In our series, Behind the Player in association with Deloitte, Ulster’s Women players share a little bit about themselves, as well as recommendations for coping during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This week, Ulster Rugby spoke to Cooke RFC and Ulster prop, Shannon Heapes.
Tell us a little about your rugby pathway to date.
Before I started playing rugby, I did all the typical sports from around 4 years old, such as Irish dancing followed by soccer and Gaelic. It wasn’t until I was about 11 years old at secondary school that I got into rugby. My big brothers played rugby and my dad coached the school team. There wasn’t much club rugby for me – Finn Valley was set up around that time – so there was no base for girls to start out in rugby. I found a sport in rugby that I was good at and enjoyed. I played throughout secondary school and once Finn Valley had enough players, we went to as many blitzes as we could within Ulster. We went to an U18 blitz and amalgamated with Belfast Harlequins; that was when Ulster Rugby was there with Zoe Faloon (Templeton), Jonty (Neal Johnston) were involved. The Ulster U18 team was still playing blitzes at that time when I was asked to join their squad. After that, there weren’t any senior rugby opportunities near me in Ballybofey, so for one year, I went to Letterkenny RFC and played with the women as much as I could. I then went to City Of Derry for a season where I learned a lot. When I turned 18, I made the Ulster senior squad – around the same time I wanted to play in the All-Ireland League. The closest team was Cooke so I’ve been playing for them ever since and been in and out of the Ulster squad since I was 18.
Who have been your main influences in your rugby career?
What barriers have you had to overcome to reach this point?
Rugby takes a lot of travel and time for me, trying to juggle work, my degree and training is tough. I would travel for 2-and-a-half hours two or three times a week, leaving at 4pm and home by 11pm. It takes up a lot of time and you need a lot of support to get you there. You need to have a lot of commitment as well to give up that time, especially coming from Donegal, Derry and Monaghan direction.
What have you been up to in the last few months?
During lockdown, I wasn’t working for 16 weeks so I had a lot of spare time! My poor dog got a lot more walks and was put on a strict diet, so I don’t know how happy he was about it! I’m in a big family with three foster teenagers, so there were 8 of us in the house. We did a ‘Come Dine With Me’ and did some fancy dress themes. That was quite a stressful week trying to make a three-course meal each day and dressing up! I was nominated to paint the outside of the house, so I was on the ladder with a helmet on – that kept me busy! I also did Zoom quizzes with friends in Dubai and family around Ireland, and had numerous Zoom dates with my partner who works in England.
How do you stay motivated?
A lot of people probably struggled during this time to stay motivated. One of my goals was to focus on my weaknesses and work on areas that I feel hold me back in rugby. This was the perfect time for me to improve my fitness and running. Diesel (Paul Heasley) our Strength and Conditioning coach gave us conditioning runs to do, so I did those as well as hill sprints. I had it on my bucket list to run a 5K, so I built towards that and held myself accountable by signing myself up to run the marathon in May with Barnardos. I started running 1KM and built up to 5K. I was glad I did that because I ended up raising €500 for Barnardos. That pushed me on to keep going with the long distance but also the high-interval training for rugby.
What about any healthy eating advice? What’s the best meal you’ve made at home?
I’m the fussiest eater on the planet! One of my big struggles would be my diet and having some sort of plan in place helps. I like to use an app to track what I could have and once I got used to that, I didn’t have to use it all the time. It's a good starting point if you’re trying to be more aware of what you eat. I also struggled with my protein intake; I never get enough so the last few months, I have been trying to increase my protein intake. As for a meal, you can’t go wrong with a bit of Spaghetti Bolognese to prepare in batches and freeze until you need it. You can make it healthy with lean mince for your protein and fewer calories.
What do you do to relax?
I’ve been making a lot of cheesecakes in the last few months! I would have made some and dropped them off to friends, family and neighbours on their doorsteps. It helped keep me busy. Going on walks with the dog is a great way to relax too. I’m not a big reader so I made myself read a few books like, ‘Oh My God, What A Complete Aishling’ which is about a typical Irish girl; that was an easier read to start off with.
Have you got any streaming recommendations?
I’m not mad into watching films or programmes but you can’t beat ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ if you want a good cry every night. There are plenty of series to keep you going too.
What has been the best advice you’ve received?
What have been your proudest moments in rugby?
In my final year at secondary school, I captained the girls’ team which was a really proud time for me. The following year, I captained the Ulster U18 team when we played in blitzes and scored one of the first tries against Connacht. I’ll always remember that as a fond rugby memory in my career. The year after that, I was nominated for a Donegal Sport Award. Even though I didn’t win, I was delighted that someone in Donegal thought to nominate me. The week I turned 19, I got my first cap for Ulster. It was only for a few minutes but it was at Kingspan Stadium and getting to play for my province, having the same changing rooms as the men was a memory I will keep forever.
