TWELVE YEARS ON from his debut for Armagh as a young, goal-hungry forward, Aidan Forker has been through more reinventions than David Bowie.
It was clear that the Maghery man was destined to be more than a mere foot soldier soon after he arrived. A graduate of St Mary’s College, he is already vice-principal of Our Lady’s Primary School in Tullysaran despite his youth.
As a player for Armagh, he has fulfilled all the water-carrying, man-marking, play-making, long-range shot taking roles imaginable and a few more on top of that.
Aidan Forker off the outside of the left 💯pic.twitter.com/17x4f5pk3U
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) March 5, 2023
When it comes to setting up plays, he is usually the player with his hand in the air to signal what is coming next. The captaincy role is a natural fit for him. Lifting Sam on Sunday? Well…
“We’re very lucky in our group to have a lot of leaders, a lot of personalities,” says Forker.
“We’ve a great leadership group. I’ve said it on record before, I just go and take the toss, like. We have a lot of boys driving the standards and driving those hands up or whatever – it’s not just me. I always pride myself on wanting the ball or demanding the ball but that’s in me, no matter what title you want to give it.
“I’ve always had a philosophy of trying to help the man on the ball or make the people beside you look a wee bit better. I’ll bring that no matter what role I’m playing. Listen, it’s all about us getting over the line.”
In the past, and as captain and one of the most trusted figures in the group, Forker has been put up and fronted up for launches and interviews. It doesn’t take him long to delve into his wide range of interests.
That could be his current reading pile, his online mentors, various different research tools that illustrate the granular detail with which he studies his craft.
Is there a danger, therefore, of going into this final having over-thought the event?
“It’s always a danger but it’s a danger for every game,” he says.
And he’s honest enough to admit that in the past, that has happened.
“Totally. But I think I’m surrounded by good people who recognise that in me. Look, a lot of us have been preparing for these big days for a long time. I’m long enough in the tooth now to know where I need to be mentally, physically, and all of those things in terms of my preparation. And I trust that.
“Then, on the day, when the ball is thrown in, it’s about your first ball, first pass, first tackle, first contact, first bit of communication. After that you’re in the flow, you’re in the moment. The crowd doesn’t matter. Nothing matters.
“I would say I’m hopeful . . . sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it doesn’t. Some people might say, ‘oh he’s overhyped it or whatever.’
“Again, I think that can be overplayed. Everyone has their peak performance routine at this level pretty well nailed down. I trust that. I trust that it has me going to be the best that I can be.
“Some days I’m quiet, some days I’m on it. I’ll make those runs, whether I get the ball or not. Sometimes you don’t get the ball, sometimes you do. If I create space for someone else to get a score, as long as we get a score I’m happy.”
At the moment, the media he consumes is very much on-point. A long climb towards glory, and the dedication required to reach the destination.
He’s 50 pages into Ronan O’Gara’s autobiography. Something in the opening chapter tickled him.
“He talked about the Munster teams building up to win stuff and that there was a lot of knocks, a lot of bangs, a lot of defeats before . . .
“A lot of people were calling them nearly men and journeymen and these types of things and he said, ‘The reality is, until we went and won that first Heineken Cup they were right.’
“That’s stuck with me a wee bit, to be honest. It only sticks with you in the moment and then you’re on the bus and you don’t think about it again. But I think all those wee things add to it all. I like that, I enjoy it. Do I take that and add it to my performance or game? Probably not. I just enjoy reading about it, I suppose.”
Occasionally, he has practised visualisation. Has he pictured himself on the steps of the Hogan Stand, the Sam Maguire Cup in front of him, with the GAA President Jarlath Burns standing beside him, ready to hand it over?
“I think we’ve all seen it in our head,” he says.
“Listen, everybody is human. How would you not daydream about that? You very quickly get yourself back to your KPIs and your process, as all the best sports psychs will tell you – get back to your process, back to your process. Because the outcomes sort themselves.
“So of course you daydream about it. But I’ve been daydreaming about it from when I was eight years old. That’s neither here nor there, we have to go and win a football match. I think all of that stuff takes care of itself.”
