Boys and Girls

For as long as I can remember I have had deep suspicion of all my teammates’ girlfriends. Many a night have we sat in a dressing room cursing how ‘that lad’ went mad for the women and lost his focus or how ‘your wan’ has him under her finger. Of course there is the other side of the coin where a good woman can bring a certain calm to a man and release some bottled up stress and allow him express himself fully on the field of play.

Now, I’d never be one to highlight specific cases but in this case I think it is necessary to so we can really understand the problem and try and figure out whether man’s mental strength can overcome the whining and allow him continue to have some independence.

Example A – Philip Roche

The man would be twiddling his thumbs working for Kingspan if I hadn’t spotted something in the Southsiders character that might make him a success at Toyota. Having passed him through to a final interview (the hint of a GAA background swung it) he didn’t let me down. Early on in his Belgium life I spent a car journey in his and Barry Cahill's company. We discussed many things and having a long distance relationship was one. I showed the two young bucks a sensitive side that would have taken the legs from under them had they been standing up. I tried to help Rochey with some sound advice but ultimately Rochey has to help himself.

At the time I had not met his girlfriend so maybe it wasn’t fair to offer advice. In the meantime we did met and I could confirm she was indeed a very nice person. Rochey did well to ignore my advice but in doing so surrendered the trousers. The outcome of this is that he will spend this weekend 30mins from Den Hague with his girlfriend, while his teammates battle Benelux’s finest. As Eddie Kirwan used to tell me; ‘Dave, life is all about choices’, Rochey has made his.

Lads 0 Girls 5

Example B – Stephen Cluxton

Our diminutive Dublin goalkeeper seals massive business deals by day and sniffs out attacks by night. He appeared on the scene last year and we quickly learned of his engagement to Emily. We all lived through his wedding preparations moment by moment. From telling offs in Budapest to stern warnings about facial disturbance in Rennes, two weeks prior to his wedding, we were with him all the way.

He made valiant attempts to encourage his better half (in every sense) to join up with the ladies footballers but she only showed fleeting interest. However, with wedding put to bed, Clux sealed his biggest deal yet but fully recruiting his new wife. She slotted into the forward line like she was always there and is proving a great find for the girls. No more to say here.

Lads 1 Girls 0

Example C – Alan Rowan

With wife Caragh, they form one of the most sociable husband and wife combo in town. Both were there when we started our adventure last year and despite one major since they remain with us. Darragh arrived a month ago which has brought the need to give greater attention to managing their sporting schedule.

While Caragh made her comeback tonight, Alan was seen doing laps with the buggy. Both will tog out at the weekend and Alan’s parent will be in the travelling party as minders for the little man. Well managed Mr. Rowan, this is a well earned draw.

Lads 1 Girls 1

Example D – Emmett Devine

Lisa Byrne. Not to be messed with. Yes mam, no mam, how high do you want me to jump mam? She reminds me of Mrs O’Brien, my second class teacher. She put the fear of god in me. I nearly stand to attention when the lovely Lisa is in sight.

Emmett, a fiery character at the best of times, turns to putty in her presence. Yet, remarkably it works. He will travel this weekend, keeping his phone in hand as he awaits the arrival of a new Devine. He goes with the full blessing of his new wife. He has a bigger challenge waiting in the coming months. He knows what it is. I’ll show my faith and put my money on the table. A big win for Devine in the first leg, hopefully he doesn’t slip in the second.

Lads 3 Girls 0

Example E – Ruairi Duffy

Our new man from Mayo, via Poland where his wife is currently commuting from. Despite strong encouragement to bring the curtain down on his sporting career he has so far resisted. The result is little sympathy for his current aching ribs. Still, he will be welcome of the passenger on Saturday and by keeping her onside so for he sneaks a victory.

Lads 1 Girls 0

Example F – Colin Byrne

Arrived in September, starting a long distance relationship with his girlfriend. They have since become engaged and he continues to manage the situation well. He managed Dubai by leveraging the trip to Malaga. The rearranged fixture in Amsterdam didn’t upset his plans as his accommodating fiancé spent the day in Brussels with friends. Everything is rosy in the garden for now. A solid 1 0.

Lads 1 Girls 0

Example G

Micheal O'Flynn

Already in the good books because even after moving from Brussels to the Hague, he has not changed his allegiance. This weekend he faced a major issue as Italian girlfriend Jules was over from London for the weekend. Given the undoubted demands placed on him by her for his time this weekend, her day long presence at the tournament was more than impressive. Given this we tolerated the outrageous number of displays of public affection. She even joined for the evening partae and turned out to be great craic. All credit to the I-talians.

Lads 3 Girls 0

Aggregate Score - Lads 10 Girls 6

Amen

In conclusion, man must stand up and fight and if they do with vigour, the battle can be won. If their effort is sheepish and they easily roll over, they are doomed for failure. Sometimes it takes compromise, other times a carrot but everytime there is a way for a willing buck.

