O’BRIEN CLAIMS GOLD AT WORLDS
Leitrim boss Garrity recalls his time at Man City
CLASS APART: Katie O’Brien celebrates
KATIE O’BRIEN won the gold medal in the Para women’s single sculls yesterday at the world championships in the Czech Republic.
O’Brien was the wireto-wire leader over the 2000m course and crossed the finish line after nine minutes 25.23 seconds.
The Galway native won by 10 seconds ahead of the
Australian Kathryn Ross, while Ukraine’s Anna Aisanova claimed the third place.
Elsewhere, Zoe Hyde and Sanita Puspure advanced to tomorrow’s double sculls final as the Irish duo finished in second place behind the Dutch team.
Four
Lydia Heaphy finished third in her lightweight single sculls B final, with Hugh Moore also third in his lightweight single sculls D final.
Four boats contest finals on what is set to be a mammoth day today for Irish rowing.
Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy will look to retain their lightweight double sculls world title while Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen chase glory in the women’s event.
Katie O’Brien and Steven McGowan take on the mixed double sculls final, while
Aifric Keogh, Eimear Lambe, Fiona Murtagh and Emily Hegarty line up in the final of the women’s four.
HE DOESN’T tire of questions about Manchester City and his time spent in the €250 million Etihad campus but Jonny Garrity is quick to point out that he wasn’t working directly with the first team.
It was still a significant achievement for a young Tyrone man, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Patrick Viera and his fellow Cityzens in one of the greatest football clubs in the world.
Garrity spent seven months learning from the coaching elite too and now he finds himself back in Fermanagh as a Games Development Officer and managing Leitrim heading into the 2023 season.
He has a serious pedigree and, while he took some time away from the adult grade to focus on matters closer to home — the Tyrone Ladies minor team — he is looking to breathe new life into Leitrim. And it starts with the culture he learned five years ago in Manchester.
“Culture would be central to what I do in management, having touched on it extensively during my undergraduate and Master’s degree,”said Garrity.
“It was really telling in my progression to see it in action in Manchester City. And you really could see it walking down the corridor, if a youth player was walking past you, they would have the hand up for a high five.
Uniform
“It was simple because you had the uniform of coaching staff there. They mightn’t have had you before but they respected you because you were there and that was fantastic.
“Depending on which training, or matches were on at any given time, you would go to the canteen and there would be different teams in eating and they would mingle.
“Seeing the likes of Steph Houghton for the women’s team, the way she behaved as a leader with her group was fantastic as well. Making sure everybody was okay.
“It was a really positive culture and a nice place to be. It was a learning environment and one that is respected at the core. That is what I’ve tried to replicate anywhere I have been.
“I think it makes a massive difference. You are talking about value of every individual in the organisation. And that value should be placed on everybody no matter what level they are at or role they are fulfilling.
“It’s an understanding that everybody has a part to play and regardless of how big or small the part is.
“In Leitrim now it’s a matter of trying to ensure that you are getting the right people in the room, that’s the first thing.
“Yes, we are trying to select the best footballers in the county. But we are also going to be very mindful of their mental attributes and what they bring to the environment.”
The Fintona native first studied exercise and sport science at Manchester Metropolitan University and after realising primary teaching was not for him, he did a Master’s degree that would ultimately pave the way for an unlikely stint in the Etihad.
Analyst
“It was something from leftfield,” Garrity admits of being recommended for a job as a performance analyst with the Manchester City Academy by his Masters lead Dr Ryan Groom, who had links with Man City.
“When he recommended me to go into Manchester City you take their hand off for that.
“It was a really successful time, you could feel a buzz around the place, there is no question about that. There are very high standards around the academy I was involved with. And you could sense that it was an exciting place to be.”
Garrity never worked directly with Pep Guardiola and the first-team squad.
But he still got to experience the breakthrough of talents like Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho.
Passion
“You obviously keep an eye on the players that you may have seen first-hand,”said Garrity.
“But at the same time my passion is in Gaelic football and I would be more inclined to watch a Celtic match if I was watching soccer.
“Outside of that I wouldn’t be a big soccer supporter.
“Probably most of the time I was down with U-13 and U-15. There were only a few occasions where I was helping U-23 and U-21.
“But at all the different age groups you would come across that kind of player that would have that bit of star quality. They would stand out.”