Bertie Óg Murphy on his passion for hurling and getting involved with Sars minors
Sarsfields' Harry Cogan shoots as Douglas' Jerry O'Donovan closes in, during their Rebel Óg Premier 1 MHC clash at Douglas. Picture: David Keane.
Coaching at any level of sport is crucial and for Sarsfield's, getting quality people has become a priority.
In the Rebel Óg Premier 1 Minor Hurling Championship, Sars recently topped a tough group that included Glen Rovers, Douglas and Ballincollig. For long-serving Bertie Óg Murphy being part of the management team is giving him a huge buzz.
“I was approached last season and to be honest, I rate Kieran ‘Fraggie’ Murphy as an excellent head coach and the rest of the coaching team have all won county senior medals with the exception of myself,” Murphy said.
The coaching staff include Ronan Murphy, Cathal Duggan, Shane Collins, Cormac Duggan and Daniel Roche and all know how to get players motivated for the job in hand.
The response from the players as been excellent according to Bertie Og.
"Coming out of the group was a huge boost."
The present growing community in Glanmire and Riverstown is helping Sars as Murphy praised the commitment of all the players.
“We have three teams at this age and have 30-plus players at every session and for me watching players, I can see guys progressing all the time and that augurs well for the future."
So after watching players in this grade over many decades how does Murphy rate the present standard in his beloved county?
“It is very competitive as all teams have quality hurlers and realistically on any given day you can be beaten so it’s a case of having your players ready and hoping they do the business."
Murphy believes the modern Rebel Óg board run very well-organised championships.
“I knew very little about Rebel Óg until 12 months ago when getting involved with the minor team and the idea of having championship games home and away is a great idea.
“Rebel Óg are very well structured as you know a month in advance when your games are scheduled to be played and playing hurling and football on a fortnightly basis also suits the dual clubs."
Having good referees and umpires on a regular basis was also mentioned by Murphy as he believes clubs will benefit in the long run.
The recent opening of the Teddy McCarthy Park at Riverstown, plus the excellence of the club senior hurling team, means Sars are in a good place.
“I think we will have to learn never to take our eye off the ball as you saw what happened to the Glen and Na Piarsaigh, two great clubs who suffered relegation.
“In fairness, the Glen bounced back quickly and let’s hope Na Piarsaigh follow as city hurling needs good clubs and competitive hurling.
After attending Coláiste Chríost Rí, he learned how Nemo Rangers have operated over many years.
“I got to learn that Nemo might not have had super minor or U21 players over the year’s but they consistently found the key when it came to coaching and bringing players on to play at the top tier of the sport.”
Last season, Sarsfields managed to reach the All-Ireland club final, a memorable day despite the defeat.
“First of all, winning the Munster club championship was a major achievement as the cup was named after our founder member Billy O’Neill. It was a very emotional day with all his family in attendance.
“The All-Ireland final was a disappointing result but to see the Sars colours at Croke Park was a sight to behold. After that experience, we should now be looking to get back there again."
Life is presently great for Bertie Óg and his wife Dorothy, as being involved in a sport that you have graced for almost 60 years is always a good feeling.
“When I look at the lads that I am now involved with in the minor set-up I actually coached every one of them at some stage of their careers. It would be nice if we could finish the season on a high.”
They'll be strong favourites against St Colman's in the semi-final on Wednesday week in the Mardyke, with Midleton and Douglas on the other side of the draw.
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