Benelux Championship Round 2 - Den Hague

The bandwagon heads 180km north-east to The Hague this weekend for Round 2 of the Benelux Championship. After a disaster of a first outing where we used every excuse imaginable to defend our poor performance, we’ll be hoping for a better showing this weekend. It looks as if the injuries have cleared up but the European elections has robbed us of Kevin Keary. Cyclist Philip Roche has fallen off the bike a little and has opted to spend the weekend just down the road in Amsterdam.....with his girlfriend.

We’ll have debutants in the form of the two Ciaran’s and Eoghan. In addition, we are in a position to field a second team which is a great boost for the club. It was one of our objectives at the beginning of the year to try and increase numbers at training and it was imperative to have a second team to give everyone some meaningful game time. With 20+ attending training nearly every night, it is not just a token effort. The Benelux league will challenge the B’s but when we break off into the Pan-E Shield and Championship, I’d expect them to be competitive.

Our build up proper started last Saturday when we played a sixty minute training match. Its great to be able to get the numbers to do this and gives us a good opportunity to stretch the legs with a bit more purpose than ordinary drills. We had a couple of guest players too which were more than welcome. Gearoid Sayers sped up from his Saturday morning flight into Charleroi to tog out and John Sheanon, fresh from the All-Ireland U-21 semi defeat to Cork, lined out at midfield against his older brother.

Having picked two balanced teams, the game was tight. Those to shine were Johnny Phelan, who is showing rapid improvement and Cluxton put in a storming last ten, scoring 2-1, after being released from goal. The game was error ridden and we continue to show disregard for having any sort of structure in our play. However, one of the things alot of lads lack is match experience and as a result they’re nervous on the ball. In that sense, the more of these types of games we have the more lads will improve. So patience is the word of the day for now.

We trained again on Monday and finished up with a ball work filled session ce soir. We had over twenty tonight and the girls had even more on their half. You get a great sense of satisfaction when the pitch is heaving with activity and all the joggers and passers by are stopped looking in at the funny posts and lads roaring at eachother.

After Amsterdam, The Hague posted a provocative article on hoganstand.com in which they declared themselves to be hot favourites for their home tournament this weekend. Indeed, it will be a tall order to defeat them but that will be what we will set out to do. If we can move the ball quickly and support the man in possession we’ll be in with a good shout.

When we played Clare Island in our invitational tournament earlier in the year, the final was particularly enjoyable. It was not just that we thought Olof a footballing lesson, it was that we played as described above. Our objective this weekend is to enjoy our football and if we achieve that we will have played the way we set out to play and should have something to show at the end of it.

Football Officer Colin and Bainisteoir Conan have done an excellent job with the arrangements so we should be all set. They’re greater involvement this year has meant less work has fallen on my shoulders and we’ve been able to improve communication and organisation. So all that stands between us and the tournament is the public holiday in Belgium tomorrow. I may have to take a little tour around the local bars tomorrow evening to make sure no-one falls off the wagon!

Hard To Tick All The Boxes

I've been training teams for the last few years in hurling, gaelic football, hockey and soccer. I've had some good trainers over the years and I've learned most off the three lads below. I don't think ya ever model yourself on one person but you always try to learn something new from different guys. Below are contrasting styles which helped develop my interest in training teams over the years.

Seamus McCarthy
A bank manager in Bank of Ireland, Seamus is known as Mr. Football in Tipperary. Having overseen a relatively successful period in his home county's football history in the early 90's, he returned in 00's to again lift the troops. He also oversaw the Tipp Juniors campaign to win an All Ireland on a couple of occasions as well as guiding many different club teams. I think it was somewhere around 1996 or 1997 when he first landed on Kinsale's doorstep but successive defeats in South-East finals meant no silverware was won. The team claimed the title in his absence in 1999 and lost the 2000 final. He returned to take the helm in 2001 and it was to prove a timely intervention.

We were without the talented brotherly duo of Niall and Padraig Buckley, who had joined the ranks of Oliver Plunketts in Dublin. Still, our youthful team was maturing and the potential was there. In '99 many of us had broken through and the victory against Tracton was achieved with something like 8 U-19's, 3 of whom were still minor. However, in 2000, alot of that youthful energy only saw daylight in the league and in challenge games. For Championship it was too often consigned to the dugout. Seamus came on board with Ray Cummins and Ollie Cahill and set to work straight away.

Seamus' great strength is building a strong bond within the group and a siege mentality. The tool to acheive this was always collective pain which came in the form of long hard running on cold unforving nights. He liked to play on the criticisms directed at players from the experts on the bank and use that to motivate his team. His man management was top notch and the players were in dire need of it.

I had come off a fairly demoralising year. In '99, I had broken into the team and played the semi and the final in the South-East. An ankle injury after the final ruled me out for the County campaign but i was back in for the league in '00. I started every league and challenge game that year, was dropped for the first round of the Championship against Carrigaline, brought in as a sub against Crosshaven and played the entire semi against Shamrocks at wing-back. I had marked Michael Prout that day. After captaining the Irish U-17 Compromise Rules team the previous year, he was their big name. I did well enough on him and I think he was moved during the course of the game. Still, when the final rolled around against Courcies, the word on the street was that size and strength were the order of the day. I was again given a supporting role, sharing it with others who had experienced a similiar season as myself. We lost the final and the team shared my dejection going into 2001.

