Playing with Dublin’s minor team, u21 team and senior football team over the last seven years, DCU student, Evan Comerford, has won an All-Ireland title with the u21 team alongside three All-Ireland titles with the senior football team. With all this at hand, Evan explains how he balances his college life with his sporting commitments.
“We get our football schedule well in advance for the year, so it helps to know if your busy periods when sport and college might clash. DCU Sports and Wellbeing provides us all with journals and planning sessions, so that we’re able to look ahead and prepare ourselves. That bit of preparation and forward planning really goes a long way.
If anyone ends up falling behind with college work, DCU Sports and Wellbeing provides us with tutors to keep us up to speed with our courses. DCU doesn’t just want you to be the best athlete, they also want you to excel in your field of study so that you can have a career beyond sport.
Of course, there’s times where it’s hard to be switched on all the time for college and football, so DCU Sports and Wellbeing organises talks from high-profile athletes such as Jonny Cooper, which always boosts our motivation levels back up. It also helps to know that there are other people in the same position as you, so we’re all try to motivate each other to stay focused on training and study throughout the year.
“As most evenings and weekends are taken up with training, matches and doing assignments, it leaves little time for a part-time job. Receiving support from DCU Sports and Wellbeing allows me to contribute at home as well as looking after the travel expenses and food costs that training in a high-intensity sport brings about.”
I’m just finished my final year in DCU and won the Sigerson Cup with the DCU team, so it’s a great way to finish out my last year here. Looking ahead, I’m hoping to complete a masters and pursue a career as a physiotherapist. DCU has taught me how to discipline and organise myself so to juggle both my education and sporting career, and excel at both, so I’m looking forward to what my future will bring.”
