GCU student takes on new challenge in wheelchair rugby

A GCU student has taken on the challenge of competing in wheelchair rugby after previously playing both wheelchair tennis and wheelchair basketball.

Thomas McCaffrey, a fourth-year multimedia journalism student is excited for the season ahead and has praised the welcome he received from his new team the Edinburgh Giants.

“We’re made up of people from all over the place, we've got Welsh players, Irish Scottish and English.

“Everyone was really nice on welcome. There were a couple of new guys that joined with me, and we were just brought straight into it.

“Martin the coach has been really encouraging, it's just a really nice group to be a part of.”

The newly formed club will be looking to pick up some wins this season, but Thomas also has some goals of his own.

He said: “As a club, we're aiming for 2030. It's going to be our big sort of push. We're a very new club, I believe they only formed three years ago, and this is only our second season in the Super League.

“I just want to enjoy myself, I think coming out of tennis, I wanted to be able to stay competitive but be able to still go out with friends from uni, enjoy that lifestyle and compete at the same time so that's the main goal.”

Thomas went through some difficult times last year suffering from various injuries picked up during his stint in tennis including a shoulder injury which cut short a tournament abroad.

Thomas competing in tennis tournament

“Last season, I think I spent the best part of four months on the sidelines.

“Before I went out to France, I picked up a freak injury. I was serving, my left arm went off the top of the ball, and I felt my shoulder pop.

“Travelled out and within half an hour I had to retire from the entire tournament.”

However, he believes that having a support network is important when it comes to coping with injuries.

“My dad was out with me at the time and honestly, he was probably the only reason that I stayed out there after the match, just having that support there.”

“The support that I've had, mum and dad have been amazing. I've thrown so many curveballs at them.”

The decision to switch to rugby was on his mind for a while.

“It was probably a decision I took a little bit too easily, but it was that had been sort of brewing for a while.

“I think it's more the mental impact that sport has. Financially it's difficult as well. I was playing all over Europe and it's like you're looking at £500 just for your flights alone, and you're making £50 in prize money, it's not viable.”

Thomas also spoke of the effects competing at a high level in sport had on his mental health.

“I used it as a way of coping mentally as well, if I can put all my focus into competing, it'll all work out, any outside struggles I had, I was trying to cover with that.

“When games weren't going my way, everything that had happened outside would come in and I lost any enjoyment for it, I became a very angry player on court.”

Thomas also praises his teammates for helping him settle into his new challenge.

“You've got your teammates on the court, on the pitch there with you to keep you going, I think it's much easier to enjoy it.

“It's a UK wide league that we're playing in, but it's not professional so I think it takes away from the money aspect as well and the chasing ranking.”

As Thomas reaches the end of his four years at GCU, he believes his experiences in sport has helped with his studies.

“My contact list on my phone is a lot of people that I've met through playing sport.

“I think it's been really good when it comes to doing post-match interviews, post-competition interviews, because I can understand where they're coming from.

“When you're working with athletes that are at a lower level of the game and haven't had the media training, I think sometimes that's all you need is to be able to talk to someone who gets what you're going through in that moment.”

Thomas has covered a range of sports including football and judo.

He says his experiences in sport and at university helped develop his reporting skills.

“I think my own playing career really benefited the way that I was able to report, and I think studying journalism helps a lot with confidence.

“I think all those sorts of skills that I've got from journalism and from my playing career made reporting on football really easy.

“I love football anyway; it was the dream job opportunity.”

Looking ahead to the end of his time at university, he would like to still be involved in sport in some shape or form.

“I love the idea of continuing to be part of sport, based on injuries at the moment, the more likely thing is to just go into coaching, or into athlete support.”

Thomas encouraged anyone thinking of getting involved with sport to take the step but also make sure to take care of yourself.

“Just do it. Make sure you're taking time out to make sure you're okay. I work with a sport psychologist, who was able to help me when I was competing but having a therapist with you as well is really good, because things will happen outside of sport.

“You can try and mask through your play, but they're going to come up at some point, making sure that you're happy outside of the sport is crucial.”

He is excited for what the future holds, but in the meantime, Thomas is grateful for his experiences so far.

“My dream was always to play professional sport, to play something that people could watch on the TV and to have achieved that is amazing.

“I'm not saying I'm done yet, but it's a good point to be in when you're in your mid-twenties.”

By Keir Roberts