‘It’s all about the next one’
At 35, TJ Reid is still hungry for success
IT’S hard not to think that TJ Reid’s gym business has helped to keep him at a physical peak. Like a hurling version of Benjamin Button, at times last summer it was as if he was living out his career arc in reverse, ageing the opposite way as he produced a set of performances to make the three-man shortlist for Hurler of the Year.
Now 35, he’s a new father with a family to look after and his own business to run. So when he again played a leading role in helping his club Ballyhale Shamrocks write another bit of history by winning a record ninth All-Ireland senior title, did any part of him think it was the perfect moment to walk off into the sunset?
‘If my attitude was like that I would have gone 10 years ago, after winning my first one,’ he counters. ‘As a sports player, it’s
“I believe in myself, I’m hurling well”
all about the next one. Look, I’ve achieved unbelievable stuff with the club and county but your mindset can’t be selfish that way. Yes, I’m married, I’ve a new-born baby, I’m very happy, life is good. I’m going into my job smiling every day.
‘The business is flying. If it was struggling, it would be very stressful. But I’m hurling well and I still believe in myself. As a player, you have to be honest with yourself. You have to say, “Look, I can’t perform anymore”.’
Records show Reid is joint top now in the list of all-time All-Ireland winners, along with former club and county teammate Michael Fennelly. Reid’s haul of 16 is made up of seven with Kilkenny, six with Ballyhale Shamrocks, two with the Kilkenny Under 21s and one with St Kieran’s College.
With the modern game and sports science, there seems to be a stretching of careers and talent — the World Cup, after all, was framed around another 35-yearold. Does it help his own mindset to see sports careers apparently extending rather than shortening at the highest level?
‘Yes. Coming from a strength and conditioning background, I do. If you let a number define your career, even life in general, you’re playing on a losing battlefield straight away. Obviously monitoring your load is a day-today thing now. Sports science is evolving. It is allowing other people to perform to their maximum and get a couple of years out of them.’
Reid was speaking in conjunction with the recent Gaelic Writers’ Association Awards, having been named Hurling Personality of the Year for 2022 (below). Just this week, he was named on the AIB GAA Club Hurling Team of the Year, one of eight from the club, along with the likes of Joey Holden and Colin Fennelly. He goes so far as to describe the victory as a career high, saying the club’s legacy was on the line in the semi-final against Ballygunner having lost last year’s final to the Waterford champions.
‘A very special achievement,’ he says. ‘To be beaten the year before and have the resilience to come back again and get back to an All-Ireland final. For a small parish, it doesn’t happen often. But we got back there.
‘It wasn’t just the final, it was the year. It was the semi-final, beating Ballygunner. That was special. That was a victory because we were being written off. Everyone was talking about Ballygunner being the best club team ever. It was a bit disrespectful after what our club has achieved over the last 10 years. Ballygunner beat us in the final a year ago so to get revenge… revenge is sweet when it works out.
‘The All-Ireland was a big one. A tough one. For the Ballygunner game, it was being said they were favourites, we were the underdogs. Straight away, for the final it was “you’ll beat Dunloy” or “it’s an easy one for us… you have the game won.” That was the most difficult thing. It was a very dangerous game. ‘I think we were a bit nervous after last year. Until really the 58th minute until we turned on the style and finished strongly.’
This Sunday, Kilkenny host Dublin in round four of the Allianz Hurling League. Reid is back doing pitch work with Kilkenny under Derek Lyng having used the time since the club final at the end of January to clear up ‘a few little niggles’. He’s playing it by ear as to how much game time he’ll see pre-Championship.
That his business has bounced back fully post-pandemic has helped things too.
‘It has come back stronger than ever. It took time. Because at the start, when things reopened, people were sceptical of the virus. The fear around it.
‘Because they had nothing else to do in lockdown, most people picked up walking or cycling. Even looking at
“You can’t let a number define your career”
on RTÉ, they were a massive success as well. You could see all the people out walking and exercising. So the last months have been very positive.
‘You have to have a good practice, a good product as well. We’re fortunate that my health and fitness club is a five star facility. It’s only a matter of opening the doors and people came back in.’
Recently, his Ballyhale neighbour Henry Shefflin was pictured at Ireland rugby training at Carton House, no doubt soaking up information in his role as Galway manager.
Reid says that players too are always looking for an angle.
‘As a manager, it’s good to go into other camps and pick up small little tricks. They are at a professional level. In the Premier League they’re even playing games every three or four days and they are superior athletes. So as a manager you’re trying to improve the culture.’