WEST Coast premiership defender Tom Barrass admits he lost his passion for the game in a 2019 season that was ruined by injury and ended with his form and confidence deserting him.

The good news for the Eagles is a summer of change with his training program, off-field identity and even his footwear have the important 24-year-old excited about the game again.

A fit Barrass shapes as a key to West Coast's fortunes in 2020 as sidekick Jeremy McGovern races the clock to be fit for round one following a long recovery from surgery to fix a heel complaint.

But it could have been a very different story for Barrass, who says the pressures of performance and losing your passion for the game are issues most AFL players face at some point in their career.

"I started the year quite well, got injured and had to have a surgery, and throughout that process I probably just lost my enjoyment of the game," Barrass said on Tuesday. 

"The pressure and the expectation of performing at premiership level, of winning another flag, of wanting to be a good player, I probably let that consume me a bit too much.

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"I didn't just play carefree footy and have fun out there, and once that starts to snowball you lose control a bit. 

"Once your confidence goes, and combine that with not feeling passionate about footy, your performance goes too."

Barrass was an open book speaking to the media on Tuesday. He said he was supported by the Eagles' senior leaders and coaches in the off-season and given a "template" to follow as he built an identity for himself that wasn't attached to football. 

He changed his university degree from science to arts, took up gardening, and is working in radio. They're changes he hopes will make him less reactive to the ups and downs of an AFL season.

"It was a long off-season for me, trying to figure out how to do it," he said.

"I think I arrived on having a better off-field balance, pursuing creative interests off-field and pursuing professional interests off-field to create an identity for yourself that's not too attached to the footy club and how your on-field performances go. 

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"I've been working hard at that and I'm enjoying my footy again. I'm enjoying being around the boys, I'm enjoying having a leadership role, I'm enjoying just being at the footy club, which is great.

"It's not an easy profession. To just let go and say, 'Don't worry about it', it doesn't really work like that."

Barrass and the Eagles' strength and conditioning coaches have also made significant changes to his training program after a stress-related foot injury in round four last season sidelined him until round 16.

He is swimming more and doing more off-leg conditioning work, with his change in footwear significant for both his injury management and on-field appearance.

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"I've got to wear the 'career-savers' now, which makes me look like a bit of an ox, but that just comes with it," he said.

"They look like a sneaker with studs on the bottom of them, so they've got a bit more cushioning, a bit more support.

"They're a bit chunkier and a bit slower, but it looks after my feet from week-to-week."