Ó Sé remains positive about Kerry's prospects

GAELIC GAMES NEWS ROUND-UP:MARC Ó SÉ made an interesting point to the swarming media wasps in Croke Park yesterday. It tied in nicely with the hook for the day. A "positive energy" programme will run through the 2010 ESB minor championship. The idea is to assist the young guns in striking a balance between the dual pressures of representing their county and still adequately battling through the Leaving Certificate.

Des Cahill had Ó Sé and Cork hurler John Gardiner yapping away to an attentive audience of present day minors in GAA corporate box 686. The seniors reminisced about their first taste of Croke Park as teenagers.

“The minors can be a stepping stone,” said Gardiner. “Embrace the year, use it to drive yourself on.”

Ó Sé is ideally placed to speak to these young men not only as a multiple All-Ireland winner but a teacher in Tralee CBS. “(The minors) is where you start off. It’s where you learn the trade. You can feel confident if you’ve done the work.”

“What if you haven’t the work done?” Cahill wonders.

The young footballers and hurlers could only be inspired by these giants of the modern game speaking of a time when they were in their shoes.

Afterwards, Ó Sé let us gather round and ask about a less than impressive league campaign as Kerry attempt to rebuild after the great exodus. Tadhg Kennelly is a Swan again in Sydney with his Celtic Cross stored away. Tommy Walsh followed him Down Under to sample the professional life with St Kilda. So did David Moran but he came back and flourished during the league. That helps as the great Darragh Ó Sé ended his career in the Kerry midfield. With Dublin’s Ciarán Whelan and Armagh’s Paul McGrane also gone, a great era of midfielders has ended.

“As years progress you’re always going to have midfielders let go, Teddy McCarthy and Willie Joe Padden were there and they come and they go and next Ciarán Whelan and John McDermott and Darragh Ó Sé come in and they go and now you’re going to have the next,” Marc Ó Sé calmly explains.

“It’s nature, it’s the way it happens so you’re just going to have to move on. I think there are great midfielders coming through, in Kerry the last day we had Séamus Scanlon who did very well. Tyrone’s midfield has shown very well in the League. The Dublin midfielder Fennell is playing fantastic.”

More than any other county, in Kerry they find a way to keep the blueblood footballers streaming through. It also helps that Mike McCarthy is back training again.

“It was a massive boost, he’s a fantastic footballer. He’s played corner-back, full-back, centre-back. He’s a footballer that if you threw him up corner-forward he wouldn’t be out of position. He’s just great on the ball, he gives great leadership, even though he’s a quiet man and having him back there when we thought he was gone . . . is a massive boost. It’s like getting two players.”

Yes, Marc Ó Sé made an interesting point yesterday. He found a positive theme despite the negative recent whisperings about the potential decline of Kerry.

“We won the league here last year and we probably didn’t learn that much out of it. We stumbled along for the championship last year. I think we have a more settled team this year. The management probably know what they’re looking at more so hopefully, you never know until you play championship what’s around the corner but hopefully it’ll stand to us. We’ve Tipperary in the first round and we can’t look beyond them.”

The exodus means there are fewer problems when it comes to team selection. You see, it’s all about generating positive energy.