Galway star Sean Fitzgerald is one of the main players in Padraic Joyce' team, and played a pivotal role in helping the county reach the All-Ireland final last year.
The Bearna clubman burst onto the senior squad fresh after helping the Galway U20s win the All-Ireland title in 2020, and is now the team's starting full back.
However, the dynamic defender was not always a frontrunner in Gaelic football, and actually used to hate going to training when he was a kid.
Things were so bad that Fitzgerald would often resort to tears on his way to training, but thankfully, he managed to gain some confidence, enjoy his football, and he is now loving life as a county star.
Speaking to RSVP magazine, the tenacious tackler revealed that it was thanks to his father that he managed get over his initial nerves.
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"I hated training growing up. I was absolutely useless and I would be crying in the car on the way up because I hated it so much. My dad knew I loved sports in school and he made me go to football training from about the age of 11.
"He would always go out on the green with me and practise my high catching and other skills. As I got better, it improved my confidence massively.
"In a sense, he was one of the best coaches I ever had because he believed in me and took the time to help me improve every day.
"If it wasn’t for him, I would not be where I am today."
Galway and Fitzgerald are enjoying a fruitful season so far in 2025 as they lead the pack in Division One, and will be eyeing up a spot in the league final.
The Tribesmen have won the last three Connacht titles in a row, and will be hoping to make it four, but the real prize is the Sam Maguire.
After two All-Ireland final defeats in just three years, this team have proven that they are good enough to play at the highest level, but they want to go one further this season and bring the trophy back to the west.
