And he’s only 24.
Jamie Wall is a man beyond his years. The former Cork star has been through enough in his own life to take any of it for granted and he talks about management now like you’ve never heard it before.
He’s a breath of fresh air. He wants his players to be happy. He understands their stresses and their problems and he does not want to add to them. He wants hurling to be a place they can enjoy themselves – that’s what it was always supposed to be.
It’s not like he’s abandoned a desire to win to achieve those results. He must be one of the youngest winning managers of all time – guiding Mary I to the Fitzgibbon Cup last weekend.
He also might just be one of the most sensible managers of all time – treating his players as young men, not tools.
On The GAA Hour hurling show, Wall spoke with such maturity and conviction that it was genuinely hard to believe that this man was just 24 years of age. He spoke with such logic and understanding that it was downright refreshing.
“We would’ve done an awful lot of work preparing ourselves for the other team and then trying to break it down then into smaller preparation for the lads,” Wall spoke on The GAA Hour about his style of management.
“That homework side of it, the preparation and tactical side of it was something that I think you’re onto nothing without. A huge part of our management and coaching is that sort of game-centred approach and what we need for our next game.
“One of the big things I found – and it’s probably the same for club, county or college – but for college maybe more so – I think that holistic side of management is probably more important than anything else.
“You’re dealing with 21-year-olds who are finding their way in the world. You’re dealing with guys who might have girl troubles one week, they might have troubles with their studies another week. They’re trying to balance passing their exams, they’re trying to balance playing with their counties.
“There’s no point beating around the bush, it’s a four-night-a-week commitment for some guys and that makes a huge dent in their studies and their prospects, study-wise.
“It makes a huge dent in their social lives which plays a big part in them growing up as well-rounded people. Just dealing with these young fellas on an individual basis and trying to free them up to play hurling and enjoy hurling, enjoy each other and enjoy their lives.”
Doing that then helps them on the pitch.
“The result is obviously very important and the management side and that’s obviously hugely important and makes a huge difference but if guys can see, ‘do you know what, this guy actually gives a shit about me outside of everything else’, I think that makes a huge difference to lads in terms of their happiness and their willingness to work and then their productivity then afterwards.”
Listen to the full brilliant interview (from 31:05) below. The rest of The GAA Hour hurling show looks at the perception around Offaly and how football’s Super 8 will affect the hurling.
