New life down under
E tracks if pleasing progress continues
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od of my life and I had as well. It was a great d play. I probably took ime. winning games and ess, but it was just a nds and something se how special it is when you’re out here, because obviously this is a bit different and has a different dynamic,’ he said.
He cites his father, George, an All-Ireland winner with Wexford in 1996, who was also a top-class footballer, as being a massive influence on him and others, although he stressed there was never any pressure put on him to choose one sport over another.
‘Dad always stood back and let me do what I wanted. He encouraged me, whether it was playing hurling or football, tennis or whatever. He was just happy as long as I was having fun, which was the best way to do it I think.
‘There was never really any pressure and it was just always about enjoyment. You probably develop more quickly and in a better way, because it’s left up to you and you can make your own decisions about it.
‘He’s a brilliant coach. He just always had a way, especially with the younger kids, they all seem to take a shine to him.
‘I’m not sure if it’s the moustache or the smile or the broken fingers that they’re fascinated by, but he has a great way of developing young players and giving them enjoyment out of it as well,’ he said.
One of the many sports O’Connor dabbled in growing up was rugby, developing as a player for almost a decade at Wexford Wanderers, before having to sidestep the oval ball game to commit to Gaelic games, but he believes it may have aided him slightly when trying to adapt to Aussie Rules.
‘I got great enjoyment out of rugby as well, there’s really good people in the club and it was another big part of my development. I’d be a firm believer that playing as many sports as possible as a child is only going to help you in the long run.
‘I suppose having played rugby it does help with reading the bounce and stuff. It’s not going to prepare you that well but it gives you a little bit of help.
‘Being familiar with kicking it and handling it and stuff is nice to have, but you probably need a bit more preparation than just having a rugby background when you come over here. It’s almost like a baptism of fire when you arrive at first, but you get to grips with it slowly,’ he said.
Despite the restrictions, O’Connor has been keeping himself busy trying to stay in peak condition for when sporting action resumes, and with his team-mates returning to Sydney, including his three housemates, he’s starting to see a glimmer of light at the end of a long and dark tunnel.
‘All the lads are just after getting back to the house from all over Australia, which is good. I was on my own for a few weeks so it’s good to have them back. The club have asked everyone to come back.
‘For every AFL team, guys are from all over Australia. It’s not like the G.A.A., where you play for where you’re from, so we have a lot of guys in Melbourne and Perth and stuff. Everyone’s coming back this week.
‘I think the plan is, depending on a government announcement, that we’ll get back into small group training next week. It will be groups of eight or ten and hopefully just build it up from there,’ he said.
Despite a minor blip, things had been going quite well for O’Connor prior to the enforced hiatus, and after a good pre-season, he was relishing getting a taste of competitive action.
‘I had a very good pre-season. In my second week I had a little bit of a small calf tear, so that kept me out for a couple of weeks. I’ve just been learning as much as I can about the game. Your first couple of months is just about learning and settling in.
‘They’re not expecting you to be a world-beater in your first couple of months, so it’s just about improving all your skills and getting a good base of fitness, because these guys are all elite athletes. It’s just about trying to get yourself up to that level as quickly as possible,’ he said.
O’Connor, whose cousins Rory, Jack and Joe are pivotal members of Davy Fitzgerald’s Senior hurling panel, is no stranger to being in tip-top shape from his dedication to Gaelic games, and he says the main difference between being a professional athlete and an amateur is that precious commodity: time.
‘I wouldn’t say there’s massive differences. It’s more your time. When you’re professional it’s your job so you’re kind of doing it all day, whereas when you’re an amateur you’re in college or at work for the day and then you rush down to training, sit in a car for two hours, train and go back to Dublin or Wexford or wherever you are.
‘It’s just the time you have on your hands to do little extra bits, do extra strength and conditioning and obviously more kicking. We’ve got better access to facilities. We’re a professional team so everything is there for you.
‘Back home nutrition, recovery, and even just getting training in can be a struggle sometimes with all the other stuff going on in people’s lives.
‘That distraction is kind of out of the way. There’s no magic formula, there’s no different training methods, you just do more of it really,’ he said.
O’Connor painted a picture of what it’s like on a day-to-day basis training at the club’s headquarters at Sydney Cricket Club, although he has yet to experience the daily routine when an AFL season is in full swing.
‘Pre-season is very different to in-season. I haven’t experienced much of in-season yet, but in pre-season on Monday, Wednesday and Friday we put in a pretty big session.
‘You’d arrive in at maybe 7 a.m. to the club and get ready, do all your strapping and foam rolling and stretching. After a meeting you’d be out on the pitch at about 8:30 and train for two and a half or three hours. Usually there’s a lot of running involved in the heat, which takes a bit of getting used to.
‘You go in, get your lunch, and do your weights in the afternoon. They’d be the main training days. Tuesday and Thursday, you’d always do a bit of skill work and kicking as well. On top of that you’ve a lot of meetings, one-on-one stuff with your coaches.
‘It’s not all just football stuff, they work a lot on personal development as well. It’s a big part of it, it’s a business at the end of the day so you’ve got to be able to communicate and get on well with people or it won’t work.
‘The days fill up very quickly, it’s not as simple as just going in training and going home. You could be in from seven until 4 o’clock, 4:30 some days, other days might be a little bit shorter but that’s the main week in pre-season,’ he said.
Turning attentions back to the Emerald Isle and the Model county, in normal times he would be keeping a close eye on how the Wexford teams are progressing in their respective championships, in particular taking a keen interest in the exploits of his extended family.
‘I talk to Rory every day. He’s the same age as me and we grew up together. There’s not a whole lot to chat about right now as regards the G.A.A., and the AFL as well, but I’m sure the lads will be ready to go when they get back in action, whether it’s going to be this year or next year,’hesaid.
One match his cousins won’t want to dwell on too much is last year’s heartbreaking defeat to Tipperary in the All-Ireland semi-final, but with Barry’s new team-mate, Colin O’Riordan, being a Premier county man, he’s had to relive it on more than one occasion.
‘Colin let me know about it a few times and I suppose previous successes of the two counties over the years is also mentioned. I try not to mention that match too much to the lads [his cousins] though.
‘I was showing a few of my team-mates the highlights of that game a few weeks ago. One or two of the guys were in the house with me and they were wondering what the stick was in the corner of the room, so I gave them a little bit of a lesson on the game of hurling and I showed them a few highlights. I thought that game would be a good one to pick for excitement,’ he said.
For O’Connor, the excitement is still all ahead of him in the exhilarating world of Australian Rules football, and here’s hoping his swan song for Sydney won’t be for many years to come.