My winter was wrecked by glandular fever, but such was the amount of sport I was playing at the time, the break was maybe a blessing in disguise. From about February I was able to start ramping up the training and the team motored well through the league. Seamus had his money on the young fellas and they were thrown straight back into the mix. Our enthusiasim was matched by the experience of Gavin Farrissey, Brian O'Connell and Gerry Murphy. Murphy and Farrissey were naturally confident characters and so Seamus could focus his attentions on the young lads. From a player point of view his techniques were simple but effective. He got you super fit giving you a good basis to build your confidence from. Then he worked on your head. From my point for view, I felt he had total confidence in me. I was corner back at the time and in that position its important to play your man from the front and attack every ball. If your not confident, you'll play him from behind and allow him gain possession too easily. No matter who the opponent, Seamus had a confidence in you to beat him.

Two occasions stick out in my mind where his influence came to the fore. The first was the South-East final of 2001 and the rematch against Courcey Rovers. The Courcies were flying and their full forward line was led by Vincie Hurley and he was surrounded by a host of speedy allies. They made the most of the big pitch out in Brinny and raced into a 0-7 to 0-0 lead. Just before half-time, Gerry Murphy clipped over a point and Seamus went to town on it at half time. It was like it was the most important point ever scored, bringing us to within two kicks of our opponents. He was totally convinced we could win and such was the influence he had over us at the time, so were we. We went on a rampage in the second half, playing some of the best football we ever played as a team. I finished the game at centre back and others in unfamiliar positions but it wouldn't phase you cause you knew he believed in you. We played some mighty battles in the county campaign that year, replays and extra-time against Mitchelstown, a bruising battle with Adrigole and then the final against Ilen Rovers.

The Rovers were raging hot favourites, a team littered with intercounty talent. We stood in the dressing room at half-time one point ahead having missed a glorious goal chance. I was never so shattered though. The pitch in Bandon was heavy, we were light and the hits were hard. In the second half, we could not contain them. They were a seasoned team, having lost previous County Finals. In the end we csuccumbed but there was no shame in that. They went on to win Intermediate Championships and contest County Senior Finals.

The other moment which springs to mind is the U-21 championship match against Valley Rovers in 2002. I was wing-back on Keith White. A few weeks before I played for Carrigdhoun against Dohenys in the Senior Football Championship and there was an inkling that a spot on the Cork Junior panel was on offer. White took me for 1-4 from play that night. He was a speedster, a bit of a loose cannon but could be brilliant on his day. Seamus planted himself in front of the Cork selector that night and never uttered one negative word in my direction. Every time I came out with at the ball, his voice roared approval. I learned something valuable that night which was that you're opponent is going to score from time to time but you must move on and play the next ball. A backs job isnt just about keeping your man scoreless, its about covering the guys around you, winning possession and launching attacks. Seamus' strength was making you believe, which is more powerful than any fancy tactics or training.

George Treacy
People use different words to describe the person in charge of a team. The Dubs i.e. the Sheanon brothers, refer to this person as the manager. In Cork, we'd call him the trainer. In Europe, they tend use the title coach. If asked I go under the title trainer. The extent to which I 'manage' the teams I'm involved with are minimal i.e. I have no match day presence with any of the FCI teams. Similarily, I dislike the description 'coach' as in the case of the soccer anyway, I rarely coach skills, technique or tactics.

George was a coach in the truest sense of the word. He was a former Irish international hockey player, coached up to senior international level and was also Billy Morgan's team pyschologist in his two stints with the Cork team. He is a small, quiet, grey bearded man and a bit of a hockey purist. When he arrived on the scene I think I was in my fifth season with UCC and so was one of the older, more established members of the team. Our first game was against Harlequins and I remember he hauled myself and Lenny off after twently minutes. Lenny was the team's star player and even though you can rotate your subs regularily in hockey, the only time either of us normally got a mid-game rest was when we were sat in the sin bin, which was frequently enough. It was a tight game and the two of us were stood on the line with steam blowing out our ears. We were reinstated a few minutes later and finished the game. We hadn't been playing badly so I'm not sure why he removed us from the action but I can only assume it was a case of putting us in our box and making sure we knew our place.

George's training was all about the ball and specifically learning new skills. Some of the stuff was very simple. There was one drill about how to step past an opponent in a one on one, mainly through the shuffling of your feet to the side and then dragging the ball across with you. Sounds simple but often we drag the ball first and move the feet second, which is alot less effective. The other thing he did was enforce a system of play on us. Night after night, we used to walk through patterns of play down in the Mardyke. The right back would get the ball, the right mid would tuck in, creating a lane to pass to the right winger who would then slip it into the right mid's looping run. This along with other movements proved incredibly effective.

