Caroline O'Hanlon: Combining Gaelic football, netball and working as a doctor in a pandemic
Sunday 4 October 2020 11:28, UK
Combining Gaelic football and netball at an elite level can be a tricky balancing act at the best of times. However, add in a career as a doctor amidst a global pandemic, and it is all the more challenging for Caroline O'Hanlon.
The Armagh and Manchester Thunder star was preparing for a bumper yield on-field and on-court, but 2020 had other ideas.
"Obviously things changed dramatically in a short space of time in March," she tells Sky Sports.
"We were obviously in the thick of netball season and the National League with football. Almost overnight, things were kicked on the head. Life just hasn't been as we knew it. Obviously being very busy in work, it's just been very changeable. Like everyone, it's that uncertainty of not knowing what's going to happen next week. The cases have increased again in the last couple of weeks. You can feel that level of anxiety and uncertainty rising again."
O'Hanlon is well accustomed to combining the demands of the two sports, but disrupted calendars bring an air of uncertainty to her plans. The Orchard County's championship campaign gets underway this month, while netball will become the focus in the new year after she signed a new deal in Manchester.
But with coronavirus cases on the rise, she is keeping her feet on the ground and not looking too far ahead.
"I've no idea at the moment what way it's going to look. There's plans in place, but there's nothing set in stone," she outlined.
"We don't know what next week holds, so to be honest I'm just trying to not really think too far ahead. I've committed to this [Thunder] squad, and I'm just working on my own training here in Northern Ireland, and with the Northern Ireland set-up.
"We've put in plans loosely when I join up with the squad and officially start preseason. But I'm trying not to pin anything on that, because uncertainty is still there. If things move, you have to be open to that. For your own mental health, it's just important to be adaptable and be aware that things might change and be prepared for that.
"[It] became apparent; how team sport is not just about your physical training. Obviously you have to do a certain amount of that on your own, but it was how much you miss the team environment and having that support network and outlet that sport provides. Training on your own is difficult. Especially at times when there's a lot of additional stress, you miss just going and having a bit of craic, and having that support network.
"I'm not really in contact with netball at the moment as such, because you're just trying to minimise the bubbles you're going in and out of. That's a factor for me at the moment, just trying to minimise the risk to myself and others."
But her Gaelic football training will see her in good stead for the netball season.
"There's certainly a lot of transferrable skills," she explained.
"Both sports have become quite physical in nature, requiring players to be physically fit and physically strong. I do feel that most of the time, the training does complement each other. It's just trying to get that balance right, being sensible in terms of the schedule.
"So if there's going to be a heavy slogging session, then to avoid that usually. With condensed calendars in Gaelic at the moment, you're not having those sessions. They're short and sharp, just general fitness. So it sort of suits my netball preparation. It's just about being sensible, and trying to manage the schedule, and know what you're doing in advance and communicating with the coaches, and work together."
Right now, it's full steam ahead to the upcoming Ulster Championship and All-Ireland group stages where Armagh find themselves thrown in with Tyrone and Mayo.
"They're two really strong teams," O'Hanlon said of the opposition.
"We've played them both in the last 12 months. I'd be confident that we'd have the players to be successful in both those games. But it will be down to who is the best organised on the day, and how well conditioned those players are, having had the long lay-off. Who has coped best with that? And then having the personnel available. There's a lot of variables, but it's just whichever team adapts best to that."
But rising cases are a concern. On Friday, the Armagh men's team were forced to pause training after a number of positive tests were recorded.
With the prospect of a team being eliminated due to positive cases, or indeed key players being ruled out overnight, the 2020 intercounty season presents a host of challenges.
"It is a concern," she conceded. "We were very lucky that the club season got to the stage it did without much disruption. But certainly, I know in our locality, there are a lot more cases. It is a concern, especially when you have players travelling to different regions to play, there is a bit more anxiety about it all.
"There isn't really scope for really postponing games, because then you're running into the 2021 season. Some decisions will have to be made, if things were to get any worse."
