Five more sleeps…
Come Monday morning the padlocks and chains will fall from our club grounds’ gates and we will be allowed to run out onto the ‘Field of Dreams’ and resume club training.
It's been a long and difficult road to get back to this point and for many of us it is the most welcome news we have had in a while.
Over the next few days teams will be clamouring for training slots within the clubs, from U6's to seniors; men, women and children will have their kit bags packed, boots polished and gumshields at the ready.
It will be so good to see the youth back out on pitches again, socialising and showing off all the skills they have perfected in the garden over the past year.
The positive effect on them both mentally and physically is immeasurable; the difference in being able to do drills and play games together rather than over FaceTime or Zoom, is invaluable to us all, but especially to the youth.
On a personal level, I find training as an individual and training as a team couldn’t be more different.
The sense of intensity and competitiveness that comes from being part of a team, driving the team forward and trying to be the best we can for each other is like nothing we can recreate in a home gym or back garden no matter how motivated or determined we are.
Some lads will have spent the last six months lifting weights and running the roads to be in the best physical shape they can, others will have struggled, and comfort ate their way from September to now but come Monday we all line up and start from the same position.
It is a new page and another chance to lay claim to a jersey.
Football, hurling and camogie skills aside, the social element of club training is the main focal point for many.
Having an opportunity to meet up with friends and have the craic is such a release from the hamster wheel of work and studying that has turned every day to Groundhog Day for many of us.
Even though it is only a few hours, a couple of evenings per week, we can leave all those stresses at the gate and go out and ‘clear the head.’
Fresh air and some friendly banter are a great combination and the perfect distraction we all need.
Catching up with team-mates we haven’t seen in months and getting back together is as important, if not more so, than the skills work and tactics.
Management teams and coaches will have spent weeks and months planning for Monday, guessing what shape the team are in and what work needs to be done to be considered worthy challengers as soon as games are given the green light.
Flipcharts and folders of their latest innovative plans will finally get to be shared, and training drills will never have been as well received by players.
I expect the buy-in from players this year to be the best ever.
We all appreciate team sport so much more after such a lengthy break and I personally can’t wait to get out there and pitch myself against some of the younger lads on the squad and convince both myself and management that I still warrant a place on the team sheet.
I will be expecting the youth to be pushing me to my limits, making me work harder and go as fast as these old legs will carry me.
We know all too well now what its like to not have training and matches to prepare for so if we can’t motivate ourselves to get back out there and turn up for our clubs now then we may just hang the boots up for good.
I relish the challenge and am looking forward to seeing what everyone brings to the table next week.
As much as we, as players, are chomping at the bit to get back to group training, reopening the gates to the club volunteers and the stalwarts of the club (each club will have at least one person who springs to mind here) brings back so much purpose and pride to so many who depend on the club for their social interaction.
A lot of us have struggled over the past year having little to no club activity but specifically the older generation, many of whom will go out of their way to find a reason to be at the club grounds helping out in any way they can, feeling involved and feeling needed.
For them especially the reopening is great news and finally something to look forward to.
Last year we saw one of the best club championships in many years, especially in Tyrone.
I’m not sure if it was the condensed season, the sense of pride in our community for getting through all we have together, or the sheer joy of being allowed to play and attend team sport again but the hype for club football and the intensity in the games was better than ever.
I can safely say this year will be no different, and perhaps even better.
Many clubs, including my own, will be looking back to the achievements of clubs like Dungannon, Edendork and Kildress last year and thinking: ‘Why not us this year?!’
Let’s get out there and get started...