Some guys couldn't cope with the training though. It required high levels of concentration and discipline. You needed to play in a selfless way, understanding your role in the team and understanding your contribution was as valuable as the next guy. I scored 11 goals from midfield that season and each one of them came from moves crafted in the Dyke and involved our speedy winger Mark O'Leary. Neither of us were gifted hockey players, but both of us did as we were told, over and over again. Our biggest achievement came against our most illustrious opponent, CofI. The Munster Senior League is a bit like the Scotish Premier League in that its totally dominated by two teams, CofI and Harlequins. Both compete for the top prizes in Ireland each season and are like a magnet to anyone in the provence who has worn or wants to wear the green jersey. Regularily you will find Munster U-21's, Irish U-18's and other talent lining out for their second teams. They had not dropped a single point to anyone (except each other) in Munster for as long as I could remember.

We were like a bunch of journeymen who were getting our crack at the top Division by lining out with UCC. My school career culminated in me playing the role of work horse centre forward. We were not without talent though. Lenny had played for Ireland up to U-18 and with the Munster U-21's. Eoinzy was a Leinster U-18 from the unlikely source of Kilkenny college. I think Nicholson and Dawson were still floating around and we had the youthful Catchpole and Grant amongst others. All had or would play up to U-21 level with Munster. Occasionaly, you may score against the big two, occasionally you might lose by 2/3 goals but sometimes they could hit you for double figures. On this occasion, it was a case of normal service in the first half. Two quick fire goals, game over in many peoples minds by half-time. In his quiet way, George continued to drill home the need to follow his system.

We persisted. I can't remember the first goal but the second was worth all the nights standing around in the cold. We were controlling the ball well outside their 25 but there was no chink in their defensive armour. We moved the ball from left to right, and back, and back again. Eventually someone had the nuts to go for it and broke for the circle heading for the endline before whipping it back to Lenny to sweep home. 2-2. Coogan went close at the death but his shot was stolen from the top corner. We didn't celebrate at the whistle, so as not to show ourselves up but it was one of the best results we achieved in my 6 years playing with College. George, even though a CofI man, couldn't wipe the smile off his face. The many nights spent in their clubhouse would be all the more satisfying. Personally, I detested CofI and Quins, their arrogance and special relationship with umpires drove me nuts so I found the pints that Saturday especially tasty knowing the embarassment they would feel dropping points to the ragged students.

George only stayed one season. He is an example of a coach who needs a manager along side him. All he wanted to do was coach but dealing with young people these days requires man management skills. Its not that he couldn't do it, he just wasn't interested in egos or bullshit. He is the only 'coach' I have ever had and thought me more that season than in any other season playing hockey. That season we had a weak team but he kept us in the league and gave us a structure which notoriously lacks in student teams.

Eddie Kirwan
Eddie is a Nemo man and was their Senior Football trainer from when I first met him in 2002. He fell into hockey by accident having taken up a job as a PE teacher in Ashton. He was made for UCC. A character who was young enough to relate to us but strong enough to retain our respect. He was the first guy to introduce me to SAQ (Speed Agility Quickness) training. Under him we trained hard but did alot fo ball work too. I would say his two biggest strengths were his motivational skills and his tactical awareness.

From a motivational side he was GAA through and through. He spoke with passion and he saw no obstacle to high to scale. It was unacceptable to him to accept defeat to anyone, even the big two. Our team was well balanced with the calm of Dawson and Nicholson in defence and the firey trio of myself, Eoinzy and Lenny in the midfield. He was also aware tactically, knew the resources he had and played a system to get the most out of it.

In his first season we were a shambles and lost all our league games before Christmas. A 1-0 victory in the Irish Senior Cup against Naas just before Christmas gave us hope. We turned into the new year with relegation looming and some tough games in store. With the exception of the big two, we won every remaining league game. Our tactics were simple; leave Andy Barbour high up the field, defend in numbers and when we regained the ball, break like your life depended on it. Our midfield covered miles and miles in those games. Barbour was less than mobile but his stickwork meant he could hold the ball until reinfocements arrived.

In the final game of the season we travelled to Garryduff to play CofI B in a game we needed to win to stay up. We were 2-0 down midway through the first half when Jim missed a penalty stroke for us. On we drove though to get it back to 2-2. With time all but up the ball was flashed across the goal and Elmer dived full stretch to tip the ball home. 3-2 and we were staying up. It was epic stuff.

In intervarsity fare, DCU were our nemesis. They were like bulldozers and were back boned by the Bane brothers, Eamon and Dave. They were from a GAA background and hailed from the Northside, along with most of their team. At the UCD varsities we had a monumental tussle with them in our group and literally pucked the shit out of eachother. It was great hockey, physical and fast and with some good skill thrown in. A host of us ended up in the sin bin that day but on the scoreboard we ended as losers 2-1. They went on to claim the title. We met again in Galway the following year at the semi-final stage. Through playing with the Irish Universities some of us had been teammates in the intervening months so our respect for eachother had grown as did our desire to beat them. It was another massive battled and at the end of normal time we could not be seperated. The game swung on a piece of brilliance by Dave Bane who powered through our defence and slipped the ball home. Again they went on to claim the title. It was the best UCC team I played on and the closest we came to winning a varsities. Kirwan was gutted at the end, as were the rest of us.

