Kevin O\u2019Toole\u2019s 2025 could be measured in numbers, but that\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0tell you much.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time it was done, he had\u00a0played\u00a0more than\u00a02,000 minutes\u00a0for New York City FC.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thirty-four games in three competitions, scattered across long nights and early mornings, stitched together by flights across the country, long training sessions, and games that often came thick and fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In between all of that was a whole other world. One where O\u2019Toole became engaged to his long-term girlfriend Emma, where he worked on a business venture with his siblings, Jillian and Patrick, called Athlete\u2019s Toole Box, which aims to help college-age players and their families navigate the college recruiting process.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then,\u00a0almost as\u00a0if the year\u00a0hadn\u2019t\u00a0already given enough, came the call from\u00a0the Republic of Ireland\u00a0national team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of stuff is happening at once,\u201d O\u2019Toole says, a smile across his face. \u201cIt\u2019s an exciting place to be in.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Republic of Ireland\u00a0locker room was an exciting place to be in November. O\u2019Toole knows because he was standing inside it. His first call-up came with\u00a0the Republic of Ireland\u00a0perched on the edge of elimination from the 2026 World Cup. Two matches\u00a0remained, against Portugal and Hungary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A chance to keep the dream alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Toole was named on the bench against Portugal. A 2-0 win at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin set up a pressure-cooker fixture in Budapest days later.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At half-time in Hungary, the Republic of Ireland was 2-1 down. Another World Cup campaign slipping between their fingers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the 80th minute they had equalized.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the 96th minute, Troy Parrott had completed his hat-trick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Republic of Ireland won 3-2 and was now headed to the playoffs. A nation\u2019s World Cup dream lived another day. O\u2019Toole saw it all unfold, another chapter in a year defined by exhilarating moments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The journey to that day began quietly in January. Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson connected with O\u2019Toole via his teammate Tayvon Gray, who had worked with Hallgrimsson while on international duty with Jamaica.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For months, it was a question mark. Would the call come? If it did, how would it go?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t sure how I\u2019d be received being an American-born\u00a0Irish-American,\u201d O\u2019Toole says. \u201cBut they were all fantastic. They all wanted to help me assimilate into the group as quickly as possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
International football often signifies consistency. The kind built when no one is watching. When the schedule\u00a0compresses. When legs are tired. When roles change.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, that’s what gets you to that next step in your career,\u201d he says. \u201cI think that was kind of the thing that was impressed upon me most \u2014 that in order to earn call-ups, you need to be performing well, week in and week out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That consistency has made O\u2019Toole valuable to Head Coach Pascal Jansen, who has used him in multiple positions, including during preseason, where O\u2019Toole has\u00a0operated\u00a0in central midfield.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, I really love being played all over the pitch.\u00a0It’s\u00a0something I really enjoy,\u201d O\u2019Toole says. \u201cI enjoy\u00a0all of\u00a0the differences and nuances of playing in Pascal\u2019s system.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0built trust in me that I can play in\u00a0different positions\u00a0for\u00a0him\u00a0and I hope to reward him with good performances wherever he chooses to play me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things he’s big on when I’m playing in the midfield is checking my shoulders.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Toole needed no encouragement to study his surroundings while on international duty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before the Portugal game, on the peg in front of him, a green jersey hung. His name across the back. The same name his grandfather carried when he left Dublin for the United States in 1958.\u00a0The number\u00a013\u00a0beneath\u00a0it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a cool moment to walk into the locker room and see it hanging up there for me,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The jersey is now tucked away safely in his home in Montclair, New Jersey. A souvenir. A reminder.\u00a0A motivation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo understand what it takes to play at that level, on the international stage, gave me some invaluable lessons,\u201d he adds. \u201cThere were a lot of little nuggets I picked up on that I hope to incorporate into my routines as this year goes on as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Republic of Ireland will face Czechia in a playoff game next month. O\u2019Toole hopes to be there. He is already planning a return to Ireland regardless \u2014 he and Emma will wed there in June 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a lovely few days away from football where we could just enjoy that moment with family and friends and that was really special,\u201d he\u00a0says of\u00a0the proposal.<\/p>\n
Those moments are special, and they are important. They give you time to catch your breath and recognize the life that your hard work is creating. Planning a wedding can also signify the passing of time. O\u2019Toole is not old, not in the way people usually mean it, but he feels different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething about being in the second half of your 20s, being 27 in football, makes you feel older, which is kind of crazy to say that 27 has to be old, but it seems to be in the footballing world,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m moving into the second part of my career, so to speak.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hopes that\u00a0second\u00a0phase of his career can surpass the first one. The next 12 months are about further growth, higher standards, bigger goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The season has already begun: 34 regular-season games. Hopefully a playoff run. A second star, a ring, a place in the Republic of Ireland squad in March, and then at the World Cup. It\u2019s all up for grabs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you set those goals, it can kind of force you to think big and strive to achieve,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And if it\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0work?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I can do that and it doesn\u2019t work out, then I\u2019ll be pleased with my effort,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It started in California last month against the LA Galaxy. And hopefully continues later this month with the Republic of Ireland\u2019s playoff game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it turns out I\u2019m in that squad [for the games in March], I\u2019ll be unbelievably proud and honored again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Toole\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0shrinking his ambitions. He is moving toward them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Asked to sum up 2025 with a song, he thinks for a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDreams by The Cranberries.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And what about a song to sum up his hopes for 2026?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s\u00a0say \u2018Freebird\u2019 by Lynyrd Skynyrd. No context or description for either of those \u2014 it can be up to interpretation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because Kevin O\u2019Toole\u2019s plans for 2026\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0need to be explained. They just need to happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kevin O\u2019Toole\u2019s 2025 could be measured in numbers, but that\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0tell you much.\u00a0 By the time it was done,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28243,9,11,10,12],"class_list":["post-166636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-kevin-otoole","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}