Irish international, Champions League player and now a dedicated coach - Sylvia Gee

The latest episode of the Laois Soccer Podcast is here and this is guest is certainly our most high profile to date. Alan is joined by a Republic of Ireland international who played in the Champions League and is now a dedicated coach - Sylvia Gee. Originally from Ballacolla and now living in Shinrone, Sylvia was educated in Abbeyleix South School.She then attended secondary school in Wesley College in Dublin and despite her love of soccer, she never actually played for a team throughout all of these years. After playing hockey in secondary school, it was only when she went to college that Sylvia had the opportunity to play soccer for a team. And from there, her career took off - she soon signed for Listowel Celtic and they went on a magical run all the way to the FAI Cup final at Landsdowne Road. After that, Sylvia received her first international call up and made her debut against Belarus before going on to play against USA in Foxboro in front of 32,000 people. Gee then headed across the water to play for Leeds United and when that didn't work out, she returned to Ireland for a newly formed club - UCD. Success followed a that resulted in qualification for the Champions League where Gee and her teammates faced teams from Norway, Sweden and Poland. Gee continued to play right up until the age of 42 and in total, she played 37 seasons across summer and winter leagues. In 2003, Sylvia set up her own coaching business - Primary Coaching - where she provides in school and after school sessions across the midlands. Gee also has a long standing association with Portlaoise AFC where she played and now coaches. She has run the academy there for the last 15 seasons, dealing with hundreds of children each year. Sylvia's story is fascinating and is well worth a listen.