[caption id="attachment_36000" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Shannon's first Ulster cap[/caption]
Do you have a pre-match song you always listen to?
I actually hate listening to music before games! I would hate to have headphones on in my own world; I’d rather chat to everyone and soak up the atmosphere and excitement. There’s a great build-up before games which is important to get into the same mindset as the rest of the team. If there’s a speaker on in the changing room, I wouldn’t say no to a few tunes though! If I was to listen to something, I’d want something to make me a bit angry, so I’d probably go for a rock song!
What are your rugby aspirations?
I’m happy playing for Cooke in the AIL and training with Ulster as much as I can. My main aspirations are to keep playing and enjoying rugby. If you’re going to play a sport, you need to enjoy it, especially if it takes up a lot of your time. Anything that comes after would be an added bonus. Every girl who plays rugby would love to wear the green jersey, but the main goal for me is to keep enjoying my rugby and share as much of my knowledge and experience with others.
There have been so many months now that we haven’t been able to play rugby, and that has made me realise you need a hobby. When the time comes to no longer play rugby, I can see myself going into coaching or involved in rugby in some capacity. It’s important for everyone to have something after their playing career, whether that’s refereeing, coaching or supporting your local club.
How do you stay motivated?
A lot of people probably struggled during this time to stay motivated. One of my goals was to focus on my weaknesses and work on areas that I feel hold me back in rugby. This was the perfect time for me to improve my fitness and running. Diesel (Paul Heasley) our Strength and Conditioning coach gave us conditioning runs to do, so I did those as well as hill sprints. I had it on my bucket list to run a 5K, so I built towards that and held myself accountable by signing myself up to run the marathon in May with Barnardos. I started running 1KM and built up to 5K. I was glad I did that because I ended up raising €500 for Barnardos. That pushed me on to keep going with the long distance but also the high-interval training for rugby.
What about any healthy eating advice? What’s the best meal you’ve made at home?
I’m the fussiest eater on the planet! One of my big struggles would be my diet and having some sort of plan in place helps. I like to use an app to track what I could have and once I got used to that, I didn’t have to use it all the time. It's a good starting point if you’re trying to be more aware of what you eat. I also struggled with my protein intake; I never get enough so the last few months, I have been trying to increase my protein intake. As for a meal, you can’t go wrong with a bit of Spaghetti Bolognese to prepare in batches and freeze until you need it. You can make it healthy with lean mince for your protein and fewer calories.
What do you do to relax?
I’ve been making a lot of cheesecakes in the last few months! I would have made some and dropped them off to friends, family and neighbours on their doorsteps. It helped keep me busy. Going on walks with the dog is a great way to relax too. I’m not a big reader so I made myself read a few books like, ‘Oh My God, What A Complete Aishling’ which is about a typical Irish girl; that was an easier read to start off with.
Have you got any streaming recommendations?
I’m not mad into watching films or programmes but you can’t beat ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ if you want a good cry every night. There are plenty of series to keep you going too.
What has been the best advice you’ve received?
What have been your proudest moments in rugby?
In my final year at secondary school, I captained the girls’ team which was a really proud time for me. The following year, I captained the Ulster U18 team when we played in blitzes and scored one of the first tries against Connacht. I’ll always remember that as a fond rugby memory in my career. The year after that, I was nominated for a Donegal Sport Award. Even though I didn’t win, I was delighted that someone in Donegal thought to nominate me. The week I turned 19, I got my first cap for Ulster. It was only for a few minutes but it was at Kingspan Stadium and getting to play for my province, having the same changing rooms as the men was a memory I will keep forever.
[caption id="attachment_36000" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Shannon's first Ulster cap[/caption]
Do you have a pre-match song you always listen to?
I actually hate listening to music before games! I would hate to have headphones on in my own world; I’d rather chat to everyone and soak up the atmosphere and excitement. There’s a great build-up before games which is important to get into the same mindset as the rest of the team. If there’s a speaker on in the changing room, I wouldn’t say no to a few tunes though! If I was to listen to something, I’d want something to make me a bit angry, so I’d probably go for a rock song!
What are your rugby aspirations?
I’m happy playing for Cooke in the AIL and training with Ulster as much as I can. My main aspirations are to keep playing and enjoying rugby. If you’re going to play a sport, you need to enjoy it, especially if it takes up a lot of your time. Anything that comes after would be an added bonus. Every girl who plays rugby would love to wear the green jersey, but the main goal for me is to keep enjoying my rugby and share as much of my knowledge and experience with others.
There have been so many months now that we haven’t been able to play rugby, and that has made me realise you need a hobby. When the time comes to no longer play rugby, I can see myself going into coaching or involved in rugby in some capacity. It’s important for everyone to have something after their playing career, whether that’s refereeing, coaching or supporting your local club.