Taking the next step

In All Fairness

The great Michael ‘Babs’ Keating had a regular saying that a clap on the back is only a few inches away from being a kick in the arse, and it always come to my mind when Tipperary win anything in hurling.

There always seems to be a crisis in Tipperary when we lose. Last month after exiting the minor championship with four successive defeats, some were worried about the future of Tipperary hurling, yet a few weeks later the county are All-Ireland under 20 champions. Also forgetting that at minor level we have won two of the past four All-Irelands in that grade.

We are a demanding county when it comes to hurling, and rightly so, but there needs to be a realism that just because we don’t win something in a year that everything is wrong. What Tipp’s successes this decade at minor and under 20 level highlights is the development structures at academy level are working, not forgetting the work done at primary and post primary level, as well as clubs, to get them to this stage.

Tipperary were behind the eight-ball when it came to a number of aspects of preparation a few years ago, particularly strength & conditioning, but that gap has been largely closed with the link-up with Setanta College, based in Thurles.

The energy brought about by County Games Manager Kevin Halley since he succeeded Dinny Maher in the role cannot be understated and is feeding into the GDA’s right around the county to ensure Tipp are at the forefront of best practice when it comes to developing players, be it hurling, Gaelic football, camogie and ladies football.

The next step is always the hardest. As Sam O’Farrell said in his excellent speech on Saturday, this will be the end of the road for many players wearing the blue and gold as the step-up to senior level will be too much for some of them, but that’s only natural. Only the best, but crucially, the most committed, move on to have a chance of winning a Liam MacCarthy Cup.

There certainly can be plenty of optimism that Tipperary are on the right course to maintain their status of having won an All-Ireland senior hurling title in every decade, with five more opportunities to ensure this decade doesn’t become the broken link in the chain.

There are certainly players that have the ability and mentality to kick on, some already making an impact senior level in Darragh McCarthy, Sam O’Farrell and Oisin O’Donoghue, while if Conor Martin brings the confidence from his recent under 20 showings, his name might well be appearing on senior matchday panels in the coming weeks, not forgetting Aaron O’Halloran who is a teak-tough full back.

Then there are the likes of Cathal O’Reilly and Adam Ryan who have stepped up from minor to under 20 seamlessly, and still have two more years to go at that grade. Ryan might not be the standout name on this successful team, but he has all the attributes of a senior hurler, transitioning from an effective wing-forward at minor level, to a towering and athletic wing back with so much composure on the ball.

He'll likely be earmarked for senior development in the near future, as should Cathal English, particularly as he comes from a junior club. This isn’t a slight on the Father Sheehy’s club, its meant to as a help as I am not a fan of players from junior clubs feeling they have to transfer to more established clubs to keep themselves in the eyeline of the Tipperary senior management.

There is already enough evidence through English’s minor and under 20 career that he has the attributes to be an effective half-forward or midfielder at senior level. It’s training regularly with senior players in Coolmore Morris Park where the ultimate judgement will be on whether he is good enough, not because he plays in the fourth grade of Tipperary hurling.

In fact, that could be a help where, even at the age of twenty, he can develop to being a leader on the field for his adult club team, who must be immensely proud of not only what he has achieved, but also Daire English who also added an under 20 All-Ireland to the minor won last year. This is on the heels of Colin English captaining Tipp to the 2018 All-Ireland Under 21 title but doesn’t now play with the club.

The great John Leahy didn’t have to leave Mullinahone, then a junior club, to achieve his dreams with Tipperary. There needs to still be a pathway from where small clubs can grow, even if Father Sheehy’s might only get to intermediate level, that would be senior in their eyes.

Scenarios where Killea lost Tomas Hamill to Moyne-Templetuohy, and Solohead looking set to lose Darragh O’Hora similarly, aren’t a good look if the GAA wants to keep the club at the centre of the association. Yes, club is an important route to wearing the blue and gold, but it’s not the only way.