ZOOM CALLS, DIY around the house and training on his own – Lee Keegan’s current routine will sound familiar to many.
Rather than gearing up for the start of the Connacht championship in a couple of weeks’ time, the Mayo squad have largely been left to their own devices as the GAA world plays a waiting game.
They’re still logging their running sessions, while Keegan is operating out of a homemade gym to keep himself ticking over on the strength and conditioning side of things.
Even if the championship resumes later in the year, or in 2021 as president John Horan suggested on Monday could happen, Keegan says county players will have to make individual choices as to whether they’re willing to return to play.
If the virus continues to linger without a vaccine, some players may see it as an unnecessary risk to return to the field.
“It’s very specific to what’s going on in their own life – some guys might have new-borns on the way, some of their family members might be sick that they are looking after,” says Keegan.
“Of course, there are going to be really tough decisions around individuals. Again, that’s going to be one of the biggest questions the GAA are going to come out with, are players comfortable enough going back and, I don’t want to say their life, by putting their health at risk to play this game.
“The other side as well is that if people are working they have to think of their day to day job, what’s the risk they are going to bring back to their workplace or their home life as well?
“So there are so many different questions to be answered. For myself I don’t know personally, to be honest, I obviously have to think of my own home life and stuff like that.
“I suppose until I get to meet my family and stuff like that I can really even think about football at the moment. I’m obviously trying to think of everything from my job, obviously being newlywed and stuff like that – trying to build a house.
“I suppose I have a few projects that are keeping me ticking over, but I don’t know, it’s going to have to be a question that is going be put to players – are they comfortable?
“The majority might say no, majority might say yes, I don’t know, I suppose it’s very much an individual decision.”
He’s impressed by how Mayo boss James Horan has managed the situation so far.
“I think James (Horan) is very sensible in terms of there’s no point talking football until we have a clearer picture of where we’re going or what we’re looking at,” he says.
“James I think is excellent in terms of knowing this is a really important time to spend with our loved ones or the ones we’re living with or can actually see within the radius.
”So, I mean, of course we keep in contact as mates and as a group a little bit, but it’s not really football-related. It’s more just touching base to see how guys are and what they’re up to and how they’re getting on with their lives.
“In terms of actual set-up calls, we’re not actually doing a lot, to be honest. We hold ourselves accountable in terms of the training we’re doing. It’s all prescribed for us and scheduled for us each day. But, in terms of the actual group, we’re not doing that much together at all.”
Last weekend was about the height of the interaction he’s had with the squad since the social distancing measures were introduced.
“We’re still having a bit of craic I suppose through Zoom quizzes. There’s a bit of competitiveness there as well. I think a few of us might have fallen out after the weekend because there’s a few debatable cheaters in the quiz group.
“Obviously it’s great to touch base from that point of view. Definitely from that physical aspect of being in the changing room and having those conversations and a bit of fun with the guys and spending guys with them throughout the whole year, that’s the hardest challenge that’s faced a lot of us so far.”
Keegan admits he’s surprised at how quickly football has fallen down his list of priorities, given how much he’s invested in the game over the past decade.
His day job is with Steris, a company that sterilise pharmaceutical and medical products. He’s deemed as an essential worker and they’re kept busy at the moment sterilising masks and gloves for the HSE.
“I suppose the first couple of weeks I was training with the thought we’d be back in the summer nearly, but as the weeks went on everything kind of came into perspective. It actually fell pretty fast, to be honest.
“You have to think of everything in your own life. What is more important? We are amateur players at the end of it, obviously, my job at the moment is important, my loved ones at home are important, bits like that.
“It’s definitely been a huge culture change for myself personally, and it’s the same for every inter-county player, we are in such a bubble from the time we start pre-season until the time we finish up and even going into club it’s all football, football, football.
“Now we don’t have that, I think the biggest challenge is just to try to fill that gap. I’m trying to do bits and pieces around the house, I’m by no means a good DIY guy but I’m trying different things just to fill up a few gaps here and there.
“Even just you get excited by doing your shopping. It’s mad, like. I found it kind of hard after the first couple of weeks but when you look at your pecking order in terms of what’s more important then it definitely fell down pretty quickly.”
The Westport man, who turned 30 last October, has undergone surgery on both hips, his ankle and shoulder since the end of 2017.
He is viewing this break as the ideal opportunity to get on top of his injuries, though he’s unsure if it will help him prolong his career.
“The break for some guys might be just to recharge their batteries and take stock of what’s going on. I think it’s no harm. My hips are grand, I had shoulder and ankle surgery after that as well.
“To be honest, little bits to clean up but they’re things that happen during sport so I can get on with that.
“It’s given me time to work on my body, stretching, flexibility, that bit of maintenance that I maybe neglected over the last few years.
“Sometimes when you’re like me you think you’re a bit indestructible during championship, that you don’t need to do things with your body, but the older you get the more you need to look after yourself to be able to perform at the highest level.
“That’s something myself maybe I neglected, I didn’t do the little bits and pieces at home and now I’ve got my bit of down time I’ve definitely taken on that bit more during this time which we have had to reflect on what we’re doing.
“I find it tedious enough but I know the importance of actually doing it and I see the benefits of it as well in that when I’m out doing my running I feel a lot looser than if I hadn’t done it.
“I’m subconsciously thinking about the niggles I may have had if I hadn’t stretched or done that bit of maintenance work I needed to do. It’s all a learning curve. As the years have gone on I’ve learned a lot about my body and what it needs and in terms of what position I play as well. It is greatly important, what I’m doing and why I’m doing it as well.”
He hasn’t quite hit same the heights over the past couple of seasons as he did during his Footballer of the Year winning campaign in 2016 and another stunning year in 2017.
Much of that can be put down to those injuries he’s endured and perhaps being rushed back for the championship a little undercooked. But Keegan says his positioning comes into it as well.
He broke onto the scene as a high-scoring wing-back, but has evolved into more of a man-marking defender in recent years.
“I suppose between little bits of injuries, they may have stopped me getting there (to where I wanted to be) I still feel I’m at a high enough level but not maybe at the high I was at in the 2017 final or things like that.
“The game has changed for me as well in the last couple of years between more detailed man-marking jobs, rather than that free role where I could attack all I wanted.
“I suppose I was probably seen as an attacking half back for so long, whereas now it’s more man-marking stuff. People might not see me doing anything but for me, that’s me doing my job as best as I can as well.
“I think of myself as an all-action player really, when I played in the half back line, I’d go up and maybe score a point whereas now, it’s a more detailed role where you’re not going to be able to do what you did before.
“It’s something where you’re trying to learn, in training and so on. I don’t mean under-par by the level I was at, maybe it’s just I was a lot more involved in terms of the fluid moves, patterns of play and things like that. Now I’m trying to contain myself a little bit more, I mightn’t see as much action.
“I may not be seen doing things that I was doing a few years ago. Which of course I’d love to be doing, I want to be up doing the glamour stuff but sometimes, the glamour stuff is what the team needs and I’m happy to do that. It’s maybe a sign of my age!”
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