For the last three months Laois star Donie Kingston has been treading the boards on the basketball court.
Following another disappointing season for Laois, he wanted a break from football, needed one, and until a couple of weeks ago he wasn’t even sure if he would go back.
For ten years he has stepped up for his county and dealt with all the pressure that comes with being a teenage star, but at the end of last season he felt he needed some time off.
Between lining out from Laois and playing for his club, Kingston was on a football merry-go-round and eventually, he needed to get off.
Basketball was always on his mind. He played it at school in Knockbeg. He was tall and had talent and it wasn’t long before he was on the radar of Leinster and Ireland.
Kingston went on to play for his province, and when he was 17 he was called for Ireland trials. As fate would have it they clashed with his inter-county minor football commitments and that ended his flirtation with top-level basketball.
The Arles-Killeen clubman made his inter-county debut in 2008 when just 17 and was tipped to be the next big thing in Laois football. He had all the physical attributes needed to make it at the top level, and the skills too.
Kingston was tall and strong, and his shooting, especially from long range, was a sight to behold. He could finish and run, and when a goal opportunity presented itself, he was never too shy to take it on.
"Looking back now I probably would have liked a bit longer to settle into the county team," Kingston told RTÉ Sport.
"At the time playing was all I wanted but in retrospect I was only 17, it probably was a bit much and after I made my debut a lot of things were expected from then on."
So for ten years Kingston put his full focus on football and luckily for Laois, the now 27-year-old is still delivering on that early promise and was their top scorer in the Championship last year and number eight in the country with 3-18.
However, after every season ended his mind drifted to basketball and he was keen to revisit the sport.
But with club commitments and pre-season running into each other, the opportunity to give it a go never materialised, and ten years passed before he was able to get back on the court again.
He joined Old Leighlin Basketball Club, they play in the Midlands League. "I was rusty when I went back first," explained Kingston.
"It took a while for me to get used to the non contact again. When you are playing football you always put your body in but basketball you have to be more careful. I have to keep reminding myself not to be fouling as much.
"My handing wasn’t too bad as I had that from the football and the footwork is comparable too. There are similarities there between the two sports.
"But the fitness in basketball is very different to Gaelic. It’s short bursts, it’s up and down the floor.
"You get a bit more of a break in the basketball because of the timeouts, the football is longer runs and you wouldn’t have any of that in the basketball."
Kingston isn't the only high-profile Gaelic footballer to dabble in basketball, Kerry's Kieran Donaghy and Dublin's Michael Darragh Macauley have both spend time on the court during the winter months.
It offers a good alternative to pre-season training but more importantly it gives players a break from the intensity associated with top level Gaelic games.
"Mentally I found it great, to be able to relax, to play a sport I love without having the pressure piled on. It was so enjoyable just to go and play. I wanted to do it for years."
Even though Kingston was thriving on the basketball court he couldn't shake his desire to play for his county.
He heard good reports about the set-up of new manager John Sugrue and he also wanted to make the most of the opportunity to line-out next to his brother Paul.
"Hearing the reports from the camp gave me a the enthusiasm and motivation to go back. Paul was encouraging me to come back too, having him there made it easier to make the decision.
"When you have your brother playing for the county too it's a nice thing to play together."
In recent days, former Clare hurler Brendan Bugler penned a column for AIB, he detailed the pressure he felt as a result of the commitment levels required to play inter-county hurling and was particularly critical of the one size fits all approach to training and this is something Kingston can relate to.
The 27-year-old works in the family business, on the road selling milking machines.
"I noticed a big change when I went from college to the work place. You change how you think about things there is a lot more going on and it’s hard to keep things balanced and in the correct order.
"In college you aren’t too taxed with the hours and you are able to give more time but once you are out of that environment you have other things to think about like finances and the future and it’s hard to get the balance right."
But when it comes to restrictions like drink bans Kingston feels the squad must be committed together.
"If you are going to be there you have to commit 100 percent otherwise there is no point being there. Being in the environment and seeing what the lads are doing you’d want to give that commitment too.
"It’s hard to be any other way when you are part of a squad. You feel like you are committing to something that’s worthwhile when everyone is doing it."
Laois will play Division 4 football this year in the Allianz League, they will be aiming for promotion and with Kingston back in the fold they will be confident of achieving just that.
