Life lessons to be learned from star athlete in our midst

WELL, DEAR readers, I hope you’re all coping as well as one could expect with this strange and unsettling new existence. Nobody wants to be in this position, but we simply must accept our plight as we burst headlong into week three and try to focus on brighter days to come.

I’ve given you an insight into aspects of the newspaper business in recent columns, and I’m happy to say that we’re still ploughing on here despite the complete lack of live sport at this stage.

The horse racing, greyhounds and golf gave us something current to focus on in our coverage, but all three have now succumbed to the latest Government-imposed restrictions - and rightly so in my view.

It has led to a new approach to filling these column inches, and it’s a far cry from the norm.

We’ve never had an unlimited amount of pages for sport at any stage in our existence; that’s not how it works.

The size of this supplement is determined by various related factors, and we are merely one part of a multi-layered operation where all of the component parts must work together in order to deliver a newspaper every Tuesday.

In a normal year (and God, what I wouldn’t give to have one of those right now), a couple of pressure points arise on the calendar when there simply isn’t enough space to fit everything in.

The first usually occurs when the start of the G.A.A. club championships intersects with the conclusion of the soccer season.

And then fast forward to October, when it’s not unusual to maybe have five or six county finals spread over any given weekend. That’s always a challenge too, but finding space for match reports is the least of our concerns at the moment.

Instead, we’ve been taking the time to have more in-depth conversations with sporting personalities across various disciplines.

One of the interesting ones was with athletics coach Shane McCormack, whose attention to detail has also given the Tipperary hurlers a considerable helping hand (or should that be foot?).

And when the postponement of the Olympics was confirmed last week, I asked Dave Devereux to return to that topic, only this time to talk to Shane’s star performer, Phil Healy.

We’re all in need of some positivity right now and, with that in mind, I strongly recommend you read that interview on page 47.

I think we can all take some valuable life lessons from the admirable attitude displayed by the Cork speedster, who is currently domiciled temporarily in Curracloe for training purposes.

While her Olympic dream is put on hold until 2021, she’s certainly not allowing the news to upset her. ‘You can’t be feeling sorry for yourself,’ is one of the quotes from the Bandon native that can be applied generally to everyone’s current predicament.

And then there’s the solitary nature of her situation to consider. Of course, Healy has a coach, a training partner, and no doubt various fitness and nutrition experts at her disposal.

Ultimately though, it’s about the athlete herself, and nobody else, because if she allows her standards to drop, the repercussions will be felt down the line if she’s found wanting in a big race.

A regular routine - albeit within the restrictive confines of home for most - is what will get people through the darkest days.

A lot of folk are struggling with the lack of freedom to do whatever they desire within reason, as that usually happens without having to give it a second’s thought.

That’s a natural reaction, but the general message I would take from Healy is to keep going and tough it out.

In the 100 metres in particular, her incredible dedication is geared towards making improvements by mere hundredths of a second.

She broke the national record in 2018 with a time of 11.28. Just to put that in context, it’s not even as long as we’re being asked to wash our hands by the health experts.

Her next 100 metres race will be over quicker than it will take me to stir the milk when I make another cup of tea.

Can we apply that to our own lives at present? I believe so. If you’ve accomplished a few minor things around the house today, try to do a little bit more tomorrow. And when this horrible time passes, we’ll all be rooting for our talented guest in her next big race.