During those heated varsity clashes and especially league games against Quins and CofI, Kirwan lived on the edge. He always told me he knew where the line was but on occassion his toes threaded it. I remember playing for the Irish Unis in Banbridge and him being banished from the dugout like a bold school boy. He only moved the ranting to the other side of the fence. His players were always aligned with him though and we were like the foot soldiers who took his fight onto the pitch. Personally, he put structure on my game and helped me understand how to get the most out of my game. I could run but he helped me know to where and when. If I could get a shot off in the circle, i could get the power in it to beat the keeper and he helped me learn how to get those shots off.

When coach of the Irish Universities he always had me in the squad and assigned me man marking tasks. He knew my limitations and took the piss at every opportunity but he felt i could do a job for him and I was grateful of the guidance and opportunity he gave me to do it. After he left UCC we kept in touch and he gave me a job coaching in Ashton the year I finished University. I still see his mug on the Nemo sideline and he's coaching the Bandon ladies hockey team. By all accounts the chip on his shoulder has not diminished and he's still looking to take the big guns down a peg or two.

You learn something different from everyone. One key point is that one man is unlikely to cover all the bases which shows the value in having a mix of people around you when you're in charge of a team. Seamus thought me how influential a coaches belief can be on a player. George thought me about how to impose a pattern of play on a group and the need to be patient. I'm not sure what Kirwan thought me but it was his style which i could probably relate to most.

Hurling in Paris - Who said romance is dead?!

You can't beat a puck around on a nice summer evening with every strike punctuated with that familiar sound of ball meeting bas. For an assortment of reasons, hurling preparations have been disrupted so far this year and last week was one of the first such evenings we have had. This year we are looking to go one better than last year's runners-up spot in the European Championship. Martin Crowley, an Erins Isle native, will again lead us in trying to achieve our goal. Even though he is now 48, he is yet to retire and played at home right until his move here three years ago. The tracksuit still gets thrown off on occasion and he remains a capable operator with all the instincts one would expect of an Erins Isle man!! I'm all too aware of the frustrations of training a football team on the continent but to train a hurler team takes an even deeper resolve and Martin has had to call on this time after time. As you would expect, Hurlers are in short supply over here and Hurlers who were playing up until the point when they left Ireland are even fewer. Still, he has grown the numbers of players and we are getting more and more competitive.

Our first tournament of the year took place in Paris on Saturday and we travelled with 15, carrying some injuries and missing one or two others. Zurich and Luxembourg had to pull the plug on their journeys early last week so it left just ourselves, The Hague and Paris. The alarm clocks went off in Brussels some time shortly after 6am. Some made the trek to Gare Midi to board the Thalys whilst others prepared for the 3hr drive. I travelled by Thalys which meant a 1.5hr spin down to Paris' Gare Nord. The early morning banter was in good supply as the Public Sector was subjected to a healthy battering.

I detest Paris with a passion. I only needed one visit to the French capital in February last year to confirm this. You will forgive me for not boring you with a lengthy rant as to why. Anyway, it was not a surprise when we were greeted by grey clouds and drizzle. I never bothered to get my bearings so I'm not quite sure what part of Paris the pitch was but I'm guessing it was somewhere North-East. The scene is always the same when you arrive at a tournament venue. The massive crowds you had expected to see the world's finest sport live, are no where to be seen. Instead you have a sprinkling of lads from the host club, most of whom are concentrated on getting the makeshift crossbar up onto the the rugby stantions whilst balancing on wonky ladders.

As my ankle is taking an age to recover, I had it strapped up but was still only able for goal. Its a position I am familiar with having being banished to it for many years in Kinsale. I used to secretly enjoy it, especially the buzz you get from charging an opponent down in a one-on-one to smother his shot or the enjoyment when you get the distance and height spot on to meet a forwards run. I was fronted by Crusher and Willie with Captain Keary and Timoleague native Aidan Harte outside of them. Newtownshandrum's Dominic King held down midfield with the energetic Emmett Devine along side him. The Hough and Conor A gave the half forward line a substantial presence whilst Rochey and Eoin gave the full forward line a dangerous look. Eoin is still struggling with the broken finger and was a doubt as a result but it was good to see him line out. Starting on the bench were Adrian, Dec, Yann and Martin. We didn't have that kind of depth of hurlers last year and with one or two more missing because of injury and travel, its looking like we'll have a decent panel this year.

