Seeking Success (With Standards)

I fulfilled my duties as Maor Uisce down in Mourneabbey last Wednesday night for Kinsale’s Intermediate League game against Clyda Rovers. The lads were promoted from Division 4 last year and are now fighting hard to retain their status in Division 3.

The opposition on the night, Clyda Rovers, are a formidable outfit and play at a level higher in the Championship than Kinsale. After receiving an unmerciful trimming at their hands in a challenge last year, it was a formidable task, even in the absence of Cork duo Paudie Kissane and Ray Carey.

Kinsale are trained by a friend, Gearoid Condon, who took the team over this year after last years incumbants chose to step down. At 33, he now just plays at bit of Junior and took to the coaching a couple of years ago and has success at Minor and U-21 level under his belt already. This prompted him to get involved with the Cork U-17 Development squad and he also carries out a background role with the Cork Minors on match days.

A regular choice as captain over the years, he was obviously seen as someone with leadership qualities. He was a glutton for work too and would regularly train twice a day. As a player, he was often under-appreciated by others and perceived to lack pace. However, in the heat of battle, he is a guy you would want along side you. For younger, less experienced players, he was a great guide through a game and his considerable size and strength provided reliable back-up in any skirmish.

In the last couple of years he has lapped up all he could from books, conferences and courses. He isn’t a copy and paste merchant though and imposes his own ideas on the game. He is a coach, by which I mean, he actually develops the player’s skills and their minds tactically.

He has high standards with regards to his treatment of players. You would be hard pushed to find a lad who could say that he wasn’t given a fair crack of the whip as everyone has gotten decent game time at Intermediate and Junior all year. This is the only way to develop your players and in the absence of a talent bulging squad, everyone needs to be brought along on the journey.

The players must fundraise to pay for supplies and training weekends. There are rules to buy into and an attitudes to demonstrate. This doesn’t always happen though. Last Sunday morning, he announced two key players would be dropped for the Clyda game. They had been out drinking the night before. That wasn’t the issue though. Gearoid wouldn’t be shy of a pint but he would always be at training the next day. They were not.

It is things like this that I like most about his style. In Kinsale (and I am sure many other clubs), our better players have frequently shown a lack of respect for their team-mates through their behaviour and always went unpunished. All the rules in the world won’t sway some. On Sunday, he questioned the mental strength of the group and made a brave decision ahead of a big game. For me, that demonstrates an absence of ego but a presence of belief.

One of the great things, maybe the best thing, about the G.A.A. is people’s passion about it. This means everyone in a club will have their opinions (and are entitled to) on how matters are run. The perceived isolation with which he goes about business doesn’t appeal to everyone. He is criticised for training methods, team selections and much more. It doesn’t bother him though. He is sticking to his guns, bringing players through and improving them. The collective over the individual. It is a slow process but a necessary one when you don’t have marquee players to carry the lesser lights.

They beat Clyda by five points last Wednesday night after a testing first half. Granted it happened in the secondary competition, away from the Championship crowds. However, it’s another indication though, that progress is being made with this young team.

I mention its youth but from my position with my water bottle, it was easy to observe who the leaders are. I trudged through many battles in the full-back line with Michael O’Sullivan and couldn’t speak highly enough of him as a team-mate. A man who always had your back, in the most selfless of ways. He was never the most vocal in my time but before last week’s game and at half-time, it was obvious from listening to him that he has stepped up. He is a guy who has been travelling from Dublin for the best part of seven years to play with Kinsale. Same too his brother Richard whose experiences with Cork are now being put to positive effect as he transfers them to his team-mates.

Maybe the most telling input into the team’s progress came the morning after the game. Aforementioned Cork player Paudie Kissane rang Gearoid about another issue. Gearoid didn’t mention the game. Paudie brought it up though and was generous in his praise of the team’s workrate and tackling, especially after experiencing a dodgy first half. Objective opinion.

As a side note, you can’t but be impressed with Kissane and Carey. Both were at the game despite being deep in their preparations for the Dublin game. Kissane patrolled the line whilst Carey fulfilled the unglamorous role of umpire. But that’s the G.A.A. for ya. It starts and ends with the club.