Sideline View: Keep the gates open for good
A return to sport has lifted the mood of everyone
Hopefully the gates of sporting grounds are open for good.
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For the first time in over a year, our five-a-side soccer What s App group sprung into life. Following in the footsteps of the barbers opening their doors and covering a Larkin Cup game, it was another sure sign to this column that we are returning to normal.
Unfortunately our soccer team didn t have the spring in our steps on our return to play last Wednesday. If we were a car, we d be on the scrapheap.
Sideline View: Kicking down the door
A look at Derry s need to find a target further into the opponent s red zone
Padraig Cassidy in action against Armagh in Derry s 2020 Ulster championship defeat to Armagh at Celtic Park (Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile)
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Lockdown means nostalgia to the Sports Editor of a local newspaper. It s a brilliant opportunity to showcase those who have gone before.
One thing you notice is the pleasure people get from chatting about the past. Everyone has a story to tell. And in a way, it is a therapy for the sporting landscape they crave.
SIDELINE VIEW: Everyone deserves a chance to grow
Lockdown gives clubs a chance to fully take stock
Some of the Draperstown Celtic Diamonds team enjoy a coaching session
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It was a sunny Tuesday evening, a few years back, early in the underage season.
While out for a spin on the bike, I called in to run my eye over an underage game.
As I nestled into a spot along the wire, two parents, from the same team, chatted away about their prospects.
One had a son at midfield and the other at corner forward.
Once the referee threw in the ball, everything changed. All of a sudden it turned into a senior championship final, where every ball was a life or death situation to the parent on my left. Every ball.