Den Haag were as poor as I've seen them and travelled without five key players. We blitzed them in the first half with a mixture of well taken and fortunate goals. I think Eoin did the most damage with Rochey grabbing a couple of points and the Hough chipping in with a few. The second half continued in the same vein but The Hague did strike for a goal. The noisy Sean Simpson won a free which was placed no more than 13 yards out despite my protests. I was a bit of my line and he struck it well just over my right shoulder. Instead of having my hurley in the bat position i tried to bring it up but succeeded only in deflecting it over Crusher's head and into the roof of the net. I'll be listening to that one for a while. We won out handy in the end anyway.
With Paris beating The Hague in the next game it meant we had one meaningless group game and a final against Paris. Lads were tried out in different positions and all acquitted themselves well. Myself and Rochey were on the same page regarding puckouts and i was able to find him a good bit. I had a few moments of distraction as i was involved in some engaging conversation with the lovely lady umpire from New Zealand but fortunately my net was never found. We won out handy in the end and headed for our break before the final.

The first half of the final was much more competitive as Paris upped the ante physically and made us work hard for whatever we got. Still, it was evident that they are a new team and their unfamiliarity with eachother meant they found it difficult to work the ball up the pitch to get scores. We led 1-8 to 0-2 at half-time and increased the margin in the second half. We will expect tougher challenges as the year goes on. Paris, if they keep at it, will improve and we can't read anything into the performance of The Hague when they are missing so many. We hit an incredible amount of wides and will need to improve on that as well as dealing with high balls into the full back line. We were lucky on a couple of occasions as some balls that bounced around could easily have ended up in the back of the net.

Next stop is Luxembourg and we will be faced with absentees when we make that journey too. Hopefully myself and Eoin will be back to full fitness and also Eoghan Kelly. There are five tournaments and you need to win 4/5 to be sure to be crowned champions so we have the first hurdled climbed.

I opted out of staying on for the dinner (at which Crusher was named player of the tournament) and so travelled back with Emmett and Conor. Due to some road closures it took a little longer than expected. My personal highlight was ordering two hamburgers without sauce, a medium sprite, a large fries and a McFlurry all in french. I even finished of with 'my french is terrible', in french, which earned a smile from the lady behind the counter! I managed to get exactly what i ordered though without being asked for clarification once. Thats progress my friend!

Who are the GAA Celebrities?

Celebrity Bainisteoir. To those of you not in the know, its an RTE programme where 8 Irish 'Celebrities' take over an Intermediate football team, generally from their Home County and guide them through from a Quarter Final to an 'All-Ireland' Final. Each is assigned a high profile mentor from the locality and off they go to try and coax and cajole a team to victory. The Celebrities take the form of big Derek Davis, George Hook, little Ray Darcy, the lovely Andrea Roche (bogger accent and all) and a few others who may have won a song contest or a big bingo competition. Its painful stuff, listening to Irish people ask how many players are on a team or how do you score.

My main interest is in Cuala, the Dublin outfit taking part. Our own affable Eoin Sheanon hails from the club and his father is their current trainer. However, he was completely banished from all scenes as Hook dictates proceedings. This is the shows biggest crime I think, ignoring the real characters, of which there are an abundance, who prepare thousands of teams across the country. As a ritual, the teams visit the local primary schools pre-game and the Celebs are gobsmacked at the reaction, nearly unbelieving that the players all have relatives in the local schools.

Clearly they missed out their grounding in all things G.A.A. when they themselves attended primary. Of course, this is where virtually all of us first had a hurley put in our hand or felt the sting on our fore arm when a leather o'neills ball dropped from the sky into our arms. It made me think of Mick Creedon, who oversaw the 'Academy' that was Dunderrow N.S. At times it seemed his was the only conveyor belt which ran into the G.A.A. pitch in Kinsale. Most Kinsale teams for a large chunk of the 90's seemed to only have a sprinking from Summercove or St. Johns, in both Hurling and Football. Impressively, considering reports of any sort of Hurling career have yet to be uncovered, he was unbiased in his production numbers in either code.

I had the 'pleasure' of playing on an U-12 football team under his guidance in 1993. Having just returned from America after a three year hiatus, I was off the mark to say the least. Basketball and Soccer had been the sports of choice stateside and I had been robbed of my formative years of G.A.A. schooling as a result. Also, the brownies and burgers had taken their toll as a chubbier version than left, returned to take up his G.A.A. career. Mick was/is a close friend of the family and it was probably for this reason that the #15 jersey rested on my back. However, in Daniel Hurley, I practically had a dedicated sub to replace me in each game. He was a talented townie and only his younger age kept him off the team. Mick persisted with me throughout witnessing only one real flash of 'brilliance' in a league game down in Carrigaline when i found the top corner.

We contested a South-East final against Valley Rovers that year out in Ballygarvan. When the whistle brought an end to play on a foggy night, the real action started. The referee scored the bout a draw and all hell broke loose. He was escorted from the pitch and had to be locked into the dressing room for an age. The Rovers thought they had edged it, some on our side thought it was a draw and I think I had us down as being beaten. The debate was never resolved and Valleys went ahead and presented medals at their Annual Dinner. This was deemed a forfeit by the South-East board so Kinsale were declared winners and also presented medals. Whilst he would have rather won on the pitch, Mick had little time for our Innishannon neighbours and would have no doubt revelled in them getting their noses out of joint.

