Austin Gleeson says what he's most looking forward to during his time away from the Waterford hurling panel is doing the "small things" he was unable to during his 10 seasons as a senior inter-county player.
Gleeson confirmed in September that he will be taking a year out from inter-county hurling in 2024.
"I have three weddings and three stags, just doing stuff that I've never been able to do before outside of this time of year," Gleeson told Shane Stapleton on the OurGame live show.
"This might sound a little mad, but a good few of my mates go out for the Friday of Cheltenham. I used to be in there drinking Lucozades and sometimes not even in there at all in case someone said something.
"It's just that finicky down here that if I was seen in the pub and it got back to someone, automatically [it was presumed] I was drinking even though I was training four hours later. That was hard to do.
"Next year, having a few drinks with my mates on Gold Cup day is something so simple but something that I've never been able to do before."
28 August 2022; Austin Gleeson of Mount Sion with teammate Jamie Gleeson during the Waterford Senior Hurling Club Championship Quarter-Final match between Mount Sion and Lismore at Fraher Field in Dungarvan, Waterford. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Gleeson will continue to play with Mount Sion and is also part of their U20 side's backroom team.
"To be honest, I'm not really missing it as much as maybe I might have thought," he said.
"I ended up having an injury [plagued] year again. I think that had a big part to play in me stepping away, trying to get my body right again, trying to get the hunger back. When you're stop-starting, it's not enjoyable.
"To be honest, I knew for a while. I made sure I gave myself enough time to decide instead of making a rash decision. I'm happy with the decision I made and hopefully it can turn again.
"I'm enjoying the time off. I think it was a bit of a weight off my shoulders, taking the time and trying to grow the love back. It's not back yet, it's been too short of a time. Who knows what the next few months will hold?
"I'm always going to be playing with the club. I'm hurling and GAA obsessed. I can't see it not coming back."
25 May 2014; Austin Gleeson, Waterford, in action against Mark Ellis and Aidan Walsh, Cork, on his way to scoring his side's first goal. Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, Quarter-Final, Cork v Waterford, Semple Stadium, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. Picture credit: Diarmuid Greene / SPORTSFILE
Gleeson was just 18 when he scored a famous goal against Cork in the Munster championship. Two years later, he was named Hurler of the Year. Asked what advice he'd give to his 18-year-old self, Gleeson said, "Don't overdo things".
"[I'd say] 'Look after the body a bit more', which is probably something I didn't do as much as I should, which is probably why I'm getting so many injuries now.
"Then, 'Take the time that you need to refresh, but don't take too long' which I have done in previous times.
"You can get mentally drained from being asked to do a [medal] presentation, go to different events. You can get drained completely.
"It's a privilege to be asked to those things, 100 per cent, but I'd probably pick and choose which ones to go to again. Those small things did have an effect on a training night, a gym night, or a match day."
13 May 2023; Austin Gleeson of Waterford in action against Shane O'Donnell of Clare during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 3 match between Waterford and Clare at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
In what was the first season of Davy Fitzgerald's second stint as Waterford manager, the Deise finished bottom the Munster Hurling Championship round robin group. Despite the poor performance, Gleeson still believes Fitzgerald is the right man to manage Waterford.
"You could see it in the last game against Tipp, we went out, were given no hope and were massive outsiders, but we just hurled for ourselves and for the management," said Gleeson.
"That was the big thing, we wanted to prove that we're not a bad team, we're just making silly mistakes that are costing us big time.
"I know on a personal side of things that I have massive respect for Davy and the management that are in there. I hope they do extremely well this year even though I won't be there. If they won the All-Ireland, I'd be the first man to congratulate everyone of them.
"I do think he's the right man for the job and if he gets everyone fit and ready, Waterford will have a serious say."
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