A Captain's Calling

‘When he phones me I still refer to him as captain’ Joe Brolly

Those were the words of one of our All-Ireland winners about a former playing colleague of his. Perhaps the context of the article in which it was written is one in which we might not wish to dwell on too long, but it got me thinking.

1993. What does it mean to people now and what was its legacy?

Let’s address the first part of that short double barrelled question first. What it means now probably depends on what age you are. Let’s be honest, if you are in your mid 20’s (which most players playing senior football for club and county are) your memory of events will be scant. The belief and confidence gained through memory and experience of people say ten years older will be a lot weaker with current playing generations. That’s a sobering thought and one which cannot be ignored.

Yes, there are youtube videos. Yes, there are pictures, stories recanted time after time. However, nothing compares with ‘being there’ as the modern social media aware GAA marketing types like to remind us. Human beings by their very nature doubt themselves sometimes. I often think those winning experiences are taken for granted by ‘older people’ and not necessarily shared by younger players and coaches.

However, what is not in doubt is that the men of ’93 planted a flag at the summit which should, and I repeat, should be visible to all. They cast all doubt aside like all pioneers do.

July 2012. Clones, Co Monaghan. Derry minor footballers are overcome by a Tyrone side that perhaps the scoreline flattered. Perhaps it did, perhaps it didn’t. That depends on your viewpoint. It’s clear these young oaks were good players. So why were they beaten I hear you say? Good question.

Like the legacy of ’93 the answer could very well depend on what age you are. To a 14-15 year old, the response might be along the lines of: ‘sure, that’s Tyrone. They’ve won All-Irelands and are a strong outfit’. To a 17-18 year old the response might be the same! It gets you thinking, doesn’t it?

However, to a slighter older generation, we don’t buy that. We know who we are. We know where we came from and we don’t accept that. We know what Joe Brolly means. We look coldly on such events.

It takes a collective will. From the young players on the pitch, but also from the older generations who run things off it. Cooperation across all levels from schools to clubs to county is a key ingredient in helping young players to achieve their potential.

‘You can see it. They’ve done the work and are on a high with the power coursing through their bodies. They’ll just look forward to the next game and the chance it gives them to showcase the work they’ve put in. And they’ll enjoy doing so.’

That was Adrian McGuckin speaking about Donegal after they defeated Derry in Ballybofey this summer. The impassioned voice spoke volumes as it beamed out on Radio Ulster’s medium wave. He knew. He looks coldly on such events.

Second things second, what indeed was the legacy of 1993? I said in a previous post that our county continued to enjoy success on the provincial scene via Lavey, Dungiven, Bellaghy, Ballinderry and Loup. But in reality what actually happened was that those successes, wonderful as they were, were taken as a sign of health at a time when evolution was required. If you stand still in any race, you fall behind.

That is exactly what I think Derry has done, or had done.

Back to legacy. Legacy is about each generation standing up and being counted. It is now time for the current generations to stand up. The ’93 men and associates, now in their middle ages (they’ll love that!), children reared and coming onto teams. What does it mean to that generation to see their county excel? Are they content with knowing that their generation succeeded? Once. Or is the burning desire there to leave nothing in the tank as they say to ensure the flame of the likes of Eamon Coleman is passed on?

After all, Eamon and his peers passed it on to them and they benefited. Not only players, but friends, club mates, families and associates all benefited from that passing on of the flame. That belief, the irrational belief that you can and will be better than any other team or county is still there in spades. It rests in the hands of a generation who are now at a crossroads. Accept contentment or drive onward.

The GAA and Gaelic football is in a very different place to where it was in 1993. Henry Downey lifted the Sam Maguire in a stand covered by a tin roof (poetic license excused). Now modern fibreglass and plastics technology abound, steel hangs from sky, and scanners notify a database you have entered that same ground. Field sports evolve. Spain, possibly the most successful soccer team of all time, no longer play with a recognised striker. Life moves on and so do tactics, training methods and player preparations. Have we?

The battlegrounds are no longer what they were. Off or on the pitch, sports science, medical and anatomical knowledge all progress year on year. That’s human nature and evolution in action. There are those ‘back in my day experts’ who will no doubt frown on such statements. However, to quote another member of that ’93 team who said recently:

‘I’d rather have a happy medium but it has just come about with teams trying to catch up on each other and do the same work and I suppose there’s no real stopping it’

There’s no real stopping it says Enda Gormley, and he’s right. If there’s no stopping it then you either get with it or you stop completely and spectate.

That my friend is reality and its reality coming from a person who knows what it takes to be a winner. If someone whose very makeup portrays what it means to be an Oakleaf winner says this then it’s time the rest of us listened. Young and old, over 25 and under.

The young players in Derry are as good as has ever been produced in the county including those generations classed as ‘successful’. It is up to the generations who have experienced success to both convince them of that and make that statement a reality. They owe it to themselves and they owe it to those who went before them. Soldiers like Doherty, Dougan, Muldoon, McGuckin, Bradley, McCloy, McFlynn, Lockhart, McBride gave their all for the cause and often got little in return. Those men deserve better. Their legacy deserves better.

The leaders of this generation of players, and those on the cusp, need to make themselves known and heard. You can lead at 21 or 31, no difference. Leaders lead by example and by the example they show their team mates, managers and peers.

Recognised as one of the world’s most influential people, author of the best selling ‘The seven habits of highly effective people’ and a recognised authority on ‘leadership’, Stephen Covey passed away last week at the age of 79. To those wanting to achieve, he offered the following advice:

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside. The enemy of the “best” is often the “good.”

Covey knew that when you put your life into something 100% you will never be disappointed. If you give anything less, disappointment is only an act or two away. In our case, priorities, courage and the interplay between the ‘93-generation’, who have been there and wear the t-shirt, and those who have not, are vital factors in determining our collective future.

Let’s hope neither shirks their responsibilities. ‘The captain’ never did.