MOVE OVER GAVIN DUFFY, there’s a new code-breaker in town.
Last night, as Ballinteer St. Johns beat O’Tooles in the first round of the Dublin Senior Football Championship, they had a very familiar face in midfield.
However, while those watching from the sidelines would be more accustomed to seeing David Gillick on an athletics track, this was far from his first foray unto a football field.
Though it was the 30-year old’s first competitive game in over a decade.
“I’m a bit stiff this morning after the game,” he tells TheScore.ie.
“It’s my first competitive game with the parish since 2003 so it’s been a long time. I’ve been training for a few months, giving the lads a hand with speed work and fitness, etc but I picked up a hamstring injury so I’ve been watching that for a bit.
“It was good to get out there and get the win though. We haven’t had a great league so it was great to get a win in the first round of Championship.”
For a man used to forty-odd second sprints around an athletics track, getting acquainted with the cut and thrust of a club championship game will take some time.
“I’m too used to running in straight lines,” he laughs, “so going from side to side is a new challenge.
“I loved it though. There’s a difference between fitness and match fitness. The stop/start nature of a football game is so different to athletics and then there’s the tactics as well.
“I just told the lads to shout at me and tell me where to go if I was out of position and in fairness, they’re a great bunch so they helped me out.”
One thing Gillick was conscious of was someone thinking about making a name for themselves when they saw him.
“You do worry if lads are going to kill you,” he jokes “but, to be honest, I was lucky I didn’t receive a black card myself early on for pulling down a lad so maybe it’s my own discipline I have to watch.”
Despite Ballinteer running up an impressive 3-13 in last night’s win, Gillick failed to get on the scoreboard, something he has a handy excuse for but an oversight he’s keen to put right.
“No I didn’t score sadly. In my defence I was more of a holding midfielder and I did a lot of the defensive work that allowed other players to go forward.
“In fairness, they’re better shots than me so it was probably for the best but I will definitely have to practise my scoring ahead of the next game.”
Off the field, Gillick is still in demand for his culinary skills following his success in Masterchef Ireland last year and has a regular slot on TV3′s Ireland AM where he showcases healthy eating.
He’s also keeping busy with corporate work and promises he’ll have some big news soon but won’t go into it just yet.
However, in the immediate future, Gillick and Ballinteer are gearing up for a league fixture at the end of the month. They’ll have to wait until autumn though to resume their Championship campaign.
Who knows, by that stage, he may even be part of Jim Gavin’s plans.
