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THE ALL STARS ARE DONE AND DUSTED BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THE CHOICES STILL CAN’T BE DEBATED. ANNA GEARY GIVES HER THOUGHTS ON THE TOP AWARD
WE are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit. Now that the dust has settled and the All Stars are over, it’s time to reflect on some of the awards that caused as much debate as the Championships themselves.
Predictions are free flowing when it comes to All Star accolades. Everyone has their own take on things. As a former player, I believe that we often develop a soft spot for those that mirror our own style of play. You look to those players and live vicariously through them during the Championship. You may be powerless on the sidelines now but you puck every ball with those whom you admire. In them you always look for the positive first, the negatives only serve as an afterthought when you force yourself to be objective.
From a Camogie point of view in the past, the All Star awards were often based on the performances of players primarily in the All-Ireland Final (though that may not be admitted). This was largely due to the fact that it was the only game televised, up until this year.
As a player, that used to infuriate me. To me an All Star should be bestowed on a player for consistency and contribution to the team. Did they fulfil their role in the team every time they graced the pitch? Did they conduct themselves with dignity and discipline on the field of play? Were they a role model for younger players watching them? Did they always play the game with the team in mind?
We all know that All Stars are a wonderful individual recognition but it’s the coveted All-Ireland medal that counts. If you have the medal then the All Star is the cherry on top, a public acknowledgement that there was no one better than you in your position across all teams in the Championship.
However, without the All-Ireland medal, they lose their gloss. It is a privilege to receive a solitary award, I’m not denying that. There are many that walk among us with numerous All Stars, heroes of our games. I have received four All Stars during my intercounty career, two when we won an All-Ireland Final and two when we lost at the semi-final stages. I’d give them back in a heartbeat if it meant we could have triumphed in any of the finals in which we came up short. An All Star cannot be a motivator when a player starts out in a new season. If it is, then they are in the wrong sport. Individual pursuits may be more to their liking.
To me individual greatness does need to be recognised, providing it is for the good of the team.
There are plenty of players that lit up the Championship this year, players that produced stand out moments at which to marvel; moments of genius that left us in awe.
Austin Gleeson springs to mind. At the tender age of 21 he collected the Young Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year recently, much to the surprise of many people. Flashes of brilliance with the Gleeson trademark stamp were dotted across the Championship. But, despite the splendour he produced at times, I still think the Senior Player of the Year went to the wrong player.
Many tipped Seamus Callanan to scoop the top prize but I was firmly backing Paudie Maher. You may brush it off and conclude that it is because, as a fellow wing-back, I admire his contribution to the Tipperary team this year. But it extends far beyond that.
I believe that Paudie Maher demonstrated the qualities of a true leader and exhibited unquestionable consistency throughout the season, even more so than Callanan. Most importantly, his actions always fed back into the bigger picture of the Tipp team. He wasn’t substituted in any game and he displayed the courage of conviction to accomplish whatever task he was faced within every game.
He wasn’t free to roam and contribute how he so wished, he had a defined role. Maher may not have produced as many of those dramatic and unexpected sequences of play that are associated with Gleeson but, to me, he always played with the team as the priority.
While he may be one of the most exciting players in the game at present, it is a team sport and we need to reinforce that to the youth who play GAA. That team ethic is a core value of our games and cannot be disregarded or ignored. Even Gleeson himself admitted back in April that he needs to learn to be more of a team player.
Gleeson is a formidable player; I am not disputing that for a second and I bet that it won’t be the only Player of the Year Award he receives. But I felt there was a more deserving winner this year overlooked. Perhaps I am still raw over with the two wayward shots Gleeson hit in the dying seconds of the All-Ireland Semi-Final; wasted opportunities to grasp the win against The Cats. If you don’t know what I am talking about, just ask Kevin Moran, he will remember. God knows he was screaming loud enough for the ball.
As a player, you have to make split decisions every minute of the game that define you as a player. To give a pass, to take a score, the chase back when you make an error, to put your body on the line, to lash out or remain disciplined, to go for the glory or go for the team. Sometimes we as players get them right, other times we revert to our muddled priorities. We lose sight of the ‘we’.
There is no ‘I’ in team after all.
I BELIEVE THAT PAUDIE MAHER DEMONSTRATED THE QUALITIES OF A TRUE LEADER AND EXHIBITED UNQUESTIONABLE CONSISTENCY...