O’Shea happy to play his part for Sligo All Stars
AIDAN O’Shea’s name is probably one more synonymous with GAA than basketball for many.
The announcement that he joined up with EJ’s All Stars a couple of weeks ago probably surprised many, but for O’Shea it was the obvious thing to do given he had a bit of free time to himself, with very few plans for the winter.
Prior to his GAA career really taking off, O’Shea was a keen basketball player, playing regularly up until the age of about 18.
He continued on until he was 19, playing and training here and there but that was the end of his basketball playing. Until now, that is.
“Yeah it ( move to EJs All Stars) came about a bit strange. I messaged Shane ( O’Meara) a couple of weeks ago and just said I want to do a bit of training,” he told The Sligo Champion at training on Friday evening prior to the match against the Titans.
“I hadn’t played in a while so Shane was receptive to the idea. It turned out that the registration date for the season was Wednesday and he asked me if I wanted to register so I said I may as well. It’s caught a bit of fire since then, Basketball Ireland kind of ran with the story and more people found out than I would’ve liked,” he added.
With no International Rules series to keep him busy, and with club football in Mayo over for the year, O’Shea decided to get in touch with Shane O’Meara, the coach, to alert him to his interest.
Logistically, it made sense. Sligo is just down the road for the Ballina man.
“It was probably the closest ( club). And probably because I knew Shane. I met him a year ago and he was telling me how things were going here so I looked it up and thought it might be a good idea to come along.
“This winter has been a bit different because in other years there’s been the International Rules series or the club season has gone on a bit longer, so this time round I have a block of about two months where I can do what I want. I’m not one to sit on the couch. I had one weekend off and was thinking I should probably do something. It’s only up the road so I don’t mind. It’s something different and something I enjoy,” he added.
Feeling slightly less pressure to perform than perhaps at GAA, O’Shea says he is just happy to be involved.
“Yeah absolutely the enjoyment factor is huge and it’s something to put a smile on my face. I can go out and enjoy myself. If I can help the lads in anyway, carry water bottles or whatever then I will. It’s a nice place to be. I trained last week, and I played. The guys are great here they’re young and up and coming.”