They say school days are the best days of your life and if you went to a secondary school where the GAA reigned supreme, the good times were heightened even more. When the novelty of being a first year had worn off and the effects of early morning rises were making the eyes burn, the GAA was our saviour.
The school gym dressing room was where lifelong friendships were fostered and here are seven pleasant memories that everyone will recall from their days in secondary school GAA.
Using It As An Excuse To Get Out Of Class
You could barely kick it out of your way, you had the fitness levels of a nursing home patient, and you had a better chance of finding gold in the back of your locker than you had of getting picked on the team, but you would do literally anything to avoid double maths on a Friday morning. The only remedy for your predicament was to sign up for the school GAA team and worry about the consequences later.
Everyone's An Umpire
Four is obviously the standard number of umpires needed to officiate a GAA game, but in secondary school football, there was a big demand for reserve officials. As soon as the announcement came through on the intercom to release the 'helpers for the match,' a dose of hands would go shooting up claiming to be on the list of volunteers.
And if a teacher questioned why you were needed, you emphasised the need for a stand-in umpire.
That Extra Class Off After A Game
There was no sweeter feeling than trotting down the town after a school game to the oncoming wave of depressed faces heading back to the first class after lunch. And then the sheer relief of walking into the local shop to purchase your chicken fillet roll, safe in the knowledge that you didn't have to deal with that traffic of students in the deli queue.
Faking Illness On The Bus Back From An Away Game
Travelling to an away game guaranteed you an extra class off and even though the overall reprieve from school amounted to around three hours, the craic on the bus made it so tempting to come up with schemes that would prolong the journey a little bit more. In cases like this, someone would always volunteer to feign sickness, forcing the teacher to request a pit stop. And all the while, the rest of the team were struggling to stifle laughter down the back.
Training At Lunchtime
This was definitely the most redundant arrangement of all time. Lunchtime training normally involved a brief visit to the locker to get your books for the afternoon classes before darting to the dressing room and throwing on the gear to be on time for a session that was going to last no longer than 20 minutes. And because the teachers were tighter than a leather belt, there was no going down town for lunch after so you had to wolf down whatever food you brought with you and head back to class.
And to make matters worse, you had to slip your sweaty body back into that heavy uniform and sit through the rest of the school day in utter discomfort.
The Teacher/Manager Who Didn't Have A Clue (For Girls)
Teachers with an interest in the GAA always gravitated towards the lads' team while more often than not, the girls were left with someone who didn't have a clue about the sport. As soon as you saw one of these clowns taking up the job you knew you were in for a short season.
