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<\/p>\nColm \u2018Gooch\u2019 Cooper won five All-Ireland titles with Kerry, nine Munster crowns and a club All-Ireland Championship with Dr Crokes.<\/p>\n
06:30, 10 Jun 2026Updated 06:33, 10 Jun 2026<\/p>\n
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Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper at the launch of the Train Like A Legend, Support Your Club competition which will help celebrate the 40th anniversary of Solgar, the official vitamin partner of the GAA\/GPA in Ireland.(Image: SPORTSFILE)<\/p>\n
Colm Cooper has found a new calling in Gaelic football.<\/p>\n
The Kerry<\/a> legend says the highlight of his week is the hour he spends coaching the under-6s at his club Dr Crokes.<\/p>\n Cooper<\/a> suffered an ACL injury when he was 30 and to this day it restricts the types of physical activity in which he can engage.<\/p>\n But when it comes to his mental wellbeing, those sessions with his team of five-year-olds provide the perfect opportunity to switch off from the demands of modern life.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are all busy working in fast-paced environments, so it\u2019s good for us, without us even knowing it, to be able to switch off and maybe be like a kid for an hour,\u201d he told Fitter Happier in Wednesday’s Irish Daily Star.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s good for your mental state as well as your physical wellbeing.<\/p>\n \u201cI miss the big days at Croke Park, seeing Kerry play and thinking I\u2019d love to be out there. But I\u2019m coaching Under-6s at my club, Dr Crokes, with a couple of other coaches and that\u2019s great fun.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like I\u2019ve gone full circle, from being in high-level, high-pressure situations to hanging out with five-year-olds, kicking the ball around and doing fun things.<\/p>\n Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper at the launch of the Train Like A Legend, Support Your Club competition, which will help celebrate the 40th anniversary of Solgar, the official vitamin partner of the GAA\/GPA in Ireland.(Image: SPORTSFILE)<\/p>\n \u201cBut I really enjoy it. It probably reminds me of why I got involved in GAA and the innocence of it all.<\/p>\n \u201cI really enjoy it and it\u2019s one of the highlights of my week – going up for the hour and having a laugh with the kids and the other coaches. It\u2019s great to be able to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose we\u2019ve gotten so much from GAA, so it\u2019s nice to be on the other side and to give something back.\u201d<\/p>\n Cooper\u2019s gains from a stellar career in Gaelic football include five All-Ireland titles with Kerry, nine Munster crowns and a club All-Ireland Championship win.<\/p>\n But those glorious moments came at a price. He was closing in on his 31st birthday when in February 2014 he suffered an ACL tear and a fractured knee.<\/p>\n \u201cThat complicated things,\u201d he said. \u201cI did a right good job to it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRealistically it was probably 18 or 20 months before I was right. Because I hadn\u2019t been injured all my life, I probably underestimated the length of time it would take to get back.\u201d<\/p>\n He recovered in time to win an All-Ireland club title with Dr Crokes and said: \u201cThat made it all worthwhile. All the effort, sweat and tears were all worth it to get back.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a journey and there were ups and downs, but it was always worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n # Solgar, the official vitamin partner of the GAA\/GPA and a leading provider of high-quality nutritional supplements is calling on clubs nationwide to enter their Train Like A Legend, Support Your Club competition and be in with a chance to win a training session with the Kerry legend and benefit from a club makeover of \u20ac5,000.<\/p>\n To enter, click here<\/a> or check out Solgar’s socials<\/a>.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0_3446684.jpg\")
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