Ken St Leger on Douglas hurling: We want an honest and open culture

Douglas have been impressive so far in the RedFM Hurling League Division 1.

They haven't made a mark on the Premier Senior Championship in recent seasons so picking up momentum is important in the first half of the year.

For manager Ken St Leger, the hard work will continue in the coming months.

St Leger was born on the other side of the river and played his hurling with the Dublin Hill outfit Delanys. However, 30 years ago, after getting married he moved to Douglas.

“Naturally, when your kids are brought up in the community, you tend to get an interest with the local club. That’s how it panned out for me as I got involved with coaching at underage level."

When landing at his new club, he knew a few of their players like Teddy O’Donovan from his Seandún playing days which made it easier to adapt.

“I got a call late last year as my last involvement at senior level was with the Seandún hurlers when they last competed in the championship. I really enjoyed that experience with Paul McCarthy and Mark Prendergast.

“After that, I went with the lads to Inniscarra and we won the Premier Intermediate county in 2022 and that was a good experience." 

After another season with Inniscarra, it was time to take a break to recharge the batteries after an eventful few years.

Douglas are motoring well so far, with four league wins under their belt.

“The first man I was introduced to was Vincent Hurley, the former Courcey Rovers player who had also coached with the Cork U20 and minor hurling teams. We spoke at length about what may be needed to get Douglas back playing competitive hurling.

“Getting Teddy O’Donovan involved was crucial and then we met Brian Kidney, who was a former Na Piarsaigh player who had moved to Douglas from Tracton. Right now we are working well together.” 

The first priority was to give some young players an opportunity to prove themselves.

“We have some good young talent like Mark O’Brien, Jack O’Brien, Liam Kelleher Eoin O’Flynn and Charlie Lucas to name a few that are all getting good pitch time and that was my intention early doors to ensure we had a broader squad. 

“We need to be bringing in younger players as it creates a bit of pressure and a competitive atmosphere in the squad.” 

Getting players to understand the game plan is crucial.

We need players to understand what’s required of them when they don the jersey and in consistent performances. So far we have no complaints.

“We are no different to any of the clubs, you are not going to have the complement of players available at this time of the season.” 

FOCUS

Although the league campaign is going really well, all eyes will be on their championship.

“Our opening game against Newtwonshandrum at Ballyhooly will be a major priority and it doesn’t get easier as we have Charleville next at Mallow before finishing against the champions Sarsfield’s so we know that there are some very difficult games ahead of us.” 

They are still a work in progress.

“We are not asking for miracles, but we are asking the players to follow what we ask them to do as we have some excellent coaches and in fairness, they have great rapport with the players.

It’s a two-way street as the players are entitled to ask questions if they don’t understand our tactics, as they cannot move forward with having full knowledge of what we expect. 

“What we want is an honest and open culture and if the players do their best that’s all we can ask of them and if they come off the field satisfied in what they produced in a game that’s all we can ask of them.”