Leahy delighted for the 'future of Kerry hurling'
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THE elation was written all over Maurice Leahy's face after he helped mastermind a successful defence of Causeway Comp's AllIreland title.
Two things excited Leahy. First, the manner of the victory, the way this year the team hurled with skill and won in style.
Second, a hurling man to the core, Leahy couldn't help but be excited about what this win ands these players could bring to Kerry hurling in the future.
"When you play in an All-Ireland final you always wonder how it will affect young fellas, if the excitement of the occasion will get to the and so on, but they were so relaxed. I was the most excitable man on the field," Leahy enthused about his young charges.
"They are a superb team. They play as a team and they gave as good a display of hurling that I've ever seen from a young crowd at that age. Their hurling was superb, their score taking was superb, the defensive work was superb, the midfield was great.
"At half time I said to them that 'every one of you is playing well, all you've got to do is rise it another ten percent and you will win this game' and they came out and they rose it twenty percent and outhurled the boys completely.
"We have those six very experienced boys up the middle from last year but talk about the rest of them. The nine lads who came in from last year they were all superb. I'm over the moon about this win," the manager continued.
"I always said to the boys to be patient. There are 65 minutes in a game of hurling. They might get a goal and two points at the start, and we were five points down on a couple of occasions this year but I believe that this year we have always played our best hurling in the second half.
"We were superb in the second half in the Munster Final, in the semi-final and again today I thought we were superb in the second half.
"This team has great guts, tremendous characters who will win the ball in tight situations, win the dirty ball. We have the guys who can do that and we also have the lads who can take the scores. Ricky Heffernan and Paul McGrath, the two corner forwards, were a joy to watch.
"And then you got Padraig Boyle. We knew they were gointg to target him a little bit but I said to him beforehand that he needed to be patient, that he would get his ball.
Last year was our first All-Ireland final and it was special and the mantra was: whether it's the worst game in the world or the best game in the world we just wanted to win, but today to win in style was a real bonus," he said.
Looking ahead, Leahy remains hugely optimistic about the future of Kerry hurling if this current crop is anything to go by.
"With the development squads in place and with the plans that are there and with the advice they are getting with regard to diet and weights and all that, if these fellas take on this advice, and I think they will (because) I think now these fellas realise they are serious hurlers.
"If the management teams and everyone involved take all this on board and upskill themselves I think these fellas will go places, I really do because there is nothing as good as them in Ireland on a school basis.
"I thought in the Harty Cup they proved themselves and the future is very bright for Kerry hurling," Leahy said.
- Paul Brennan
