Local support helping Maryam chase her sporting dream

This has certainly been a whirlwind year for Maryam McCabe.

For most 12-year-olds, the transition from primary to secondary school provides a huge change never mind receiving the honour of being signed by Shelbourne FC, one of the most recognisable soccer clubs in Ireland.

As her father Derek tells the Roscommon Herald, the Taughmaconnell based family are indebted to the support of the locality and Skyvalley Rovers FC for helping Maryam kickstart what they hope will be a long and successful sporting journey with Shelbourne.

“Everything is community. Right from the get go, Skyvalley was there for us and family wise we are all involved with the club and down the road is (Pádraig) Pearses as well. If you go way back and check for photos, in 2016 there was no photos of Maryam with Skyvalley and it was Pearses at the start, the Red Tigers, as they were called.

“Niall Finneran, Gerry Kelly and Shane Canavan were just some of the many who were a major help when Maryam started out. In 2017, the U-8s for Skyvalley started. Since then, we have U-7s starting at Skyvalley and the various grades are there now.

“She had the gaelic and then the soccer followed. Since then, Maryam has flied on. It’s a small community but there is always something going, and they have been great to us all the way,” he proudly noted.

While playing in the Galway Cup when representing the Roscommon District Youth Soccer League (RDYSL), Maryam came up against Shelbourne. After an impressive showing the club contacted Derek to see would his daughter be interested in a trial.

After one session, the club made the decision to sign the Coláiste Chiaráin student.

Even though Derek and his wife Hadja have had to find the balancing act between trying to bring their daughter to Dublin three times a week while also prioritising Maryam’s siblings Batouly, Aaliyah, Noah, Tadhg and Méabh, Derek is happy to make the sacrifices needed to ensure his daughter can follow her sporting passion.

“We would probably be doing around 1,000km a week in the car. Maryam played at U-13 level for Roscommon in ladies football so she has played a lot and you do travel a lot of miles.

“She just loves playing and she is a great model for her brothers and sisters. Her sisters Batouly and Aaliyah alongside her brother Noah are all involved with Skyvalley now and they see what she is doing.

“Batouly has upped her game and the fact they have someone to look at in their own home who is doing what Maryam is doing is only a positive thing so we will keep trying our best to support them,” he explained.

Maryam is not afraid to put in the hard yards. She often wakes up at 7 a.m. to cycle on an exercise bike at home to help prevent injuries, particularly knee complaints, which has become a major issue for female sports stars in all sports.

Meanwhile, ice baths are another recovery technique used while the need to eat healthy even when travelling to Dublin three times a week are all part of the package.

Her father is keenly aware that trying to balance her studies with her sporting success is tricky. With Maryam having represented Roscommon at U-13 level in ladies football this year and with her also having played camogie with Pádraig Pearses, the need to relax and unwind is also important.

“For her to keep going she does need to be able to unwind from it. That is why she is playing violin, and she has great friends and teachers who will take an interest in soccer but who also understand what she is doing.

“With Maryam, she is seeing how much women’s football is progressing and how good the players are. She watches the likes of (Alexandra) Popp, (Wendie) Renard and how they use the ball and their movement without it. We don’t force her to do any of this, but she just loves the game so her past time is often just watching games anyway,” he explained.

Ultimately Derek hopes his daughter will continue to find joy in playing ‘the beautiful game’ and continue to build on her successful 2024.

“We hope she will continue to push on and keep learning with Shelbourne. She has made great strides since joining them and they have been great to her so hopefully she will keep going. With her gaelic, we will try and balance that while the county camogie trials will be next year.

“She has said that she just wants to keep playing sport so we just hope she can push on as much as she can, and we will do whatever we can to make sure her needs are looked after. We are really looking forward to what lies ahead,” her proud father concluded.