Sheridan was proud to have served Meath for a decade

After 10 years as a senior inter-county footballer Joe Sheridan knows the sacrifices and rewards that come with being involved in sport at the very highest level in Ireland.
As part of the 2002 Meath team that reached the All-Ireland MFC final, Sheridan made his debut for the senior team under Sean Boylan in 2004. There followed a decade of uncertainty as he played under six different managers and saw many different styles.
At the end of 2013 Mick O’Dowd called time on the Seneschalstown man’s time in the green and gold jersey and, considering all Sheridan had given and sacrificed, it would have been fair to assume he’d have been happy to call it quits.
However, Sheridan was disappointed with being dropped from the panel as he believed that the time, effort and sacrifice to be a Meath footballer was all worth it. While he believes players should be rewarded more for their efforts, he feels he benefited from being a Meath footballer.
“I’ve always maintained that the players should be getting paid. Even when I was playing for Meath I always thought that, it didn’t stop me playing, but they should be financially rewarded,” he told the Meath Chronicle.
“In fairness, there are a lot of rewards from playing county football. I travelled the world and a lot of lads get good jobs out of it and can make a lot of money from their high profile.
“I will never say anything bad about playing county football. The biggest achievement in my life has been able to play football for Meath for so long.
“It may not seem that attractive to go in there at the moment and slog away. It does take a lot of time out of your own life, you have to give up your social life, your family life, it is a big ask, but you have to do it because you want to do it, not because you might get some reward out of it,” he stated.
That attractiveness of representing your county seems to be fast disappearing.
Meath hurling manager Martin Ennis suggested this year that up to 60 players declined the opportunity to try out for the senior hurling team. It is also believed that a number of players didn’t want to have any part of the senior football squad for 2016.
So why would a young footballer not want to throw their lot in with the county?
Sheridan is at a loss to understand it, but when he explains what is required, it is easy to see how being an inter-county player can be all-consuming.
“At the beginning it wasn’t as severe as it obviously is now,” he explained.
“When I went in with Sean (Boylan) the gym routine was only starting to feature and that was mainly a pre-season thing.
“We used to do training on a Tuesday and a Thursday and probably a weekend game, that was it.
“As it evolved and progressed and after Sean left then the gym started to come into it a lot more as the likes of Armagh and teams like that pushed it further on the strength and conditioning side.
“It took a while for everyone to get on board with that.
“In my last few years with Meath, Monday was probably your night off, Tuesday was on the pitch, Wednesday was in the gym, Thursday back on the pitch, Friday another gym session and then a game on a Saturday or Sunday.
“Some gym sessions used to be individual programmes, but then other ones we did with Colm Brady were interval runs and work like that.
“Some nights would be a half hour or else you could meet up in small groups and do two hours.
“It all depended on the manager and his aims. There were a lot of fads over the time. It is amazing the way it has evolved.
“It was pretty intense and I can feel it on my joints now. I was lucky enough that I never had any major injuries that required surgery.
“A lot of lads are going to have surgery on an injury when they mightn’t need it.
“They are just getting the quick fix, doing all they can just to get back on the pitch as quickly as they can because the pressure is on.
“Injuries have taken their toll on a lot of lads, I’ve been lucky enough that I haven’t been off the field of play for too long because of injury, but unfortunately you are seeing lads having to retire at 26 or 27 years old because of injury.
“I was lucky when I started because I was coming into a dressing room full of All-Ireland winners like Graham Geraghty, Trevor Giles, Darren Fay, Evan Kelly, lads who I used to look up to as heroes.
“I used to go out kicking the ball dreaming of being the next Trevor Giles, Graham Geraghty or John McDermott and then I was lucky to come in when those lads were still around.
“Those lads taught me how to behave like a Meath footballer and how to follow the tradition of a Meath footballer.
“I didn’t have a choice, I just had to go with it because those lads demanded it and I just wanted to be like them, that was the best way to come into the Meath set up.
“I was put in my place straight away, I was told to work hard and do everything I could for Meath football.
“I was warned never to pull out of going for a ball, to get stuck in and never give up.
“They are just simple things, but they were the things myself, Tommy O’Connor and Brian Farrell, who were brought in at that time, were told to do and how we were brought up.
“We were very lucky to have that knowledge because those lads were Allstars, All-Ireland winners, Player of the Year winners, you couldn’t go wrong with those men advising you.
“There was never a 'will I or won’t I’ when I was involved, it was always 'how quick can I get there’, 'what have I to do to get into this team.’
“Unfortunately, players don’t seem to see it as a big issue now, it’s not a big milestone to get into the county squad anymore,” he concluded.