GAA OVER AND O’DONNE’?
BANNER HERO WEIGHING UP FUTURE OPTIONS Shane may be in last year with Clare
SHANE O’DONNELL has hinted this year could be his last with Clare.
O’Donnell, who has a PhD in microbiology having earned a Fullbright Scholarship at Harvard University, has spoken in the past about his desire to work overseas and has recently moved jobs, taking up employment with UK company Sano Genetics this year.
And while he hasn’t made a decision on his future with Clare, there is a possibility this campaign is his swansong.
He explained: “I won’t rule out playing next year but I wouldn’t absolutely say, ‘Yeah, I would’ as well. It’s kind of precariously balanced with the Clare panel at the moment.
“There’s probably a couple of players who are approaching that decision but, also, nobody wants to be the first one to make that call so it’s kind of very precariously balanced then that I think if one player were to hang up the boots there could be a number of us doing it.
Moment
“But personally at the moment, I’m really enjoying my hurling. I don’t want to retire next year but I don’t know what’ll happen outside of hurling from my work perspective. It could be that it just makes sense for me to move abroad and kind of retire.”
O’Donnell, 30 next month, has an All-Ireland medal from 2013, when he made a sensational impact in their victory over Cork after a replay, scoring 3-3.
Clare have emerged as serious contenders again in recent years, troubling four-in-a-row champions Limerick more than any other team, but whether or not they recapture the Liam MacCarthy this year won’t impact on what he decides.
“From my current vantage point I don’t think winning the All-Ireland or not winning the All-Ireland, both would have reasons for me to go back essentially so yeah, I don’t think I could make a decision based on that, basically.”
But he says he has been taking in the scenery around the big games that bit more of late, in anticipation of the possibility that he might not be back, similar to how Kilkenny great JJ Delaney said that he soaked up all his experiences back in 2014 having decided it would be his last season.
“I can understand where he’s coming from,” said O’Donnell. “I do get that sense but without the definite decision. There is no definite decision but I am aware going into some of these games that these could be some of the last days that I do this and I appreciate it a bit more.
“I take in the pre-match a bit more because of that but not in the sense that I definitely know I’m retiring but I do understand where he’s coming from and I have noticed myself taking in the pre-matches a little bit more because of that.”
Once again this year, he was phased back into the team relatively late, with his appearance off the bench at half-time in the League final win over Kilkenny last month his first time to feature in that competition in four years.
He then started the SHC games against Limerick and Cork and has arguably been their best player across both, scoring and assisting freely.
Prepare
“After a certain number of years, you do get a bit of flexibility. You want to prepare yourself for Championship and maybe I’ve taken it a step farther than most do but I find it works very well for me.
“I spend the off season staying in touch, doing gym and that kind of work and when it gets close to this March deadline, I come back into training. I have maybe three or four weeks of running sessions to prepare for that and then in early March, I fit back into the panel training.
“I find it works extremely well for me. Whether it’s physical energy coming back in, I don’t think that’s the case. It’s more a psychological edge — if that’s the right word: I can bring a lot of energy back in because I haven’t been training for a number of months and I think that does lend itself to me being able to perform come Championship.”
Indeed, O’Donnell feels that some of his more long-serving teammates should take a similar approach.
“I genuinely think that anybody that’s played for a number of years and has years in the bank could do it and I have actually suggested to a lot of our senior players that they should do it.
“I’ve discussed it with our S&Cs, Match fitness is a huge thing and getting, for example, that 20 minutes in the league final or a challenge game, I would be absolutely out on my feet but comes around in one and a half matches. Once you have it under the belt, as long as you have that fitness, I do a good bit of fitness work coming back in, you’d be surprised how quickly it comes around.” (inset)