FIONN FITZGERALD HAS had some enjoyable experiences in New Zealand and the States on the way to becoming the Kerry captain at just 24-years-old.
Not only a gifted footballer, the Dr Crokes man’s studies have brought him all over the world. He’s just completed a masters in Sports Performance at the University of Limerick, having previously attained a degree in Sports Science in the same university.
Fitzgerald’s thirst for knowledge has seen him spend the summer of 2011 working with elite underage players in the town of Whangarei, north of Auckland in New Zealand as part of his course.
“It was coming up on the time I had to do a placement for college and I took the opportunity to go to New Zealand. I was working with New Zealand sports academy, the big rugby academy over in New Zealand, so it was a fantastic opportunity,” he said.
“I was there for four months. I got to learn from fantastic coaches. Fantastic set up from top to bottom working with professional athletes on a daily basis and I also got to rehab my own injury.
“I was working with elite underage guys, which would be the equivalent of minors in the GAA, just about make the breakthrough.
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Fitzgerald and David Moran tackle Galway's John O'Brien. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
“Ultimately it was the time they could put into it. Say Monday to Friday, they’re training three times a day that’s what they had to their bow, they had food put up to them at lunch time, it’s definitely something unique to get an insight into sport like that.”
A professional development trip related to his masters saw the defender hop on a plane to Dallas, Taxas last December and immerse himself in the world of Friday night lights and the high school American football scene.
Fitzgerald teamed up with ex-Clare coach Michael Cahill at the Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas for an eye opening month.
“He was working over there so I linked up with him for a month and he gave me a fantastic opportunity.
The Dr Crokes defender in possession as James O'Donoghue looks on. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
“I was working at this facility worth a couple of million and it was just a high school and they’ve access to fourteen or fifteen sports.
“Obviously the American football was the big one I was looking at over there but track and field, basketball, you name it, it’s unbelievable stuff.”
Despite all his travels, Fitzgerald couldn’t imagine himself being anywhere else on Sunday.
“There’s nowhere like Croker. The heart beats faster when you’re there and it is the sort of place that you would visualise getting a score.
“But that’s more of a fiction going into it – when you’re and the situation presents itself, you have a game to play.”
From Auckland to Texas, there's no place like Croke Park for Fionn Fitzgerald
FIONN FITZGERALD HAS had some enjoyable experiences in New Zealand and the States on the way to becoming the Kerry captain at just 24-years-old.
Not only a gifted footballer, the Dr Crokes man’s studies have brought him all over the world. He’s just completed a masters in Sports Performance at the University of Limerick, having previously attained a degree in Sports Science in the same university.
Fitzgerald’s thirst for knowledge has seen him spend the summer of 2011 working with elite underage players in the town of Whangarei, north of Auckland in New Zealand as part of his course.
“I was there for four months. I got to learn from fantastic coaches. Fantastic set up from top to bottom working with professional athletes on a daily basis and I also got to rehab my own injury.
“I was working with elite underage guys, which would be the equivalent of minors in the GAA, just about make the breakthrough.
“Ultimately it was the time they could put into it. Say Monday to Friday, they’re training three times a day that’s what they had to their bow, they had food put up to them at lunch time, it’s definitely something unique to get an insight into sport like that.”
A professional development trip related to his masters saw the defender hop on a plane to Dallas, Taxas last December and immerse himself in the world of Friday night lights and the high school American football scene.
Fitzgerald teamed up with ex-Clare coach Michael Cahill at the Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas for an eye opening month.
“He was working over there so I linked up with him for a month and he gave me a fantastic opportunity.
“I was working at this facility worth a couple of million and it was just a high school and they’ve access to fourteen or fifteen sports.
“Obviously the American football was the big one I was looking at over there but track and field, basketball, you name it, it’s unbelievable stuff.”
Despite all his travels, Fitzgerald couldn’t imagine himself being anywhere else on Sunday.
“There’s nowhere like Croker. The heart beats faster when you’re there and it is the sort of place that you would visualise getting a score.
“But that’s more of a fiction going into it – when you’re and the situation presents itself, you have a game to play.”
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All-Ireland Senior FC Fionn Fitzgerald GAA on familiar soil Kerry