Passing the minutes, hours and days before battle
PADDY KELLY: “What I’d say to any young player preparing for a big championship game is that it’s natural to feel a bit nervous but don’t let it ruin your week. The nerves are there to drive you, not hurt you. Enjoy the week, do what you’d normally do.
I tend to plan everything out in my head two weeks in advance of a game. I’d probably do weights on the Monday before a championship game to get them out of the way and give myself plenty of time to recover. Most forwards would probably go for a kick on their own. On the Friday evening I might wander down to Ballincollig, or meet up with (Daniel) Goulding and some of the other forwards in Cloughduv or Pairc Uí Chaoimh and kick 15 or 20 balls, nothing too strenuous. It’s just to calm the nerves; at that stage the work is done and it’s a case of resting up.”
