MICHAEL Deasy traces his appetite for hard work back to his childhood in Kilbrittain, shaped by the example of his parents, Jimmy and Kathleen, who always put their six children first.

‘They are two hard-working people who took us all over the country to play sports, and gave us a good upbringing,’ Michael says.

That same ethic has carried him from the fields of West Cork to a globe-trotting career – from Samoa to Canada, where he is now head coach of Strength & Conditioning at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.

‘When we were young fellas, we were outside all the time, making square hay bales with the rain starting and you had no choice but to hurry up and get it done – those experiences stand to you. Look at my father now, he’s 81, but he’s out in the fields doing what he needs to do. No noise, he just does it. He’s like a young man! He has a passion for work, and that’s rubbed off on us all.’

Michael embraces hard work, too, and also the opportunity to try something new. It’s why he is now working with the Simon Fraser Red Leafs, across many different sports in the only Canadian university that is a member of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) in America.

‘What I really like about the role is you're dealing with 13 or 14 different sports, both male and female, from volleyball to soccer to wrestling – the chance to work in a multi-sport environment appealed to me,’ the Kilbrittain man explains.

‘With Simon Fraser being the only college in Canada competing in the NCAA – at Division 2 level – it adds another layer, because we could have a soccer team going to play in California or runners going to Hawaii. So this is a chance for me to work with athletes from different sports, and help them achieve their dreams and potential.’

Michael Deasy in his Simon Fraser Red Leafs colours.

The opportunity to develop and mentor young athletes was too good to turn down, and it’s why he left his role at Rugby Canada, where he worked for nine years, to begin the next chapter with the Red Leafs.

‘I loved my time with Rugby Canada, and before that with Samoa Rugby, but after 15 years of international rugby, and all the travelling that goes with it, I’m excited to be able to work in the same place for a little bit longer,’ he says, while also knowing his previous roles have shaped and developed him.

But it’s his confidence to accept new challenges that has defined his story so far. As a third-year student at the University of Limerick, Michael went on work placement with the Samoan Rugby Union – an internship that grew into the role of national head strength and conditioning coach once he finished his Bachelor of Sports & Exercise Science degree in 2011.

‘Before I went to Samoa the first time I don't think I'd ever left the country once!’ he laughs, the irony now being that the self-described homebird has travelled the world through his job.

‘I loved my time there, the people are top class. I loved working there, too. The internship did what it was meant to do – I rolled up my sleeves, worked hard and figured out that strength and conditioning really appealed to me.’

He made wonderful memories, including working at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but more importantly he also forged a lasting connection to the country that led him to Canada – Michael met his wife Alicia while in Samoa.

‘That West Cork accent is hard to resist,’ Michael laughs. As the stars aligned, a role came up with Rugby Canada in 2016 and a new adventure began. He led the national men’s 15 programme, delivering strength and conditioning for all team athletes. Again, he loved it. But another of the reasons he jumped at the chance to work at Simon Fraser was the continuous, daily connection with athletes.

‘I really enjoy coaching athletes and watching them develop. With international rugby you might get athletes for three or four weeks at a time, and then you mightn’t see them again for another six months, which can be a bit of a challenge. Whereas now, I’m working all the time with all the teams – there is a great flow to it because you might have eight teams coming through the gym per day, and you might be in the court or on the field, so there’s great variety.’

Michael also has another strong link to home in Canada – his twin brother Patrick lives in Vancouver, keeping the Kilbrittain connection alive. That matters, as home is where his passion for sport began, playing in the garden with brothers Gerard, James, Desmond and Patrick, and his sister Miriam, who went on to win All-Irelands with Cork. And now, on the opposite side of the Atlantic, Michael’s story is proof that the values instilled at home can travel anywhere.