“It is so important for parents to be able to be strong and say no”

Rathdowney man Shane Keegan has to be one of the busiest men in Irish sport. The former Rathdowney hurling manager is the current Cobh Ramblers manager, Games promotion officer for Portlaoise GAA, and regular contributor on off the ball and the 42. The Rathdowney man squared off half an hour of his hectic schedule to sit down and chat with us at Leinster Express/ Laois Live.

His role within the Portlaoise GAA involves going out to various schools during the week and encouraging more kids to get involved with GAA and particularly Portlaoise GAA. He explained to us what is involved in that position. 

“I suppose the primary role of the job is trying to grow the numbers in Portlaoise GAA club. There is a massive population in Portlaoise and the GAA is only scratching the surface in terms of the numbers available to them. Getting involved with the schools is a way of connecting with more kids within the area. You're getting in there and putting on sessions for them. With the younger ones, they might not even be GAA oriented. You might just be working on fundamental movement skills. I suppose the key thing is that the kids enjoy the sessions to encourage them into the club. We have seen a bounce in the numbers at the club, particularly among the younger age groups.“ Said Keegan. More below pic

Keegan describes how he approaches the role but in doing so is careful not to encourage kids to favour GAA over other sports. He has a strong belief that kids need to play as many sports as possible right up to adulthood. 

“My lad is seven and I can approach these sessions with the mentality of what kind of experience would I want my kid to have. I know my main role is to try and get kids down to Rathleague but I never lose sight of the fact that there are an awful lot of sports within Portlaoise that kids can get involved with. There's GAA, Rugby, Basketball, Soccer, Squash, and Athletics to name just a few. And my kid competes in a lot of them. I think that is brilliant, I wouldn’t be a fan of narrowing kids down to one sport. You need strong parents to ensure coaches don't influence them into their kids specializing in one sport. Unfortunately, that happens, Coaches will typically try and put pressure on parents to get their kids to specialize in their respective sports. It is so important for parents to be able to be strong and say no, that's not the route we want to go down. We want our kid to play as many sports as he enjoys and that's so important for a kid's development process as well. I honestly believe you don't have to specialize and you shouldn't specialize until your very late teens at the earliest.” 

Following on from this we discussed with Shane the dual approach that Portlaoise and many other clubs have adopted. The Rathdowney man is hopeful that Portlaoise GAA will see real benefits of this in the future. 

“Portlaoise is absolutely a dual club, and maybe there have been a few conclusions drawn on how that hasn't been handled the best in the last decade or so. It possibly impacted the level of success that they have had in recent years. There is a major push on the dual approach right up to 11s which means you can't play one if you're not playing the other. It's a fantastic way to do it and hopefully, it will further the success that the club has in both codes over the next decade or so.” More below pic

Shane is also a regular contributor to off-the-ball and 42. He spoke about his love for sports journalism growing up and how his contributory role with these media outlets came about. 

“I've always had a massive interest in the punditry side of things. I was massively interested in sports journalism. I had a teacher in fifth class who used to make me write a match report on Irish soccer games which was fantastic. I did a 16-week course with Pj Cunningham and Joe Molloy on Dorset street for media and broadcasting. Joe would have had a huge impact on me. I got a phone call one day from off the ball looking to see if I could do a slot for them. It just spiraled from there. I love it like why wouldn't you, it's a dreamland. I'm also doing a lot of work for the 42 on a weekly basis.” 

Off the ball has evolved into Ireland's leading radio sports broadcaster and with very good reason. Keegan explained how he is blown away by the extent of knowledge that the core team of the popular show has. 

“They are very clever about the guests that they get in but the lads themselves are phenomenal. Dan McDonnell is in his own league in terms of the depth of knowledge that he has. On the GAA front, Tommy Walsh jumps out for me, you would listen to him all day. He was sensational when they had the live radio coverage rights. Joe Molloy and Nathan’s knowledge across all sports is absolutely phenomenal. If I am going on to do a slot, with Newstalk or the 42, I'll have a certain knowledge of something and then I'll research it as well. I work hard preparing but the lads just know all about the topic anyways. I've seen interviews or segments that just go off on a mad tangent and in a completely different direction and the lads are just always so comfortable discussing whatever it may be. Whereas if that happens when I'm on, I’m lost.” More below pic

Keegan is also currently the manager of the League of Ireland team Cobh Ramblers. He also has had experience with Dundalk, Galway, and Wexford. He spoke about the current scenario that Cobh is in and how Cork City getting promoted is a huge positive for his side. 

“I suppose I came in and there wasn't any real pressure on me for the remainder of this season. Which is rare. The club was where it was and  It was all just about learning and gathering momentum for the next year. Look, the league has been really competitive all year. Some of the teams gave an excellent account of themselves in the FAI cup against the top sides in Ireland. It's a competitive division. Cork going up will be a huge help to us in Cobh. A lot of Cork's good younger players might struggle to stay in the first team. We would be hoping to pick up a few of them and give them another chance. Luke Desmond has been outstanding for us this year and he came from Cork City. That is the kind of model that you look to follow. I would love to see Waterford win the playoffs as they are in our catchment area as well.” Said Keegan 

“Cobh has had its problems in the past, the new board has done a fantastic job in rebuilding relationships that may have been soured during a tough period. The club is in an incredibly better position than it was a decade ago.