Gaelic games athletes have to be respected massively. Not for their athletic ability and incredible hand to eye and feet to eye coordination or their celebrity statuses amongst their passionate fanbase, but for the fact Gaelic Games athletes ply their trade on the field for the love of the game. The Gaelic Athletic Association (GGA) has been an amateur body ever since it was formed on 1st November 1884.
The GGA have never wavered from their initial intention of bringing sport to the masses and making it accessible for everyone. And to the day, Gaelic Games athletes within the hurling, Gaelic football, handball, rounders, camogie, and ladies football families do not earn a cent for their endeavours. The love of a sport trumps all. You can check today’s All Ireland Football odds and see a range of betting markets that proves how popular the Gaelic Games are despite its amateur status.
But just because men and women are not paid to play does not mean they do not aspire to greater riches within the world of sport. For some GGA athletes, the basic skills demanded from their sports give them a solid foundation to apply them in other sports around the world and in professional leagues where they can take their ability and statuses to the next level.
Across the Pond: From the GAA to the NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is one of the most followed leagues in the entire sports industry, possibly trumped only by football and basketball, and potentially cricket depending on where in the world you live. The NFL is also well-known for its riches and eye-watering contracts handed out to each and every player on a team’s roster and is renowned for creating pathways to the elite league of American Football.
The standard route is through American or Canadian colleges. With the college game so big in both countries, college ball players have the facilities and stadia to extract their maximum levels. But for those that do not enrol at an American or Canadian college, or are not even American or Canadian, there is hope, and that certainly applies to Gaelic Games athletes. While the build of an average Gaelic Games athlete is not worthy of filling a spot on the defensive line, there are other abilities that can be translated to the American Football field.
Smyth Shows the Way
The story of Charlie Smyth is an extraordinary one. As part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program (IPP), a programme designed to import international talent into the game, Smyth impressed scouts from a number of teams at the training camp at the University of South Florida this year. As a goalkeeper for the Down county team, Smyth possessed a monster of a ground kick, making him the perfect candidate to fill a position as a kicker.
After months of gruelling exercises, training camps, and thousands of balls kicked, Smyth was given the news he dreamt of that the New Orleans Saints wanted to sign him up. Smyth, a Gaelic Games goalkeeper who was previously training to become a teacher in Irish language, was to become a trailblazer for other Irish sportsmen and women. While that news obviously delighted Smyth and family and friends back in Ireland, the ultimate dream was realised this year in preseason when Smyth kicked the winning goal in a 16-14 win over the Arizona Cardinals, with his first ever career kick.
An example for other GAA Athletes
Smyth’s story acts as pure inspiration for Gaelic Games athletes aspiring to make it to a professional league. The same delight could unfortunately not be felt by fellow IPP candidates, Mark Jackson and Rory Beggan, but Smyth showed what is possible. While the percentages of being selected for such pathways are slim, and the chances of being awarded a contract even slimmer, Smyth’s success story shows that there is a pathway out there to pursue. Huge sacrifices were made on Smyth’s part, but he would certainly make them all again.
