Advertisement
Between club and county duty, hurling is basically a 12-month gig for Joe Canning. Morgan Treacy/INPHO

'There's no down time for GAA players really' - One of hurling's biggest stars on his manic schedule

Being a top inter-county player leaves little time for outside interests.

‘YOU CAN AND you can’t’ is Joe Canning’s answer when asked whether it is possible for GAA players to have a life outside of the game.

It has been a widely discussed topic in the last few weeks with pundits such as Joe Brolly bellowing that players are now slaves to the inter-county system, and should be given more freedom to develop outside interests.

Canning says he enjoys watching rugby, playing golf and has an interest in fashion. These are the things he must have had in mind during the ‘you can’ part of his answer.

‘You can’t’ comes in the form of Tuesday and Thursday pitch sessions, Monday, Wednesday and Friday gym sessions and a game at the weekend. And that is just his schedule with Galway at the moment. There are also club commitments with Portumna that require Canning’s attention.

The 26-year-old works in the marketing department at Liberty Insurance in Dublin and it is a wonder he even has time to work with such a packed schedule.

“The people at Liberty are very good to me in terms of letting me get back down to Galway for training during the week,” Canning said.

“You would be fairly tired some days but that is what the early morning cup of coffee is for.”

When Canning explains his different hurling commitments throughout the year it makes it clear that the GAA never really stops. Between December 2013 and December 2014, Canning was almost constantly on the go as Portmuna won the All-Ireland club championship.

Joe Canning scores a free Canning has won four All-Ireland club titles with Portumna. Cathal Noonan / INPHO Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO

Players probably don’t feel as tired when they’re winning trophies and that is what drives Canning on. He even admits that it is rare for him to take a complete break from training at any stage during the year.

“I’ve been lucky enough that the club have been involved in the All-Ireland series most years so between that and Galway, you kind just go straight back into it,” Canning said.

“We don’t really get a break. You might take a week or two where you wouldn’t train at 100% but you don’t want to take it too easy or you are going to be behind.”

Canning says he rarely has a free evening around this time of year but doesn’t think that is unique to him.

“There is no down time for GAA players really,” Canning said.

“I love rugby and played it when I was younger. Going to games is very hard though because you usually have training on a Friday. The same with golf. It is very hard to get out and play because it takes up half the day. You can watch them [rugby and golf] on television but it is tough to get out to them.”

Even the universal and simple act of booking a holiday is tough for someone in Canning’s position. Do you take it in the summer? Can’t, Galway might have a game. What about the winter? Nope, the club are in a county semi-final.

There is always something on the horizon that prevents long-term planning. That’s why when a GAA player actually does take a big holiday, it becomes massive news that equates to ’20-year-old college student goes on J1 trip to Boston’.

The leisure plans of the country’s top players are very much dependent on how good their team is.

“You can’t plan a holiday far in advance,” Canning said.

“It’s only if you get knocked out with the county that you might be able to book a holiday and go on short notice for three or four days. Rugby players know at certain times they might be free but it is different for GAA players.”

‘I don’t think selfie sticks have made it down to Galway GAA just yet

Kildare to stick with Jason Ryan as manager despite league relegation

Close
9 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Chris Mcdonnell
    Favourite Chris Mcdonnell
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 2:32 PM

    Even when on the bench he didn’t get game time. The coach doesn’t like or trust him. Saturday once again showed just how wrong O’connor has been all season

    90
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Colin Webber
    Favourite Colin Webber
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 6:24 PM

    O’Connor is just all wrong for Leinster.

    32
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mark Lawlor
    Favourite Mark Lawlor
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 2:31 PM

    He has a very big chance next season with Leinster during the World Cup, midfield won’t be as competitive so he should get a good run of matches.

    80
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Chris Mcdonnell
    Favourite Chris Mcdonnell
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 6:56 PM

    Mark if Darcy doesn’t make the World Cup squad, he’ll play 12 with t’eo at 13. Then Madigan and sexton will be back so the midfield won’t be as easy to get into as you may think

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David Davidson
    Favourite David Davidson
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 4:27 PM

    That pop pass from O’Brien

    47
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Irish Underage Rugby
    Favourite Irish Underage Rugby
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 2:54 PM

    Battle between him and Madigan for the 12 jersey next season.

    45
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Cian Walker
    Favourite Cian Walker
    Report
    May 19th 2015, 4:02 AM

    It’s always to easy to see who coaches ‘just like/don’t like’. When Gopperth played badly it was ignored whereas when Madigan played mediocre or even if Reid played well decisions went against them.

    It creates such a poisonous culture as some players start to feel entitled to spots and others feel it doesn’t matter how well they play they won’t get picked. Cody and Fergusson were masters at disregarding players identities and judging on match performance alone. MOC is such a stink manager.

    7
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.