Ballyboden goalkeeper Mark McNamee was recruited to the NFL's International Pathway Program last December. Since then he's left the comforts of South Dublin and has been plying a new trade in Florida.
There, he'll be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Down's Charlie Smyth, who earned a spot as a kicker on the New Orleans Saints' roster through the programme.
For McNamee, that shot to emulate Smyth's success and secure his own future Stateside is the culmination of years of both supporting and practising the specialist trade of an NFL kicker.
"I would’ve watched the Super Bowl with my dad as a kid and that got my interest sparked and then from when I was 11 or 12 it just grew as I got to watch the game more and more, particularly the kicking side. I used to watch a lot of kicking videos on YouTube of NFL kickers and almost tried to mirror it when I was a kid, the steps they did and how they kicked the ball, so I’ve had an interest for a long time" said McNamee.
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While it's a lifetime of support, it wasn't until Down's Charlie Smyth earned a spot on the New Orleans Saints practice roster that the young Dublin man finally believed he could turn his Gaelic Footballing skill into a professional career.
More specifically in the IPP last year, when I saw lads what they were able to do in getting to the combine and Charlie going further that’s when I really wanted to give this a go.
When Charlie made it, the fact that someone was able to go from Gaelic football to the NFL was huge and definitely made me want to continue pursuing it.
Considering Mark only started his journey to the NFL at Tadhg Leader's open sessions last year, it was no surprise that he was happy to lean on the advice of Smyth, who has paved the way for Gaelic footballers to shoot for a career at the top of American sport.
"Charlie spoke to us as a group in January, and then he spoke to me again about two weeks before we came out here, so he’s been fantastic to be honest as a resource, just to refer to him and what his experience was like, it gives you confidence to know that someone has done it before you. It’s often not what he says, but how he says it and the fact that he’s been here and done it so he’s been a great resource and given us a lot confidence"
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Mark McNamee NFL IPP
International Player Pathway kicker Mark McNamee participates in a drill during the NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Kathryn Riley/NFL) (NFL UK & Ireland)
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Mark McNamee reveals key difference between NFL and GAA
Speaking to Balls.ie live from the IPP's training base in Florida about that adjustment from GAA to American Football, McNamee revealed the biggest difference he's noticed between training in sun-soaked Florida and the less sunny South Dublin suburb of Ballyboden is the massive emphasis on avoiding over-training.
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It’s very different, in fairness Ballyboden is probably as professional as it gets when it comes to club football, but in training small things like; there’s a huge focus on not just the kicking side of it but looking after your body as much as you can, recovering properly, the mental side of it.
Not over-kicking it is a big thing, I would have had a tendency, especially in Gaelic football to go out with a bag of balls and kick as many as I possibly could, that’s a big no-no here.
When you’re training, you’re training with major major intent and you’re training with the view to get the best out of yourself, and recover, then replicate it in two days time.That’s the biggest difference for me is just like the approach and the mindset to kicking, is definitely quality over quantity and it’s definitely optimising what you’re doing.
Mark McNamee joins the IPP Class of ‘25 from the @officialgaa! 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/ODuCPGzR8D
— NFL UK & Ireland (@NFLUKIRE) February 27, 2025
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Despite the big difference a move across the Atlantic has brought. McNamee revealed that he's got nothing but support from Ballyboden and is loving the new style of training that he's doing en route to a potential spot in the NFL.
"I’m enjoying the adjustment, my body is just in much better shape for kicking, I’m a lot more mobile, more flexible, fitter, stronger, I’m not fatigued when I go to kick I’m 100% ready to kick. I rarely, if ever feel like I’m tired or can’t get the best out of myself, it’s definitely a better way of training,"McNamee said.
"I do enjoy it more, my favourite part of the game (GAA) was always kicking, kicking frees, kicking kick outs…so being able to potentially have a career kicking the ball is amazing. I’m enjoying every step of this and no matter what happens we’re living like professional athletes for three months and I’m enjoying every minute of it."
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While McNamee is currently living out a dream, he is under no illusions about how tall the task that lies in front of him is, with the 25-year-old Dubliner telling us that nearly every day revolves around optimising his kicking, from watching film in his spare time to recovering and even getting out on the field practising kicking reps without a ball.
Mark McNamee will now remain in the United States for a further three months trying to perfect his trade, at the end of which he'll have the opportunity to prove himself in front of NFL scouts from around the country.
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