Taking a break from the game and not being involved with any team has been one of the best decisions I have made over the last year and a half.
My mind is not in overload mode and that is exactly how it is for anyone involved. You never stop thinking about it, preparing for training sessions, selecting your starting 15 for each game, and running through the many scenarios that may or may not occur during a match.
On top of this, managing players and their expectations and trying to explain to a lad that they are not near the starting team, even though, in their own mind, they are the best player in the squad.
Normally this type of player just shows up the odd time and when they commit for two weeks solid, they have the audacity to question your decisions. Ah, the headaches. No thank you. For now, I am fine the way I am.
I am able to do something that I am absolutely loving which is going to watch my own kids play.
The father of one of my best mates, Gerry Watters always said to us, go and watch your kids play as often as you can and he was dead right.
There is no end to the enjoyment and satisfaction that this gives me right now. Any parent that goes to watch their kids participate in sport knows exactly what I mean by that. I now have the opportunity to watch them develop and grow in a sporting environment.
I have four kids, and one in particular who is now 14, had no interest whatsoever in sport, never mind football.
In fact, if we tried to have a conversation with the word football in it, he was simply having none of it. We let him do his own thing. He was not forced to go and play for Killeavy but to our amazement, in January of this year he came home from school and told us that he wanted to play football.
This was totally out of the blue but it was something that he obviously thought about, and because his mates were all playing, he wanted to get involved.
Six months on and he is loving it. He loves the training and while he was essentially starting from scratch regarding the skills aspect, this has not halted him whatsoever.
He has said to me a few times since that he wishes he started earlier and that he did not realise that football was as much fun. He never leaves the club now and always has a ball with him.
My free evenings now also give me a chance to focus more on myself. I am in a training routine and keeping myself active, which I would not be able to commit to if I was coaching or managing.
I play golf at least once a week, not very well though, but there is always plenty of slagging and banter amongst the group I play with. Being from South Armagh, we are blessed with the natural beauty on our doorstep and I get to take this in a couple of times each week when I walk my dog up Slieve Gullion, Camlough Mountain or Clermont Cairn Mountain.
During these walks, I get to listen to podcasts. My favourite right now is the GAA Social. At the weekend, I listened to their most recent podcast with rugby legend Willie Anderson.
There have been some brilliant guests on this recently and when you get a chance for that hour or so, to get some kind of insight into another person’s story, you really are blown away.
Kevin Hughes’s was brilliant. It was heart-breaking as well as inspiring to hear what him and his family have been through together, but until you hear it, you never realise exactly what they have been through.
Listening to Willie Anderson at the weekend, one part stuck out for me and it was when he spoke about his son playing both GAA and rugby, and having the choice to get home after a night out with team-mates on both sides.
He mentioned that there was no difference, and Willie responded that’s what sport, and in fact, that’s what life is.
All sports should be inclusive of everyone regardless of religion or race. Everyone has a right to experience and appreciate sport for what it is. Right now, I’m loving Gaelic football from the background and, after over 30 years of direct involvement, it’s a great place to be.
