A huge weekend of action await us with the Ulster Football Final (and the other three provincial football finals) and the first round of the Tailteann Cup.
When I was growing up, it was win or bust, no second chances.
In the years 1991 and 1994 the natural enthusiasm for Gaelic football was further cemented on the back of Down’s Ulster and All-Ireland triumphs.
It is easy to remember, it was as if it were yesterday in many ways.
I often wonder what course my sporting life would have taken had Down not won those All-Ireland titles.
Would it seem as achievable for me had I not lived through those experiences.
I am not so sure.
In my first year on the senior panel we achieved an Ulster final appearance and almost pulled it off, but in truth Tyrone were much better equipped and prepared to win big that year.
I did think to myself it was a matter of time before securing an Ulster title and I was determined to be an integral part of it.
The next appearance in an Ulster final didn’t happen until 2012 and again a huge injury two weeks prior rendered my appearance as a sub a token one.
That game was gone with 15 minutes to play.
Again, it’s hard not to think that those in-between years between the two finals were wasted opportunities in many ways.
The back-door was handy in 2010, but aside from that we didn’t really achieve our full potential in many seasons.
Unfortunately our lack of success, sustained success that is, in lots of ways failed to capture the attention of many young fans.
In some ways, we failed to inspire another generation of players, indirectly through our lack of success.
This is a major problem in Down but also many other counties.
I was managing our club reserves last Saturday in a home league match, in what was an entertaining and very youthful performance by our team.
What struck me was that, despite the fact that we only 16 players, the new debutants performed brilliantly, without the knowledge of how the senior team generally set up to play.
It was also hugely unfortunate that we can’t call on some of the 17- and 18-year-olds in the parish due to restrictions around age restrictions and adult football.
Players have fallen away over the years and like many rural parishes, we don’t have the luxury of a huge catchment area.
I know for me, playing reserve football at 16 and 17 was a great jumping off point to adapting to life at senior level.
I do believe that it is a common theme at reserve level throughout the country and increasingly it is becoming very difficult to field 15 players.
And certainly the restricted age limits don’t help the cause.
While the concerns around hurting a young lad are legitimate, I do believe that the days of the team thug intentionally injuring a player are somewhat consigned to the past.
As a GAA club it is difficult to keep players interested and involved when they come to the adult ages of 18 and over.
There are so many other interests, or distractions that begin to take precedence over club activities.
Perhaps in some cases the seriousness of the preparation in club football and hurling has got to a point where the fun has gone out of the game for some.
The key for us as management is getting that balance right – winning provides huge intrinsic reward and pride, but so does the basics of belonging to something that bonds people.
We don’t always get it right.
I do think that GAA clubs have had to become much more than facilitators of Gaelic games.
Sunday mornings in our parish, the club is thronged with parents and young children of all ages.
We have a small coffee dock and this is a welcome meeting point post training.
To ensure the GAA retain our young adults and ensure their life-long association we need to be able to provide entertainment and a community centre in many ways.
And any development plan a GAA club is now undertaking should consider a family play area and a gym for the use of the entire community, something we are actively planning for.
The bar and social club used to be the most important part of the income generating element of the average GAA club and our club is no different.
Nostalgically we recall green areas rain, hail or shine scattered with children playing football, using jumpers as goalposts.
But things have changed.
You see fewer and fewer young people now occupying green spaces and it appears that their stimulation is coming from other sources.
I do see the healthy choices as access to a gym and within this space, the incorporation of a TV/ games area to facilitate our young people.
This is not necessarily something I thought about when I played.
In actual fact, I never thought about this stuff.
It is only after you finish playing and you have a family of your own, you perhaps begin to see the GAA through a different lens.
In a GAA sense, keeping our young players actively involved in the club, post eighteen, is the challenge of our time.
I would hazard a guess and suggest that there isn’t a club, certainly in rural areas, that doesn’t run up against a similar challenge.
There has to be a concerted effort to retain and invest in our youth.
We have taken them for granted in the past to our detriment.
As a collective, more needs done and in my view the GAA club needs to morph into a community centre, providing that space via gyms, TV games rooms and organised events.
At the very least, it will perhaps be handy to call on some of these lads to take a reserve jersey.
I am positive that last year’s Ulster and All-Ireland title in Tyrone would have garnered and enthused a whole new era of GAA players who want to follow in the footsteps of their heroes.
Derry have been waiting on this weekend for many years and have deservedly earned the right to play Donegal in the Ulster final.
It would be wrong and disrespectful to think that Donegal are outright favourites.
I think Donegal have an ever so slight advantage, mainly due to their experience, but then again sometimes this is over-hyped.
If Derry take their trademark chaos and rigid 15 behind the 45-metre line, it will be a low-scoring and most probably, single score game which separates the winner from the loser.
I go for Donegal - but only just.
