John Jockser Coughlan

Q1. Nickname: Joxer

Q2. Position: Midfield

Q3. Club Honours: AFL 2 Winners 2005. AFL 1 Winners 2010. Senior B Championship Winner 2008. X 3 Vincent De Paul Winners. Under 21 C Hurling Championship. Minor Football Championship 2001.Minor football league winners 2003.

Q4. Earliest Sporting Memory: My years in Oliver Plunketts will never be forgotten we had unbelievable success there winning numerous football and hurling titles and anyone on those teams will remember the great days out in Croke Park and the great times in the club after stuffing our faces with perri crisps and coke!!

Q5. Childhood heroes:Paul Curran (Dublin Footballer) Eugene Coughlan (Offaly Hurler)

Q6. Biggest Fear? A career threatening injury. At Dublin training in 2005 Darren Homan had a very bad back injury and lost the feeling in his legs momentarilty when landing from a kickout, it was scary and the whole panel was in shock (he recovered fully).

Q7. What is your Favourite Food? Italian

Q8. What is your Favourite Film? The Shawshank Redemption or Goodfellas

Q9. What is your Favourite Music? I listen to all kinds of music depending on the mood.

Q10. What is your Favourite Holiday Destination? New York is my favourite place to go in the world.

Q11. Best sporting event Watched/Witnessed: The 1994 All Ireland Final between Offaly and Limerick was something special I was in the Cusack Stand and I’ll never forget that. The 1995 Dublin victory was also amazing but the turnaround in the 1994 All-Ireland may never be equalled.

Q12. Best St. Sylvesters memory? Winning the Minor Championship was so special as a title like that rounds off your underage career so nicely. Winning the clubs fist AFL 1 title with the seniors was a great night also.

Q13. What has been your greatest moment in sport? Winning the league title with syslvesters was amazing we had lost 3 semi finals in the previous 3 years so winning the first league title was important for the development of the team.

Q14. What is your favourite Football ground? Croke park

Q15. Have you ever played football for another county? Why? Yes i played with the Offaly Senior Footballers for 2 years, the opportunity to play with Dublin wasn’t there, i have such a link with Offaly and their tradition and acheivements are amazing for such a small county. My proudest momemt was when i was asked to captain them in the O Byrne Cup in my second year with them.

Q16. What was the toughest part of your sporting life? Two years ago i dislocated my shoulder and was out for 3 months and within a week back training I damaged my knee badly and was out for 5 months. It has been an extremley difficult time getting back to full fitness but i learnt alot from it and sometimes it takes things like that to make you appreciate sport.

Q17. Least memorable game and why? Kilmacud Crokes beat us by 23 points or something in the championship one year it was horrible, I wanted Parnell Park to just open up and swallow me, it was embarrassing.

Q18. If you were an animal, what kind would you be? I think i would have to go with a horse. You can enjoy the highs of competition and then be put out to stud after retiering. Can’t beat that!!!

Q19. Have you ever been sent off playing a match? Why? Yes i have been sent off on a couple of occasions due to frustration and clumsiness. I can’t condon it though as at the end of the day i’m letting the team down with my actions so its nothing to be proud of.

Q20. What is your secret skill? Working on my Beatboxing, its a bit of craic!!

Q21. Who is your ideal date, why? I think Mila Kunis would get the nod if i could have a choice. Even though she is a big celebrity she seems cool and up for the laugh.

Q22. If you had 3 people around for dinner, who would they be and why? I would love to manage a football team some day so i think i would love to have Alex ferguson, Jimmy McGuinness and Bran Cody and an extremley large notepad!!!!

Q23. Who is the best & worst dressed on your team, why? I think best dressed would have to be Ronan walsh he has a serious style about him. I think we would all agree Nigel Dunner the Biffo is the worst he is liable to show up in black shoes and tracksuit bottoms on and some of the jumpers enough said. If we were premiership footballers with loads of money his clothes would be geting burnt frequently!!

Q24. Who is the longest in the showers after training? John Leonard used to take ages I don’t think he will ever be beatin it took him so long to wash his hair!!!!

Q25. If you could go back in time, where would you go: I would go back to 1920’s America, Chicago. I’m a big fan of Boardwalk Empire and that time in history and the characters that were around fasinate me.

Q26. If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional with whom would it be? Why? I think i would have to go with Messi, to be at the top of your sport and doing what you love and getting paid to do in front of thousands every week, i’m very jealous.

Q27. What rule would you change in the GAA and why? I don’t have many issues with rules in general but i think that the intercounty calender is too dominant, they should scrap the early cups (O byrne Cup etc) and roll the league and championship into a Champions League format. Club football suffers too much with it and the seasons are too long.

Q28. Who do you admire most in Sylvesters, why? The 1996 team are a special group in the club and i look up to ther success, hopefully we can emulate ther success in the near future. My favoutie player growing up was Shay Keogh. He was brilliant and so stylish i grew up trying to jump like him and kick like him, even wore the white socks and some say got my haircut like him but i beg to differ!!

Q29. Advice to younger players: Work hard and believe in your ability.

Q30. In ten years time, I hope to be.........Well i’m just finished 2nd year Psychiatric Nursing so I hope to be working in a job i’m passionate about and hopefully living in Malahide. I intend on reinvesting the time that was put into me as a youngster growing up by the likes of Panner, Danny Relihn and Derek Roche and doing that for the younger generation coming through. Sylvesters is a great club and I wouldn’t be were i’m at today without football.