'For Ben O'Connor, winning always went hand-in-hand with player development'

When Bernie O'Connor coached Newtownshandrum through their golden age of hurling success, their short-passing playing style was born of pragmatism.

They hadn't the size of other teams, but they could run and pass to funnel the sliotar to the key scorers. 

At the time, it was controversial. Now, it is commonplace.

It became the template for Cork's All-Ireland successes of the mid-2000s. Still, there were always variations.

In the 2005 final triumph, they gazumped Galway by abandoning their famous short puck-out. 

When a repositioned Ben O'Connor got his early goal, it came from Diarmuid O'Sullivan drilling a long delivery down to the Hill.

"We were trying to get the ball into the full-forward line faster," said the goal-scoring man of the match. "That might only be a split-second faster, but it all counts.

"We didn't abandon our game plan altogether, we only hit the long ball when it was the right thing to do."

NEW AGE

Having grown up with such an innovative coach for a father, and carried that new-age style into his inter-county career, you'd be forgiven for thinking O'Connor is a devotee for that possession game. 

An interesting wrinkle when Pat Ryan has been so lauded for bringing back the three-man full-forward line and increasing the supply of long balls to their inside targets.

In all his interviews, though, O'Connor comes across as a logical thinker. Examine the parts you have and build a system from there. The goal will always be to maximise your possessions through whichever route fits best.

He is a straight-talker who brought a skillful style and a hard edge to the 20s team that won an All-Ireland under his stewardship. 

For O'Connor, winning always went hand-in-hand with player development. He is willing to take a calculated gamble. 

The following year with the 20s, O'Connor drafted in football captain Hugh O'Connor as a rabbit from the hat for his inter-county hurling debut in a Munster semi-final triumph over Clare.

He will stick to his guns too. If he was playing a game and the crowd started getting their hackles up over the short passing, O'Connor might add in another ornamental pass before taking the score, just to drive them mad altogether.

For his first steps in management, O'Connor led Charleville and Midleton to county titles in 2018 and '21. 

In the former job, the North Cork town reached an All-Ireland Intermediate final with a team built on running the ball through the lines and tireless support play. The type that would draw the best from key man Darragh Fitzgibbon.

With the Magpies, O'Connor entered a club which didn't tend to look outside the locality. 

He was credited with brave selection calls to refresh the team and the variation in their play. As a forward, he coached his outfield players to deliver the ball as he'd have liked to receive it. From that team, Conor Lehane, Tommy O'Connell, and Bríon Saunderson will hope to get chances under the new man.

O'Connor has played and watched countless club championship matches over the years, but this weekend will be his first scouting for Cork seniors as the head honcho.

A clutch of his U20 proteges will be out to catch the eye too. Ben Cunningham, William Buckley, Darragh O'Sullivan, Micheál Mullins, and Jack Leahy have potential to make the step up. The skillsets of many up-and-coming talents, such as Diarmuid Healy, may feed into that give-and-go passing style.

O'Connor likes a phrase about young players: If you're good enough, you're old enough. 

It applied to his own county career, winning an All-Ireland at 20 among Jimmy Barry-Murphy's wave of newcomers. Many will feel the window of opportunity come ajar ahead of 2026.

HIGH STANDARDS

Like his playing career, O'Connor will aim to make a quick step up to senior management. The same metric of silverware will be his barometer for success. Those are the high standards by which he has always held himself to account.

His predecessor spoke last week about limiting your mistakes in the first year while you adapt to the role and progressing from there.  Whether he seeks out those insights from Ryan or not, O'Connor will be his own man.

Andy Moran spoke about getting the Mayo job while he had the youth, energy, and freshness to address the 24/7 demands of such an elevated role.

The 41-year-old had gone to Leitrim and Monaghan to build experience. 

At 46, O'Connor has accumulated an impressive coaching CV within the county bounds in the years since retirement. He is not just in touch with the modern game, but at its cutting edge.

How he tailors his approach to the Cork set-up will be fascinating to see.