Karl Lacey is not the first intercounty player claiming to be professional in every sense except for the pay cheque at the end of the month, although he is for now forsaking a pay cheque of any sort in order to be a full-time amateur footballer.
For the Donegal defender – who recently completed a Masters in Sports Performance at UL – that’s effectively what it takes to make the commitment at this stage of his career.
It was alright when he was younger, commuting from either Dublin, or later Limerick, but now he’s content to be based in Donegal, as a full-time footballer, even with a young family to look after.
“I’m actually enjoying it a lot more this year, compared to other years,” he says. “I was in Dublin for two years, before I was in Limerick, so the last three years have been about driving up and down , midweek, for training.
No plans
“So I just want to concentrate on where I’m at with my football, just get the summer over. I was doing a bit of work (for Sky, on their
Living For Sport
programme), but unfortunately that doesn’t run through the summer, because schools finish in May. So I’ve no plans as of yet. I just want to enjoy my football for now, and live that lifestyle of a professional athlete.”
Kerry forward Darran O’Sullivan has also put off any full-time employment in order to concentrate on his football this summer.
“It makes a huge difference, it’s unbelievable. I only kind of realise how much of a difference it makes now that I’m doing it. For me it was into the car, straight out of the car, into training, back into the car for another four hours. And you’re just in bits the next day. The body doesn’t recover,” says Lacey.
“Whereas now you have the day to go to the swimming pool, do your recovery work. You’re not rushing on the road, stopping at petrol stations to eat sandwiches. You’re at home and you’re cooking good meals for yourself, breakfast and lunch. You get your pre-training meal three hours beforehand.
“Things like that make a massive difference. I think it’s becoming more popular. There are a few players that have kind of stepped back from employment to concentrate on it. You can see it happening more. I don’t know how far it’s going to go. Financially, you can’t do it for the rest of your career. But I’m going to do it now for the next few months, get this year over me, and hopefully then pick up a bit of work after that.”
“I’m keeping my eye on jobs as well. There’s nothing up around home at the moment. But if there’s a job in Dublin I’m not going to apply for it, because I just want to be at home now for the summer. So no matter what comes up, unless it’s on my doorstep, I won’t be doing it.”
Lacey doesn’t expect the GAA to start “compensating” players like himself any time soon, although he does believe some greater level of support can be offered: “If there was compensation coming in, you would have a lot more players doing it, and it’s not going to be manageable.
