‘We have massive respect for Derry’

Tommy Griffin has long been at the vanguard of Kerry’s underage revival from schools to inter-county, writes Jason O’Connor

TOMMY Griffin has seen a fair bit of underage football over recent years. Working alongside Eamonn Fitzmaurice and Kieran Moran in Pobalscoil Corcha Dhuibhne’s back-to-back Hogan Cup successes in 2014 and 2015 was a good launch pad for getting involved with Kerry at minor level.

There might have been a time in the not too distant past when people were questioning the value of post primary football in relation to the bigger picture in the Kingdom, but Griffin feels that it has played a great role in contributing to Kerry’s revival of success at minor level.

“I think it can only be viewed as a good thing for the experience the players get,” Griffin says.

“They are in big, high profile matches and see the level of interest people take in them while at All-Ireland level they get to see what the standard in other counties is like and the different styles of play that are out there.”

It’s not all about winning other competitions, however. The Dingle native feels that the standard of training is there for all to see.

“I think the standard of training is higher now at all levels not just inter-county level, but at club and schools level also. Lots of things have been put in place with the development squads and that and it’s all turning out to be of mutual benefit to everyone.

“At minor level you only have what you have in a given year but how good the players you get are is down to the work being done with them in advance by the coaches they have had beforehand.”

An awful lot is made about continuity from one year to another in an underage set-up but for Griffin freshness is something that can’t be underestimated either.

“Experience is a great thing to have, but I wouldn’t say it’s absolutely essential. The first question that a lot of people ask of an underage GAA team is ‘how many have you from last year’ and judgements are often made from there.

“That isn’t always the greatest thing to judge a side on because new players in a set-up can improve things from the freshness and energy they bring in wanting to establish themselves on the team.

“The new players this year have contributed and have led from the front and it’s good to see a lot of the players who were on the extended panel last year making the step up this year so well,” the Dingle man says.

One side effect of Kerry’s stranglehold on the Tommy Markham Cup is people wondering why some of the All-Ireland winning Minors have been given more of a chance at senior level yet.

Having played at the highest level himself however, Griffin feels that people are being presumptuous about the benefits from the underage success transferring onto the senior set-up so quickly.

“Managements generally tend to know when the best time is to blood a player at senior level. The rungs on the ladder that are there between minor and Under 21 are there for a reason and while winning All-Irelands at minor level are a great accomplishment there is still night and day between both the standard of minor and senior level.

“No minor has ever won a senior All-Ireland for a county is the best way it can be put and remember a lot of these guys are still to play senior football at club level,” Griffin said.

Returning to the here and now with the All-Ireland final with Derry approaching, Griffin agrees with the notion that Derry have probably provided the sides who have come nearest to matching Kerry in the present underage years.

“Yeah Derry have been very impressive if you look at it over a longer period and factor in the schools competitions with the inter-county games.

“The fact they two counties are meeting so often in both tells you how well they are doing to get to that point.

“Damian McErlain has done a great job with their minors over the last few years in getting them to the business end nearly all the time. The most impressive thing for me about the win over Dublin in the semi-final was the fact they came from two points down at half-time facing into Hill 16 with the Dublin supporters filing in for the senior game and still managed to win.

“It takes a lot to win in a situation like that and we have massive respect for them and the challenge they will bring.

“We know that we will have to be at our best to perform.”