Glasgow Mid Argyll captain John Don – or JD – Mackenzie answers our 10 quick-fire shinty questions this week.
The 32-year-old former Kinlochshiel star is enjoying life as a defender for GMA and talks us through some of his career highs and lows.
What is your earliest shinty memory?
Playing shinty as a wee boy out in the field across from the house in Dornie (Wester Ross). We would play with some of the older fellas there.
All we would do when we were young was play shinty or football in the village.
Who was senior debut against?
My first game for the Kinlochshiel second team was away to Inverness. I was actually playing an under-14 match before that and the seconds were short, so I got asked to come in and play for the second team and I played wing-forward for the full game.
For the first-team, it was at Kirkton against Glen Urquhart. Again, we had a second team game beforehand and the first team had a number of injuries, so again I played wing-back and I remained in that position for a couple of years.
What is your best moment in shinty so far?
Lifting the Glasgow Celtic Society Cup with GMA last month was pretty special, but we won the Macaulay Cup with Kinlochshiel in Oban (5-3 v Inveraray in 2016, which was the club’s first major trophy triumph).
After the final whistle, just seeing my dad on the sidelines as I was running towards him was my favourite shinty moment. I had never seen him so happy and proud.
It was the first time we’d won the trophy and you could see what it meant to my dad and some of the old boys.
And the worst?
It would have to be when I was sent off for Kinlochshiel in the 2010 Balliemore Cup final in Fort William. We beat Lochaber on penalties at An Aird. I was stupid and just lost the head a wee bit and paid the price.
The penalty shoot-out actually made it on to “A Question of Sport”, with our goalkeeper Graham Kennedy saving a penalty with his face. It was on the ‘what happened next?’ clip!
What is the worst injury you have suffered?
The worst one was when I was hit with a stick when I was younger and I now have quite a big scar under an eye.
The one which still affects me and took the longest to recover from was when I burst a muscle on my quad. I actually have just three muscles there now. It happened against Glen Urquhart when an opponent gave me a dead leg.
My leg just burst and I was out for half a season. It was pretty sore and it still haunts me now after 12 years or so.
Who is the joker in the team?
There are a few candidates, but I’d have to go for Garry Luke.
One example would be at a flat party at mine – he hid a piece of salmon and it took me a few days to find it!
What is your favourite away ground?
You can’t beat an away trip to the Isle of Bute.
We’ve had some great weekends with Glasgow, jumping on the train and then going across on the ferry.
It’s a lovely place and we always have good fun on the way back after the game.
Who is the rival player you would have loved in your team and why?
Since moving to play for Glasgow, I’d have to say Roddy Macdonald for Kyles. The man just never gives up right to the final whistle.
He always manages to sneak a goal. The number of times we’ve lost by one goal over the past five or six years because of Roddy has to be admired.
What is the favourite goal scored by you or a team-mate?
John MacNulty’s goal in the final of the Glasgow Celtic Society Cup.
We won 1-0 (against holders Kyles) and it was probably one of our most important goals we’ve scored since I moved here (in 2015).
The way he took it, it was a great goal to win the final.
He has been a hero this season – he just keeps scoring and scoring.
Describe the sport in three words?
Commitment, dedication and companionship.
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