Former Longford player, Gary Shaw, speaks to Brian Strahan as he undertakes the next chapter in his career with Shamrock Rovers.
BS: How have you found the jump to full time {with Shamrock Rovers}?
GS: I feel I’ve coped quite well. I was working full time last year and playing football so I’m well used to always being on the go. With full time football, you now get the opportunity to prepare for training correctly and rest when you’re finished instead of having a full day’s work done, grabbing something quick to eat and then going training, then you’re trying to squeeze in gym sessions too – it can all be a bit hectic. Being able to fully focus on your football will hopefully make a big difference.
BS: Resting and resting right, is pretty important?
GS: Of course, it’s a long season with plenty of travelling up and down the country. It’s important that your giving your body plenty of recovery time not only to maximise energy levels for the next game but for injury prevention too.
BS: And is that where the full time thing comes into its own, not running back to the day job after a game or training after a long day, but recovering?
GS: Exactly. Being able to go home and put the feet up.
BS: I don’t know if you still do it but you were coaching underage back at your old club Newbridge Town?
GS: I get down as much as I can. I took a few sessions with the Under-14’s before Christmas but haven’t got back to it yet with pre season and the trip to India. Now that everything has settled down, I’ll definitely be looking to get a few more sessions in with some of the teams.
BS: You obviously find it worthwhile and I’m sure the lads there learn from you. Do you learn anything from them?
GS: One thing I would always take from it is that watching kids that age play, they show no fear. They always want the ball, they’re always calling for the ball or moving to an area to receive the ball. It is about enjoying the game as well and sometimes you forget that. You’re only going to be a footballer once and when you play in big games, in front of big crowds, on top of trying to win you need to make sure that you enjoy it.
BS: Do you think, in a way, that fearlessness is coached out of them?
GS: To a certain extent it can be yes. As they get older things become more tactical and some coaches can put a fear of making mistakes into their head. It’s going about it in the right manner – in training if a kid makes a mistake a coach might shout on to the pitch ‘don’t do that, do this or pass to him!!’ Whereas I feel you should always ask them questions like ‘ok you’ve decided to pass here, where do you think a better pass might be?’ It’s something small but I feel makes a big difference to their development.
BS: In that sense is the approach at underage level in Ireland changing?
GS: You would have to say it is. We now have the 19’s and 17’s league which is a great pathway for young players. For the even younger ages, Ruud Dokter’s player development plan was introduced towards the end of last year and it’s up to the footballing community now to work together to fully develop these players in the right way.
BS: Was it part of Rudd Dokter’s plan to bring in summer football for the under 17s and 19s leagues?
GS: Yes, as far as I’m aware. It’s the right decision I think. The whole area of player development in this country could be talked about for hours – my opinion would probably be different to the fellas next door. People are very passionate and opinionated on the topic and rightly so – . The kids need to be prepared technically, physically but also mentally if they are to make it at a high level. It’s up to parents, managers, coaches and our own governing body to work together and make it happen.
BS: On the psychological point, it’s an important one, do you think our approach to that side of things is improving?
GS: With kids? No I don’t think it has changed since I was playing schoolboy football anyways. Kids go over to England after their junior cert and are back in the country after 2 years. They are wrapped in cotton wool and given mad money and it gets to their head – they think they’ve made it. Schoolboy clubs here have great facilities and great coaches but sometimes I’d ask the question, have they fully prepared some of the young players who have gone over ? Are the clubs happy to just make a few quid, wish them well and then move on to getting the next player over? At 16 it’s a big ask to move away from your family to a different country, train every day and meet the demands of a professional club. Don’t get me wrong, some players will have the mental capacity and the talent to make the grade but that number isn’t high.
BS: So they need to be more prepared for failure? Which isn’t a weakness really but a recognition that kids need to be given a skill set that helps them cope with rejection on varying levels?
GS: They need to be given some sort of education on life as professional footballer – how you go about doing that, unfortunately I don’t have the answer. English clubs will sell you the dream, that you could be the next wonderkid. They can afford to take the chance on young players.
BS: So in the win over Sligo, you were a late substitute. How did it feel to make your first league start?
BS: Yeah it was great to get on. The way things went with the sending offs kind of went against me coming on a bit earlier but that’s the way football goes. I’ll have plenty more chances, it’s a long season and it’s great to finally get going again. There was a great atmosphere down in Sligo, the rovers fans never stopped singing for the 90 minutes and they went home happy. We want to take this momentum into Friday now against Wexford and make Tallaght an extremely tough place to come and get a result.
GS: You’re considered in your opinions on the game. Do you think about your own game a lot – outside of the usual fitness and preparation. Do you think about it much in technical terms
BS: Definitely. I want to be the best player I can be and leave nothing behind. It’s great to say you’re a footballer and I’d never take it for granted. I’m always looking to improve my game. This is my 7th season in the league now and I’m 23 – I’m still learning everyday. Most teams use video analysis now and it’s a great tool to reflect on your own performance – runs you could have made, different positions to take up defensively etc. It’s also great to have players in the squad who have won league titles, FAI cups and have played at a high level in England/Scotland, they want to help you, they’ve been there and done it so when they offer advice, you listen!
Brian Strahan