Kevin O’Callaghan of Kildare poses for a portrait with the Delaney Cup at the launch of the 2024 Leinster GAA Senior Football Championship, in the National Museum of Ireland Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
By Paul Keane
Kevin O'Callaghan isn't afraid to say it, his strength as an inter-county footballer with Kildare is literally that, his strength.
Whilst some of his Lilywhite colleagues preparing for Sunday's Leinster SFC quarter-final clash with Wicklow will pride themselves initially on their skillset or scoring ability, O'Callaghan is in no doubt about his USP.
"I was in and around county panels when I was younger," said the 26-year-old midfielder. "But I was trying to go off my skill and I didn't make it, I wasn't good enough."
Turned out it was the best thing that could have happened because O'Callaghan went back to his club, threw himself into strength and conditioning work and emerged a different player a couple of years later.
That lived experience came in very handy for O'Callaghan in his day job as head of sales with a gym equipment company and his 'side hustle', as he calls it, as an online personal coach in the evenings.
A lot of the time he is dealing with younger GAA players who are in exactly the same position he was a few years back.
"You're just looking to help young athletes do what I've done essentially," he said. "My own transformation in the gym has helped me massively in terms of how I can perform on the pitch.
"It's helping young athletes understand that even if your skill levels aren't up here, you can still potentially make a county panel if you put the right work in and get yourself to a good composition, get yourself to a good fitness level with good size and strength, you can still have a place in Gaelic football.
"I played under Cian O'Neill when Jack O'Connor came in. I broke my foot. I was unfortunate but it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. He dropped me off the panel, I got two years playing with my club and two years to invest in myself and put the gym time in and on the pitch as well to get myself to a position where I have the physique to play inter-county football."
Kevin O'Callaghan of Kildare in action against Cian McConville of Armagh during the Allianz Football League Division 2 match between Kildare and Armagh at Netwatch Cullen Park in Carlow. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
O'Callaghan partnered Aaron Masterson in Kildare's midfield for the Round 6 National League tie against Donegal though missed their final round loss to Louth. He should be back this weekend though.
"It's something that has been at me for nearly two years, on and off, a knee injury, patella tendonitis down the front of the knee," he explained. "It's a sore one but hopefully we can get it right now."
Boss Glenn Ryan will need all of his key men because they will be facing a Wicklow team high on confidence following last weekend's impressive Round 1 defeat of Division 3 league winners Westmeath. Kildare, meanwhile, are hoping for a turn in fortunes after losing all of their Division 2 games. O'Callaghan feels that results didn't necessarily paint a fair picture of their development this year.
"We just have to build on the performances that we put in towards the end of the league which did progressively get better," said O'Callaghan. "I know the results didn't (get better) but the performances did. If we just draw one small thing from each match and put that towards the Championship preparations, that's all we can do."
It's only last year, of course, that Kildare beat Wicklow at this same stage by 10 points and then subsequently ran both Dublin and Monaghan remarkably close in huge Championship encounters.
"We beat Roscommon with the last kick of the game and we were very unlucky against Monaghan," said O'Callaghan. "We know we can mix it with the best, that's the main thing."
O'Callaghan takes confidence too from the management team directing affairs in Kildare. Backing up boss Ryan are the likes of Anthony Rainbow, Johnny Doyle, Brian Lacey and Ronan Sweeney.
"None of our problems on the pitch have stemmed from a lack of coaching or training, from the management side of things," assured O'Callaghan. "It's all been player based, or individuals not performing to the highest levels that they should be."
A new addition to that backroom this season is Colm Nally, the Dubliner who is based in Drogheda and who has coached Louth and Meath.
"He's probably the best coach I've ever had in my playing career," praised O'Callaghan. "Colm has been top class. Obviously it hasn't reflected in our performances thus far but I wouldn't say that's a fair reflection on Colm or his training. We just need to bring what he's taught us to the Championship."