As a youngster he was out playing football at every opportunity in Strokestown, Co Roscommon. He trained with the local GAA club, kicking the ball back and forth with his team-mates.
He played football for the county at under 16 and at minor level with St Barry's GAA club. "You'd always have a football to hand," says Micheal Colligan, whose interest in sport has continued into adult life.
In his career choice he wanted something that involved sport. He was "gearing towards that" coming up towards his exams in Strokestown's Scoil Mhuire secondary school. And so after Leaving Cert, he went to Dublin to study for a diploma in leisure management at DIT Cathal Brugha St. Of all options, the diploma course "was the most appealing", he says.
Today he works as an assistant manager at Sportslink, a sports and social centre on the north side of Dublin city. On a busy day more than 300 people will use its facilities. The type of activities on offer range from squash to aerobics and from badminton to snooker.
Colligan's days of working in the gym, instructing patrons in the use of equipment and advising them on how to train are limited at this stage since becoming assistant manager. He wears a shirt and tie to work.
He is more involved in the office than in the hands-on running of the exercise halls but there's a certain degree of satisfaction "when you progress from level to level", he says. With a membership of approximately 7,000, the club is "big enough" and "as the winter comes in we'll be getting busier".
He had just completed a six-month work placement at the centre when he was offered a job in its membership/administration section. He has been working at the centre since he graduated in 1997.
Looking back on the DIT course, he didn't expect that there would be such an emphasis on the management end of things. He was expecting more a gym-based, exercise-driven content; however as time goes by, he sees the relevance of those areas such as accountancy, dealing with people human resources, business policies, health, hygiene and nutrition. In his third year his class contributed to a review of the course and many of their suggestions were taken on board, he says. The current course reflects a fundamental review of the previous programme in leisure management. "As you get more experience the actual content of the course becomes more beneficial - the further you go on," he explains.
The skills he needs in his current job include an ability to deal with people and "being good at customer care. It's a service industry, you have to be good at dealing with people." Also, "you'd have to be a good organiser," handling bookings, staffing rotas, checking standards throughout the centre and dealing with other administrative areas.
"You have to be authoritative. You are a manager. You can be friendly to an extent but you have to gain respect. You have to draw the line."
Thinking back to his schooldays, one subject which stands to him in his job today, he says, is English. It's important in a number of areas, including letter-writing. Also there's a mixture of maths and accountancy. With a full-time and part-time staff of about 50 people, his job is busy and fulfilling. Although his interest in sport is still strong, his job does not include time out for training or playing a sport. "It's harder to train now because if you are on site you will be looked for. It's hard to get a couple of free moments."
He still goes home to Strokestown to train. "I'll probably be hoping to get back into the gym and playing soccer with a team down home," he says.
