AT ONE STAGE earlier in her teenage years, Erika O\u2019Shea quit football. Though only momentarily, it all could have been so different.<\/p>\n
The Cork star is still only 19, but is now a 2021 All-Star and a key member of the Rebels defence after two stunning seasons with the senior side. She\u2019s also a talented basketball player, having helped Glanmire to National Cup glory last month.<\/p>\n
But a few short years back, O\u2019Shea was dropped from underage Cork teams. She failed to make the cut as recently as one year of U16 trials.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Understandably, it had a big effect on her. O\u2019Shea, and those around her, can laugh about it all now, but she remembers refusing to return to her club, Macroom, for a few weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just didn\u2019t want to go back. It really upset me,\u201d she recalls, explaining how one of her club coaches at the time, Margaret Buckley, called to the house and got her back on board.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe laughs about it now every time I see her because I actually quit and now I am on the senior team. I couldn\u2019t believe it, I was so grateful when I did make it then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n'I got dropped at U-14 and U-16' – new @CorkLGFA @TG4TV All Star Erika O'Shea has an inspiring story for other young girls in Ladies Gaelic Football. Just turned 19, the @MacroomGAA defender has bounced back to be on the big stage.<\/p>\n
Full video on our Facebook Page #TG4Allstars pic.twitter.com\/4wa9qcqpTJ<\/p>\n
— Ladies Football (@LadiesFootball) November 15, 2021<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It was renowned Cork coach John Cleary who ultimately re-ignited O\u2019Shea\u2019s inter-county involvement, drafting her into the county minors.<\/p>\n
But again, it took some persuasion. She wasn\u2019t going to attend trials, only for a few words in her ear from her school football coach Joe Carroll, who is incidentally the current minor manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him straight to his face, \u2018I don\u2019t want to do it,\u2019 and he said, \u2018Erika, you should go,\u2019 and I\u2019m so grateful he did because I think I would have taken a completely different path. I\u2019d say the basketball would have been a big factor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel that basketball would have been a path I would have stayed with and the football would have eased off a bit. I would have played with my club \u2014 we\u2019re coming up, we\u2019re Junior D this year I think but it\u2019s hard playing at that grade too, so I would have juggled basketball more than football if I didn\u2019t get the experience I had with John Cleary.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Shea has received plenty of messages from youngsters and parents on social media since first sharing her rollercoaster journey, and she\u2019s more than happy to listen and offer a helping hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love being asked for advice because I would have loved to have had that back then,\u201d she smiles. \u201cI just like to help people along and help them on their journey and keep them in sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, anyway, I found it upsetting when I didn\u2019t make the panel but I said to all the girls who messaged me that it benefited me, in a way more that I didn\u2019t make it because I feel I am way more grateful for what I have now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked really hard to get there, and it didn\u2019t come easy. I tell those girls all the time to keep going and they will get there. Don\u2019t let [being dropped] affect you, use it as motivation to keep pushing on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n O’Shea facing Vikki Wall of Meath.<\/p>\n
Source: Ryan Byrne\/INPHO<\/p>\n
O\u2019Shea is certainly a shining example, still a minor when she was called up to Ephie Fitzgerald\u2019s Cork senior panel.<\/p>\n
It was a \u201cbig step-up\u201d and a challenging transition at such a young age, but she was made feel at home immediately and her star soon rose on the field. While her debut season of 2020 ended in an All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin, she impressed throughout, holding some of the biggest names in the game scoreless from play and included in the Team of the Year.<\/p>\n