Leitrim Sports Star Awards the highlight of the year for Coach of the year Gerard O'Donnell

When you hear Gerard O’Donnell describe the Leitrim Sports Star Awards as the “highlight of the year”, it is quite a statement considering the past 12 months saw him  coach at the Olympic Games, European Championships and World Relays in the Bahamas.

A former winner of the Overall Award, Gerard picked up the Coach of the Year Award at the Leitrim Sports Partnership  extravaganza, an event that means a lot to the multiple national champion: “It's always a highlight of the year when you see the achievements of a small county like Leitrim, population wise above anything else, and the amount of work that goes into the athletes and the clubs around the county.

“It's inspiring every year to see what goes on and to get an award is always amazing. So I'm delighted to pick up anything, especially when you're away from Leitrim for your sport or for work during the year and a lot of people are, you don't realise what's going on in the other sports.

“That's why it is great to come back and see what everyone's up to and then you see who you're up against and you're like ‘oh Jesus’ - if you had thought you had any inkling that you were going to do well, you get a rude awakening every year. It's amazing to see what people are doing.”

The transition in coaching has come over several years, Gerard one of the coaches of the Ireland 4 x 400m relay teams that won the European Championships (mixed) and also took second in the women’s 4 x 400m before going on to finish fourth in the Olympic Games, all while also competing himself.

CELEBRATING LEITRIM'S BRIGHTEST AND BEST AT LEITRIM SPORTS STAR AWARDS

And it is the desire to impart some hard won knowledge that informs his coaching career: “For me now with coaching, and I suppose you probably thought the same yourself when you are coaching, I'm working with people that I think have way more talent than me and I  worked very hard as an athlete.

“If I can give them that bit of work ethic or learn from some of the mistakes that I made, add that to the talent they have, they're achieving great things. That's what gives it fulfillment as a coach as opposed to you putting in a direct amount of effort to get your own award as an athlete. So it's different but it's super fulfilling as well in a different way.”

Athletics Ireland announced just last week that Gerard had been appointed coach of the Ireland 4 x 400m relay in Men’s, Women’s and Mixed and it is a challenge, daunting as it may be given the level of achievement in recent years, the he is looking forward to: “I suppose when I took a step back and thought about it, not that I was ever going to turn it down really but I was discussing it with a few people before I accepted it.

“You're being asked to coach the European champions in the mixed relay, the European silver medals in the women's and the Olympic fourth placers. So it's a nice reward to get asked in the first place but then obviously for me, I work with a lot of the athletes anyway as personal coach or on teams like I did last year. 

“I'm looking forward to getting stuck into it. It was a hectic year last year and it's going to be the same again. To go to China to try and qualify for the World Championships and then it's Tokyo for the World Championships and then there's everything else in between.

“It's great to get it and to be asked to do it and I have a good rapport with all those athletes now that are in the squads and there's obviously more coming through each year. It'll just be about building big squads behind the superstars and dragging them to the next level as well.”

Coach of the Year Gerard O'Donnell pictured with Hall of Fame winner Eddie Leddy Picture: James Molloy

Another item on Gerard’s wish-list is the development of the Shannonside Recreational Campus and the award winning coach/athlete is delighted to see the project progress so quickly: “You hear that they're getting funding or this has been secured and the huge work they're doing but then when you actually see the ground being broken and the machinery in there, you're like 'oh this is actually real'. 

“It is really exciting and for every sport - people will think, there's a pitch going in or a track going in, that's only for athletics or soccer or whatever it is but when it's all complete and there's a gym and there's everything else, every sport is going to have a chance to benefit from that. Whether it's the rowing club or the cycling club or anyone, there'll be facilities for sport there which is going to boost numbers but also attract people to the area for those sports.”