I went into exile after this and did not return properly until a league game against Ballygarvan as a Minor. Mick's service record was maintained in the years that followed the controversy. Our paths nearly crossed as I broke onto the adult scene, reinvented as a corner back, but as I arrived he departed. It was not the end of him though and he can now be found guiding the youthful lady footballers of Kinsale to unprecedent success. Service recognition is sparce in the G.A.A., most wouldn't have it any other way, but RTE should maybe consider the entertainment it could provide by unleashing the Mick Creedon's of the world to the living rooms of Ireland. These are the unique characters who make the G.A.A. tick and their unique and unorthodox ways would grab my attention far more often then even Andrea Roche in tight jeans and wellies!

Amsterdamaged

Oh how the European Champions came crashing back down to earth in Amsterdam yesterday. Our squad was a mix of newcomers and old timers and the lack of cohesion was most obvious when Luxembourg took advantage to hit us for two goals in our opening bout. We trailed by 1-1 to 0-3 at half-time even though we were on top. At the interval I made a number of switches, maybe too many. We moved jigged around the defence, which hadn't felt much first half pressure and moved Eoin into the forwards. It unsettled lads and we couldn't get ourselves together after. I'd take the credit if the switches worked so I have to take the heat if they don't. My conservative streak betrayed me and the 2-2 to 0-3 score was the punishment.



We locked horns with old foes Den Hague next and they gleefully extracted revenge for all that was inflicted on them lasyear. 0-8 to 0-0 and they weren't shy to goad us for the rest of the day. We did manage to lift our spirits for the final game against Amsterdam and after being level at 0-5 a piece at half-time, we then stormed into a 0-11 to 0-5 lead. The life suddenly went out of us however and a couple of more disasters around our own goal gave them a 2-8 to 0-11 victory.



The tournament was an awful kick in the balls and made for a sickening day. Still, we had a panel of 15 in the end and everyone got a decent amount of football under their belts. Clux couldn't be falted for the goals and in front of him Crusher and Martin did well to stem the tide for long periods. Martin, over twice Crusher's age is some operator for a 48 year old. Conchur, who was on the end of a stupid tackle in the last game, learned the following day that he had broken two bones in his leg. We wish him a speedy recovery.

Next stop is Den Hague, who if you read Hoganstand.com, have declared themselves raging hot favourites. Nice.

Getting Right

The week of a big championship match and you pull up at training with an ankle, hamstring or some other ailment. The pain is excruciating and you are sure its put you out of the upcoming game. However, once you get back on your feet and haul yourself up to the dressing room, you immediately start thinking about how to get yourself fixed up. The phone is whipped out and you're onto the physio in a flash. She can see you in the morning. You throw the gear bag over the shoulder and head off home to the frozen peas.

Irish physios are great. They understand the irrational behaviour of GAA players and their absolute need to play in Championship games, despite the potential longer terms risks they may expose their body too. The GAA is centred around Championship. League has always been seen as a necessary chore but with no great meaning. Its all about being right for the big day. The physio will rarely send you for an xray in case you might get bad news. They'll never say never, always stay positive and give you a chance. That's probably the most important thing in overcoming injury, being positive.

Days of tear jerking twisting and tugging are had on the physio table. You watch training with the hands in the pocket fielding questions on your progress. Show weakness at your peril, in case management catch a whiff of it and start tampering with team selections. You declare yourself fit at the final training before the big day, still with doubts secretly lingering in your fragile mind. The last visit to the healer is the morning on the game. Depending on your state different alternatives are considered. If you're lucky, you've timed your run well and you'll get the thumbs up. If your not, you may be eye balling a needle in the worst case, bracing yourself for an injection. Whilst the consequences going forward may be worse, its a whole lot easier to deal with than a roll of white tape applied to a hairy leg.

It will often be the first ball that tells you whether you will contest many more. If you survive that first clash, your tail is up and you can plough forward. This is the behaviour of GAA players (and I'm sure those from other codes) all over the country. They absolutely cannot miss Championship matches and there are many a sceal told of men playing with torn hamstrings, the odd broken limp or some other debilitating condition.

They don't get it in Belgium. Firstly, the process is laboursome. You must go to a doctor and they will refer you. Often, if even a hint of a disturbance, you will be sent to the hospital for a scan or xray. Next stop is the physio, or kine as they call it. They absolutely will not understand your need to 'get right'. In fact, they will look at you with distain, such is the manner in which you are mistreating your body. The knock on is they will not shower you with positivity or give you the believe you need to speed up your recovery. Its a lengthy and futile exercise.

