WHEN NICOLA SINNOTT was a student at Coláiste Bríde, the idea of a school soccer team was somewhat of a fanciful one in an area renowned for Gaelic games.

Indeed, it wasn’t until she was 16 that there was an organised league of any kind of girls in Wexford, by which time she was about ready for senior football.

It’s a sign of how far, and quickly, football has progressed in the county and surrounding area that Wexford Youths are on the cusp of a fourth FAI Cup trophy in seven years.

This evening’s FAI Cup final – set to be a sell-out – in Tallaght Stadium will see fans travel from all over Wexford and Carlow, where the team train at the IT, to the capital.

Youths defender Sinnott, who is now a teacher of Geography and Irish at her old secondary school, sees that progress close up.

She’s the coach of the school football team, who won a Leinster Schools title a couple of years back, and in years past has lined out alongside her pupils for Youths.

She says: “There were very few opportunities for me when I was a teenager and obviously I’m now in a position where I can do more and give them opportunities.

“Having the soccer team in school, they give pathways to Leinster and Irish school teams. It is important to me to be a role model.

“When I was a teenager there wasn’t even a league in Wexford for underage girls so I trained with the boys right up until I was 16.

“The first time I got an opportunity was at U16 level when they set up a women’s league and sure I was nearly at senior level.”

Enniscorthy would be an area better known for hurling and camogie, and the round ball code would traditionally be Gaelic football, but soccer has always been popular too.

That’s reflected in the fact the school can field teams at four age groups, though like everybody else they have a job to reignite interest following the Covid lockdown.

“The students are really supportive. Many a time you’ll go in on Monday and they’ll say ‘I see you won, Miss’, because they’re following on social media.

“And the school would put things up on Twitter and make announcements so they’re very aware and it’s nice to have that support.

“We usually have four teams up through the year groups, and I’ve done that since I’ve been teaching in the school. It’s busy, but there’s great interest.”

This is her 11th season in the Women’s National League and it’s been good to her, with four league titles and three FAI Cups (so far) in her medal collection.

Between her day job, coaching and a three-hour round trip to Carlow two evenings a week, Sinnott’s calendar is full up, but the sacrifices are worth it.

She says: “There’s a lot of travel involved. We’ve girls who travel two hours to training.

“We’ve one girl who’s travelling down from Dundalk to Carlow, Tuesdays and Thursdays, so she’s leaving at three o’clock and not coming home until 11.

“Your whole evenings are gone and I don’t think people realise that side, when you see the results, people don’t realise the work girls put in and the balance you have to get.

“There’s some of the young girls as well who are trying to do their homework in the back of the car on the way home, so it’s a huge commitment.

“Even in chats there warming up, they’ll be asking me questions, the other girls on the team. There are quite a few girls doing the Leaving Cert this year.

“They’ll be talking about their homework while warming up, or a test coming up, and you’ll be asked a few questions sometimes.”

One weight off the players’ backs in recent years has been the support of Energia, who cover the players’ fees which, in previous years, ran up to around €500 per player.

It’s the time commitment – missed nights out, events and family occasions – that can’t be compensated for but, for now, the sacrifices are worth it do what she loves.

“I do feel as I’m getting older the commitment side is getting a little tougher, even my body itself is taking longer to recover from games and training sessions and things like that.

“There’s a lot of time I have to say ‘no’ to family, friends and partners. It’s tough and maybe as you get older you start to think more about those things.

“I feel like I’m good enough to keep playing but this is the first year where I might have to reconsider a little bit.

“I fully believe our squad are good enough to win silverware again next year and we’re a really close unit, like a family.

“Some of my closest friends and friends for life are there so it would be tough to walk away.”