Kevin McLoughlin’s idea of a professional footballer sounds pretty good to us

Teachers have it sweet, don't they?

Wading through heaps of homework and reports. Zig-zagging through 30 pupils, their hefty schoolbags and their various quirks on a daily basis. Time with the homework clubs and sports teams that is expected but for which they are not reimbursed. On the flip side, you get a good stretch of holidays. For inter-county players across the country, landing a teaching job can have massive benefits for their career. As Tyrone star Tiernan McCann recently remarked to The GAA Hour:

"I'm very jealous of all my friends who are teachers, especially this time of the year when they've loads of time off." 

Kevin McLoughlin is not going to argue with that much. McLoughlin, like Mayo teammate Cillian O'Connor, is a teacher by profession. The Knockmore clubman teaches out at Rice College in Westport and is enjoying the summer off. In a wide-ranging interview with the Mayo News Football Podcast, McLoughlin explained what he is doing with his leisure time and what his idea of a professional entails. Asked if he was officially, 100% off on his holidays, McLoughlin replied:

"No, it just means I'm a professional footballer at this time of the year. [It involves] recovery... A lot of recovery."

Of course, when he is not training, playing [almost on a weekly basis] or recovering, McLoughlin does get drafted in to his father's dairy farm. "I'll help out sometimes," he said. "I'm not the biggest farmer in the world and my father would be the first to tell you that. If he ever needs a dig-out I'll give him a hand." As for Sunday's All-Ireland semi final against Kerry, the 29-year-old insists there are no hang-ups over facing The Kingdom despite Mayo not beating them in the championship since 1996. "We're not letting that feed into the group... We're trying to do our own thing and we'll be ready for them," said McLoughlin.