A five-time All-Ireland winner with Limerick, Gearóid Hegarty and the Treaty county have once again reached the business end of the hurling season.
After adding another Munster title to their tally, Limerick now play the waiting game ahead of their All-Ireland semi-final on July 7th.
For Hegarty, the three-time All-Star winner values the success Limerick have had over the years, and knows it will not last forever.
“The last few years have been so enjoyable, none more so than this year. This year has been, again, another brilliant year for us.
“We have so many great memories. After the Munster final again this year, we had a couple of great days enjoying ourselves. If you don’t enjoy it, what are we doing here?
“The enjoyment for us is so so important. You have your couple of days, and then you are looking forward to going back training. After a day or two you are thinking ‘I can’t wait to go back training again’, meeting the lads and preparing for the next day.
“That is how the year has flown so fast. You are just in that zone constantly when you are constantly trying to get better and enjoying yourself.”
The 29-year-old knows what is required at this stage of the season to get over the line in vital moments of the season.
Should they go on to claim the Liam McCarthy Cup again this year, John Kiely’s men will make history as the first team to win five All-Ireland hurling titles in a row.
However, with the benefit of experience, Hegarty says he now tries not to worry about the game as much, and says the Covid pandemic opened his eyes to not worry about the small things.
“I think Covid was a massive thing in terms of seeing the bigger picture. There is a lot more to life outside of hurling, and that is something that I have got better at in the last number of years.
“Too much of my time was spent thinking about hurling, even when I wasn’t at training. Everything was geared towards hurling.
“As you get older, life I suppose gets in the way. Hurling is obviously still so so so important to me, but there is a lot of other things that take your mind off hurling in a good way.
“I have got older. You grow up and you realise it is not the most important thing in the world. There is a lot more to life than obsessing about hurling 24/7.
“I am 30 in August, I am in the process of trying to get a house built. There are loads of other things in life outside hurling that as a young fella that you don’t really realise when you come out of college and start working.”
That being said, the drive to constantly improve remains strong with Hegarty.
The St Patrick’s clubman was the only one of Limerick’s starting squad who was not nominated for an All-Star last season. However, he has responded in style, and was named Player of the Match in their Munster Final victory over Clare.
Hegarty admits he is never fully satisfied with his performances, and is always thinking of ways he can improve.
“I suppose I would be happy enough with how the Munster championship has gone so far, but I wouldn’t be ecstatic. I am always reflecting on every game I play in.
“The Munster Final went well for me the last day, but when I look back, there were a lot of opportunities where I could have got a bit more ball or supported another fella on the shoulder.
“I am never satisfied with how a game has gone completely. I always feel that there is a little bit more in me, I am always a little bit disappointed with certain elements.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
