CROKE Park, All-Ireland final day – a teenage dream but a daunting prospect for Tyrone’s young talents.
Saturday’s Markham Cup decider transports the Ulster MFC champions to heights they have never before scaled, and presents a challenge of proportions they have yet to face.
But voices of experience, measured and succinct, will deliver words of guidance and reassurance as they prepare for a momentous sporting occasion.
No less than four members of the Red Hand backroom team have featured as players in All-Ireland finals – Conor Gormley and Ciaran Gourley with the seniors, Gary Hetherington and Tommy Canavan with the Minors.
Each one will have a tip to share, a nugget of advice to offer and wise counsel to bring calm and focus to the group as they prepare to take on Meath.
“Now that we’re on this side of the fence, on the management side of things, you hope that you can pass on some words of wisdom to the players that will help them prepare for the final,” said Gourley.
“From our own point of view looking back at finals, you take wee bits out of each one and see if you can pass that on t the players and hopefully it will help them prepare as best they can.”
Gourley has been keeping an eye on Tyrone’s emerging talent from a distance prior to getting involved with the Minors this year.
Through schools football and development squads at Garvaghey, he became aware of and excited by the quality of the current group.
“They’re a talented bunch. I have seen what has been in the academy squads, so I was aware of the talent that was coming through.
“I only got involved this year, but I knew from schools football there was a lot of good talent in the county.
“But you can never envisage that they’re going to go on the journey that they’re on.
“Over the last two months or so, we have seen the talent that they have.
“But you don’t know how good they are until they start playing competitive matches, but they started well against Down and we built on that.
“Probably the Ulster final, Donegal asked a few questions of us, and that helped focus the minds.”
And the treble All-Ireland winner is impressed by the humility of the players and their willingness to learn and to take on board and advice offered to them.
“Whenever the management team addresses them, they’re very willing to take advice on board.
“Gerard (Donnelly) is leading from the top and he’s very thorough in what he does and he makes sure everything si covered with them.
“And they show that on the field, they’re real good individuals.”
It’s been quite a journey for the young Red Hands, with four stylish wins in the bag, but Gourley warned that those results will count for nothing unless they go on and finish the job against Meath on Saturday.
“Some of the wins have been very impressive.
“When you get on this journey, you want to make sure you finish it off, and they have a tough task the next day against Meath.
“It’s a short turnaround time, but that’s probably good, because they have to focus the minds for this weekend and get ready for that.”
