Hurling & Camogie

Aoife Ní Chasaide: Missing camogie, friends and the simple joy of a puck around

Slaughtneil's Aoife Ni Chaiside in action during the AIB Camogie All-Ireland Senior Club Championship semi-final against Scariff/Ogonnelloe at Donaghmore Ashbourne GAA, Meath on January 26 2020. Picture by ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Slaughtneil's Aoife Ni Chaiside in action during the AIB Camogie All-Ireland Senior Club Championship semi-final against Scariff/Ogonnelloe at Donaghmore Ashbourne GAA, Meath on January 26 2020. Picture by ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy Slaughtneil's Aoife Ni Chaiside in action during the AIB Camogie All-Ireland Senior Club Championship semi-final against Scariff/Ogonnelloe at Donaghmore Ashbourne GAA, Meath on January 26 2020. Picture by ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

OVER the past four seasons, this would have been a relatively quiet time for the camogie players of Slaughtneil as they recovered from their All-Ireland final exploits and were easing back slowly into their county league programme.

But the COVID-19 crisis changed all that and the virus continues to cause devastation across communities.

Centre-half back and Ulster Player of the Year Aoife Ní Chaiside tells Séamas McAleenan how she, her club and community are coping with the challenge...

Over the past few years following the All-Ireland club final, the squad took 'a break' from training.

But during this down time, we would have had more social events, maybe weekends away and nights out; Friday night and Sunday morning trainings don't make for the best social night life.

We would have been seen a bit more on the social scene in March and April, but of course that has been denied us, and everyone else, this year.

A lot of us plan our lives around camogie and it has been strange having a lot more time to ourselves, not to be heading to trainings in the evenings, or Sunday mornings.

The leagues would have started in Derry by now and we would be having Friday night league matches, as well as sorting plans for team bonding etc.

We train hard in bad weather and now in this good weather. I am itching for a good training session. I would just love to be back with the girls, the striking, blocking, hand passing, sprinting to get to the sliotar before your opponent.

But the absence of games has given us more time to reflect on the All-Ireland final to Sarsfield’s from Galway. Our final camogie match before the COVID-19 pandemic was a disappointing one. Having time to reflect a bit more maybe hasn't been such a bad thing.?

I would say that the general feeling following the final whistle in the All-Ireland was one of disappointment; disappointment is our performance, of the missed hooks and blocks, shots and lifts, strikes, as well as our own efforts that were blocked.

The morning after and days that follow, these things ran through my mind over and over again like a nightmare. Having to accept that we didn't perform to our potential was tough.

But you have to be philosophical. With the highs you also have to take the lows. Reflecting and learning and mentally rebuilding from this experience will hopefully make us more resilient. The reason we give so many hours to camogie is because it is our passion and we chose to.

There is still a sense of community during this strange time however. You find it in the fund-raising, litter picks, online challenges, support; all from a distance. We are still coming together as communities, just in a different way than what we were used to.

What is ahead of us in terms of camogie is difficult to picture at present. The only control we have of this is how each of us follows advice from day to day regarding hand washing and social distancing guidance.

I believe that there is no point in over-thinking when, why, how, where, who in relation to a return to contact sports. I think it doesn't encourage good mental health. Recently I have come to accept that things that are out of my control do not deserve to take up my time, to cause anxiety and increased stress.

Everyone will be easing back into training this year in a different way than we have ever imagined. All our routines have been changed. But this will soon be part of our life experiences, something we adapted to and came through.

One thing is sure though, we'll appreciate more so now than ever meeting up with friends for 'a puc around'.