THIS weekend kicks off the start of the Reignite training programme. Twelve ex-players who had been stuck in a retirement limbo are jumping on board with us to get a fire back in their belly, purpose behind their actions and ultimately see their performance physically, mentally and emotionally sky rocket.

And I’ll not lie, I’m excited. The world has a funny way of directing you down paths.

When I first started out as a personal trainer, the people I coached reflected where I was on my own journey. Finished living the good life in university, no longer surviving on Subways and Fat Frogs, I was here to help anyone who wanted to lose a little weight and get fitter and stronger do just that.

As the years went by and education as a trainer combined with both my own training journey and my love of GAA, I began to do a lot more work specifically with individual players and teams.

It was in fact by sharing content speaking directly to GAA players on my social media page that presented me with the opportunity to begin writing for Gaelic Life.

I spent the best part of a decade helping develop training protocols, dietary frameworks and anything else I felt would contribute to optimising on-field performance.

But like so many others, when the world stood still for the best part of 18 months it forced me in to some introspection.

It made me question where I truly wanted my time, energy and attention to go.

I saw so many of the men who played for teams I’d been involved in over the previous decade step out of the game for one way or another and become a shadow of their former selves. Weight on, bounce in their step firmly flattened and a combination of overwhelmed and unfulfilled.

They had nothing in their life that was giving them same joy as playing had and it was impacting them in how they carried themselves at work, at home, and also with family and friends.

There’s a saying that you have two lives in this world, the second one begins when you realise you only have one. Until you put to bed the ‘who you where’ hat and step in to your ‘who you want to be’ clothes that second life can never truly begin.

And that’s why I’m excited about this weekend, because those men have all realised we only get one chance at this game and we’d best give it all we’ve got.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some insights in to their journeys, the struggles they face, the solutions we find and the success they’ll undoubtedly achieve. Before that all gathers pace I’ll leave you with this question.

What do you want people to think when they hear your name?

It shouldn’t be who you were or what you’ve done; it should be who you are right now and what you’re doing.

Leave the boots on the hook, get on with what happens next.