Mark Roddenon the Meath star's forays into athletics, soccer and rugby. All enjoyable but Gaelic football has given him his greatest success

WHEN I started off my first love would have been athletics, really. I used to run with the local club in Seneschalstown along with my two sisters.

We did a mixture of cross-country and track and field and we were lucky enough to enjoy success at underage level.

Shorter sprinting was probably what I was best at but I won All-Irelands in cross country up as far as under-14 level.

When I was about 17 I went back to athletics for a year and ran with Cushenstown. My aunt was involved and she roped me into running relay. I think we finished third in the national indoor competitions that year.

I played soccer with the local club in Kentstown from about 16 up until 21 or 22.

I played up front mostly. I enjoyed playing with them and I won a Challenge Cup medal with my father.

In 1994 I got a trial with Arsenal. I was playing against Dublin in a Leinster final and Alex Ferguson was at it. They interviewed him afterwards and were asking him what he thought of the game and were there any players that stood out.

I’d played well that day and he said “The number five for Meath looked good. He was good going forward.”

He didn’t say a whole lot more than that but the following morning I got a phone call from my father saying, ‘You better get out to the house quick, because there’s a scout from Arsenal coming to see you’. I thought he was messing. But they were looking for me to go out for a two-week trial so I jumped at the chance, really.

Two days later I got a call from Des Scahill, the racing commentator. He had heard that Arsenal were inviting me over and he said that Bryan Robson wanted me to go over to Middlesbrough too. But I didn’t get a phone call from him and I headed off to Arsenal the following Friday.

I remember going into training the first day. You were looking at these lads on television one week and the next minute then you’re togging out beside them – it was a bit overwhelming, really.

Tony Adams was there and Steve Bould was the other centre back. Eddie McGoldrick was a fringe player and Ray Parlour was one of the up-and-coming young lads at the time. I played with him and Martin Keown, who was coming back from injury, in the reserve games.

I thought I did quite well when I was there. The first reserve game I played right side of midfield against Barnet. I hit the crossbar early on and I said if that had went in things might have been different.

They were looking for someone to replace Lee Dixon but he ended up playing on for a few years after that. When the two weeks were up, they explained that I was good at certain things but I’d have to work on others and they were going to stick with another guy they had there at the time.

I’d just gone 21 and I probably would have been a bit old at that stage going over there. I think any good Gaelic player with decent soccer skills would adapt and fit in but it would take time.

When I came back I played with Bohs for a year but it was only reserve team football, really. I went to Drogheda then and played a bit with them as well.

I played rugby with Buccaneers in Athlone later and that was very enjoyable. I played four or five first team games when a lot of the senior players were away with Connacht. But we did quite well with the second team and I won a Connacht Cup medal with the reserves that year.

I played on the wing or full back. Especially playing as a forward in football, you were able to bring some of your evasion skills, speed and kicking to rugby. You were able to adapt and you can see it with the Ireland rugby team now – four or five of them would have played underage with their county teams.

Soccer is a bit more difficult. Looking at it in England on television you wouldn’t realise the speed of the game until you play it. They look like they have time on the ball but it’s their first touch that gives them that time.

Early on in my Gaelic football career I was successful at underage level with Meath and that’s what drove you on to do more. The first game I was ever at was the Centenary Cup in 1984. Meath were playing Monaghan and I remember saying to my dad I’d love to be out there some day.

Luckily enough I got the chances and came up with good players and good teams, with good men over them. There are lads playing sixteen or seventeen years with their county and have probably only won a handful of games so I’ve been lucky. It’s been good to me and I wouldn’t change it for the world.