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PHILLY McMahon is the latest high-profile GAA player to express skepticism about the value of playing inter-county games on vacant grounds.
In an interview for McSport, the Dublin defender insisted: “Cross-county football is obviously very small with no crowds and fans. That’s what makes the scene between counties.”
Closed-door gaming is not an option currently being explored at the GAA central level, although it is a possible starting point for the resumption of organized sport.
And, as McMahon also noted, it may be the only viable option other than sitting idle waiting for the discovery of a coronavirus vaccine.
When asked if he would be willing to return to the soccer field before the end of social distancing, McMahon explained: “If I played a game this weekend and contracted COVID-19, it spreads very easily in our working life.”
“If I am in a gym and extended to a class, my gym may close. There are great risks to rewards.”
“But,” he continued, “for me, it’s cuándo when will we be back if that’s the case?”
“As we move forward, things will get better. But who knows when there will be a cure? We can’t stop playing sports until a cure appears.”
“It is juggling those two things. I would love to play again today. But we are not professional athletes. We are amateurs. We have professions outside of that.”
That McMahon is eager to get back into competitive action is no surprise.
He will be 33 in September and knows he has seen many more days in his career between counties than he has left.
The advantage of downtime is that McMahon has had an extended period of time to perfect his fitness.
As he noted: “Players across the country are now looking to physically improve.”
“And then it all comes down to how the team plays collectively, technically, the team’s style and how the players play.”
“The other side of the training is, when you’ve been 12 or 13 years old going to work at a certain time and finishing a certain time and thinking all the time about what you’re doing to prepare for the training, that can be robotic indeed. So, it’s tough.
“Not having to do that is good. I’m not too worried about being fatigued.”
“There are certain things that you can work on and certain things that you cannot. I am trying to increase fitness levels, but not to the extent that I am at my peak right now.
“I am working on all aspects; strength, power, fitness, speed. I do a lot of agility because I am a defender and I have to work hard on it.”
Although the government’s roadmap for resuming normalcy allows sports facilities to be opened to groups of four starting May 18, followed by contactless training on June 9, the GAA has decided that its grounds will remain closed. until July 20 at the earliest.
“It’s difficult when you’re training on your own because the ball doesn’t come back to you as often,” said McMahon. If only the floors were still there!
“Between runs, I practice a little shooting. It’s hard to work on the basic skills that my game is all about in terms of boarding.”
“The technical side of things can be difficult to work with right now.”
Having debuted in 2008, McMahon is well aware that any significant delay in resuming the sport could have major consequences in the final seasons of a career in Dublin in which he won seven medals across Ireland.
“For me, at this stage in my career, I am no longer one of the youngsters,” he admitted.
“I will not take it for granted. Every opportunity I have to get to that field, I will love it and enjoy it.”
“I would have had that before closing already because of the stage of my career I’m in. When they take it from you, it’s one of those things you long for so much.”
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