Stephen O'Keeffe enjoyed his year out from inter-county hurling in 2021 and that's why, during his time off, he made the decision to hang up the Waterford boots for good.
It's the little things that get you. Going for a pint of a summer Saturday was unheard of during his ten years as a Waterford hurler so, when he had the chance last summer, O'Keeffe felt like a new man. He could go on trips away, he had more time to himself and, for the first time in a long time, he wasn't training every Friday, resting every Saturday and playing every Sunday.
It was hardly a carte blanche - O'Keeffe is still the goalkeeper for one of the best club teams in the country but it was a step back and at 30 years of age, having given everything he had to the Waterford cause, that was exactly what he needed.
Still, he wouldn't be making any song and dance over it.
In an understated fashion typical of this goalkeeper, there were no big announcements or statements at the end of the road - O'Keeffe casually slipped it into a TG4 interview on county final day that, just like that, his days as an inter-county player were done.
"Jesus, there would be no guarantees, even if I went back, that there would be a place for me there at this stage," he told Micheál Ó Domhnaill.
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Inter-county hurling was over but another journey with the club hurling was just beginning. Because ever since, Ballygunner have looked like men on a mission.
"Ballygunner obviously doesn't have the same intensity in terms of time commitment of an inter-county team, but it's far from your one training mid-week and your game at the weekend, it's far from that as well," he said today, ahead of Saturday's AIB All-Ireland club hurling final.
"You're still doing your three trainings a week and you're still looking after your sleep, nutrition, gym, and all the rest of it. That's all still there."
O'Keeffe and all of his Ballygunner team-mates will be hoping to cash the cheque this Saturday. For him, the Mahonys and Shane O'Sullivan in particular, it's taken a long time to get here, to All-Ireland final Saturday, and he's backing his team-mates to rise to the Ballyhale Shamrocks challenge.
"We do pride ourselves in our backs and keeping clean sheets and keeping scores down as much as possible," he says in response to a question about Ballyhale's goal threat.
"I know if you look back at the scorelines since we came out of Waterford there's been a goal or two in most games, but if you dig a little deeper into that you might find that the vast majority of those were scored either in injury time or three minutes to go when we were a bit up and the result was probably already in hand.
"We definitely have a lot of confidence in ourselves as defensive unit and we do take a lot of pride in keeping clean sheets where possible. We're under no illusions how hard the challenge is obviously, but it's one we're absolutely looking forward to."
As for his own preparation, O'Keeffe says he won't be studying Ballyhale's finishers, as he's always done, he'll back his own shot-stopping instincts.
"I always think you're better off to back yourself in a moment as a opposed to having watched loads of videos and studying what corner maybe a shooter prefers. I think I'd kick myself if I did that and followed it to the letter of the law what I studied and then the ball goes in the opposite corner and it wasn't a brilliant shot. If I had just stood up and backed myself in a moment and saved it naturally, I think that's something that would eat away at me. I think I'd rather be beaten in the moment or come out on top in the moment."
And if Ballyhale are to hit the net, they'll have to get through get through O'Keeffe first because, as he showed in 2013, when running out to meet an Anthony Nash 21, he'll be putting his body on the line.
"I wouldn't fancy having to do it again, to be honest," he says of a belt that left him with a severely bruised thigh.
"At the time you had the option of trying to close down the space and get the belt close on or maybe stand up straight up 10 yards away and take a bullet. I didn't really fancy either, but I fancied one less than the other if that makes any sense."
"It's a bit of history now, I suppose," he says now.
Along with his team-mates, O'Keeffe will be hoping to make some more of it this weekend. After that, he can see himself dipping into a bit of goalkeeping coaching but for now, it's all about 3.00 on Saturday.
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9 February 2022; Hurlers Stephen O’Keeffe of Ballygunner, Waterford, left, and Colin Fennelly of Ballyhale Shamrocks, pictured ahead of one of #TheToughest showdowns of the year, as the two sides go head-to-head in the AIB GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Final this Saturday, February 12th at 3pm. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile[/caption]