With my latest ankle injury my tactic was simple. Stall until the swelling went down so as to avoid an unnecessary xray. Then go to the doc and get my physio letter. I don't know why i bothered. They really don't care that you have an urgency and when i started trying to get here to tell me when I'll be back she started rambling on about how if you could play before it is better you could end up breaking it. Real positive thinking. My situation is slightly worsened by the fact that i suffered injuries to both ankles in the same week, although one much worse than the other. Still, i need two strappings and only have one!

If i was at home in Kinsale preparing to play Macroom in this weekends Championship, there would be no question that i would play. The ankles would be shaved and bundles of white tape would be on hand. However, Benelux tournaments are a bit like the league and anyway, its your best three tournaments go towards the final standings so not so much point in risking it. I'll bring the gear anyway and we'll see how things pan out.

Upsetting The Odds

Just like in 2008, Amsterdam is the first stop on our 2009 European tour. The memory from last year is not so good. We defeated Maastricht, drew with Den Hague, fell narrowly at the hands of the hosts and were on the end of a rout against Luxembourg in the group stage. This placed us against Amsterdam in the 3rd/4th place playoff. We regrouped and won but I remember going home very disappointed with how we performed. Maybe expectations were too high. We were the new kids on the block and it was a good eye-opener. The Luxembourg defeat rankled the most as they hit us for four goals and basically steam rolled us. They took their opportunity to rub it in too. After a misplaced kick during the game, one of their players wasn't shy in asking what the Belgians would know about football anyway. We went home very disappointed but in reality we had done quite well for our first outing. Den Hague won the tournament outright but in the group game they only salvaged a draw against us with a goal in the last second, 1-3 to 0-6. In the 3rd/4th playoff, we extracted some revenge against the 'Dam to claim victory.

This weekends tournament was originally scheduled for March 28th but the change was announced a couple of weeks ago. Something like this causes alot more hassle here than at home. People always have weekend plans here, travelling home or to other places. The impact for us is significant. Ciaran, Bobby, Rochey, Eoghan, Emmett, Enda, Keary, Hough, Gearoid are all out. It may benefit Eoin and myself as it gives our injuries a week longer to heal. Eoin is more likely to make it than me, but we'll wait and see. Tom remains on the injured list.

Even without the absentees, we were still able to debate whether to bring a second team. In the end, we travel with 17 players but could easily have got up to 20. At a push we would have made it to 25, the minimum to get through the day with two teams. However, given most of the lads are some of our top players, we would have had to field a very inexperienced second team and the the negatives may have outwayed the positives. I'd be fairly positive of having two teams available when we travel to Den Hague.

Our objective this weekend is definitly to win. I'm reading a book about Bobby Knight at the moment. He coached College basketball in the States for years, most notably at Indiana University. He was renowned for getting his teams to box successfully above their weight. Often the slower, smaller, less gifted Hoosiers (as they are known) overcame their more heralded opponents. His prepartion and ability to get his teams to play to his plan were instrumental. His players offered themselves selflessly. Maybe at times they played out of fear, he was reknowned for his temper, regularily throwing chairs, abusing players, refs and anyone within ear shot.

Selflessness, its a drum I continually like to beat. I foraged around the full-back line in Kinsale for years, denying my man possession, picking up breaks and moving the ball up to the half back line and onwards. Some of my buddies used to goad me about not being able to kick the ball, so seldom it was that the ball dropped as far as my foot. I knew my role in the team though and was happy to make my contribution. Of course, it would be nice to be out around the half back line playing a bit more ball but in a team, if its to be successful, everyone needs to know their role and perform it without ego or uproar. They need to be selfless in their approach to the team.

When you look at less successful teams or go down the playing levels, it tends to become more difficult to extract this trait from people's character. You tend to see a more individual approach to the game, a lack of cohesion amongst players and frustration being vented regularily because the players are not working in tandum. They are pursueing their own objectives and most likely to the detriment of the team.

On Saturday, we will be a bit like Bobby Knight's Hoosiers and will be perceived as underdogs with little chance of success due to our depleted resources. I beg to differ and hope that i am proved right. However, we are playing at one of the lower levels. This means the risk of not getting players to buy into a style of play and their role within it, is higher. For me its simple, the fluidity which we would normally like to achieve, keeping the ball moving and using our energy to support the man in possession, will be disrupted because many of the players will not have played together before and some lads have very little recent playing experience. Those who have been around the block once or twice, need to step up. They'll need to carry the ball a bit more and take greater ownership, always looking to get on the ball or support a teammate. Those new faces on the team need to get the basics right, over and over again. Move towards the ball, gather possession, look up and deliver to one of the 'go-to' men. Their anxious tendency may be to kick when they should handpass or to have a pop for a score when their body isn't lined up. They need to focus, know their role and appreciate its value towards achieving the goal.

On Saturday those more experienced lads need to be ready to up their game to another level whilst the new faces need to understand that value they will add if they nail the basics. Its a great challenge to start the year. Winning against the odds is the most satisfying way to do. If we can do so in Amsterdam it will give us fantastic confidence to take forward. The Hoosiers were masters at it, now its the Belgians turn!