do over our holidays and I only live 15 minutes from the training ground, so it’s easy for me to just pop in and use the facilities here to keep me in shape,” the right-back explained.
Slaven Bilic and his coaching staff and the remainder of the squad will be back at Rush Green on before flying to Austria for a warm-weather training camp – an experience Byram is not exactly relishing.
“I think anyone who says they enjoy the first week [of a pre-season camp] is probably lying!” he smiled. “It is very tough but you need it to condition you for the rest of the season.
“I’ve been to Austria every summer for the last four or five years so I pretty much know what to expect.
“Before that, I’m looking forward to meeting back up with the group and catching up with everyone.”