Professional ethos driving Mountbellew men forward

Talking Sport with Stephen Glennon

THERE are times when you just have to cut your losses. And times when you have to force yourself to go again. As a player, Mountbellew/Moylough’s Patrick Gardiner did the latter until his body could take no more. And still he wasn’t finished.

This Sunday, Mountbellew/Moylough face the biggest of challenge of all in club football when they clash with All-Ireland champions Corofin in the 2015 senior football championship final at Tuam Stadium.

Gardiner, who played up until last year when the hips finally gave out on him, is a selector and strength and conditioning coach with his native club and what was meant to be a sound-bite as part of the pre-match coverage ends up in a fascinating conversation on club football.

Making the immediate transition from player to mentor is not an easy one but Gardiner, who captained the club to their last final appearance in 2009, has taken the proverbial bull by the horns by seeking answers as a mentor to the questions which haunted him as a player. What is the secret to success?

“There was so much information out there when I was playing myself, especially in the last three or four years, we were finding it very hard to decipher what was genuine information and what was maybe a fad at the time,” says Gardiner, who is currently halfway through his S & C course with Setanta College.

“I got into it through a conversation I had with Michael Meehan. He told me he was doing a course in it so I looked into it and got involved. It is amazing what you would learn. It is something every club player could gain so much from if they had the chance to work with strength and conditioning coaches more.”

Indeed, he believes it is a resource the Galway County Committee should seek to make available to players in every club. “I think it is something the County Board should look into – making these facilities available to club players.

“The money element of it is a lot for clubs. Luckily enough, I am involved in my own club but it is not something every club player has access to. Something I could not get over was that I played senior football for 17 years and it was just unbelievable how little I knew at the end of 17 years.”

He highlights, though, that is the case for a lot of club players, although it is changing in clubs with others such as Corofin raising the bar. “I have to say the course I am doing now has not just opened my eyes to not only what is going on in Corofin but in other clubs, especially in Munster.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.