Women in Sport Week
Donegal LGFA Captain Roisin Rodgers recently spoke to Frank Craig
There was a time when Roisin Rodgers wasn’t just fighting for her place in the Donegal team — she was fighting just to get to training.
She remembers those early mornings, setting off before dawn, walking miles to catch a bus, all to make it to a single session.
Six years on, Rodgers is no longer the teenager on the fringes. She is Donegal’s captain, the player they look to when games are in the balance, the one leading a young squad into a season of transition. At just 23, the weight of the captaincy still feels surreal at times.
“It was a big shock when I was named captain,” she told Donegal Live.
“It was a pinch-me moment, mainly because I’m only 23, but then I remember that this is my sixth season with the team. It’s mad how quickly time goes. It’s only when you look back that you realise how far you’ve come.”
In terms of leadership, it has come naturally to Rodgers, but she admits that with the captaincy comes a different kind of pressure.
“When I was named captain, people said to me, ‘Just focus on your game, don’t change,’ and that is true, but there’s also a little bit of added pressure too — probably more from outside than inside the camp,” she says.
“For me, I just try to stick to my own routine while trying to motivate the people around me as much as I can. I just try to be a voice in the dressing room now that I’m one of the older players in the team.”
That voice will be crucial as the season rolls on. Donegal are learning on the job, growing with each game, and Rodgers knows there’s no point getting ahead of themselves.
“We take on every challenge that comes our way and don’t let nerves get to us,” she says. “All we want is to keep ice in the brain and fire in the belly as the season goes on and not lose that edge.”
That edge — the same one that had her walking miles for a single training session all those years ago — is what sets her apart. It’s what makes her the kind of leader Donegal need.
Roisin only this week during Women in Sport Week launched her own business; Rise and Revive Fitness
Roisin Rodgers Sport Ireland #WomenInSport
Donegal LGFA Captain Roisin Rodgers recently spoke to Frank Craig
There was a time when Roisin Rodgers wasn’t just fighting for her place in the Donegal team — she was fighting just to get to training.
She remembers those early mornings, setting off before dawn, walking miles to catch a bus, all to make it to a single session.
Six years on, Rodgers is no longer the teenager on the fringes. She is Donegal’s captain, the player they look to when games are in the balance, the one leading a young squad into a season of transition. At just 23, the weight of the captaincy still feels surreal at times.
“It was a big shock when I was named captain,” she told Donegal Live.
“It was a pinch-me moment, mainly because I’m only 23, but then I remember that this is my sixth season with the team. It’s mad how quickly time goes. It’s only when you look back that you realise how far you’ve come.”
In terms of leadership, it has come naturally to Rodgers, but she admits that with the captaincy comes a different kind of pressure.
“When I was named captain, people said to me, ‘Just focus on your game, don’t change,’ and that is true, but there’s also a little bit of added pressure too — probably more from outside than inside the camp,” she says.
“For me, I just try to stick to my own routine while trying to motivate the people around me as much as I can. I just try to be a voice in the dressing room now that I’m one of the older players in the team.”
That voice will be crucial as the season rolls on. Donegal are learning on the job, growing with each game, and Rodgers knows there’s no point getting ahead of themselves.
“We take on every challenge that comes our way and don’t let nerves get to us,” she says. “All we want is to keep ice in the brain and fire in the belly as the season goes on and not lose that edge.”
That edge — the same one that had her walking miles for a single training session all those years ago — is what sets her apart. It’s what makes her the kind of leader Donegal need.
Roisin only this week during Women in Sport Week launched her own business; Rise and Revive Fitness
Roisin Rodgers Sport Ireland #WomenInSport
