Magee enjoying helping Westmeath GAA build for the future

By Cian O’Connell

Something is stirring in Westmeath GAA.

Another Leinster SFC Semi-Final is on the agenda for Mark McHugh’s outfit against Kildare at Glenisk O’Connor Park on Sunday. That is an intriguing assignment with all sorts of implications for the rest of the inter-county campaign.

The flagship football team in the county has competed well in recent years, underlining the work carried out by clubs and schools throughout the county.

Former Kilmacud Crokes and Dublin footballer Darren Magee is Westmeath’s Games Development Manager. Affording emerging players opportunities is critical and trying to connect the various units matters deeply.

At underage and post primary level the signs are encouraging, illustrated by Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar’s Hogan Cup triumph.

It means that there is significant hope in Westmeath again. “At the moment, maybe, Westmeath is reaping the rewards of some of the stuff that has been done in the last number of years,” Magee says.

“My position as Head of Games in the last five or six years, and my predecessor before that, Noel Delaney, he put in a good amount of work.

“It's all a combination of the players, coaches, and clubs, and the buy-in factor of supporting what the county is doing, and the structures that have been put in place.

“You've that pathway there, over the last number of years the County Board has invested in the coaching and games side of things with the structures put in place, and how we're focusing on the programmes that are there.

“It's about exposing the kids to Gaelic games, that takes a while. At the moment, it seems to be going well, but tomorrow that could all change.”

The planning and plotting, though, never stops. In both codes they’re trying to build for a bright future. “In hurling, we use Lakeland Óg as an open training session for all, it also served as a purpose for talent identification, and it brings coaches in from clubs,” Magee explains.

“With their support, they're able to help identify players, but also offer hurling to players that mightn't necessarily be getting hurling at that time of the year. So, it served two purposes. On the football side, it can be a bit more challenging because numbers are bigger.

“We try to keep the process open, as much as you can, in terms of running sessions that are geared to be talent identification.

“You try to put a programme in place where consistency is the key. The calendar is so condensed with the clubs; we're trying as best we can. We try to give an S&C athletic development programme, where players can get to these sessions.

“We might offer it in a gym environment one day a week and also then on the field with athletic development, working on mechanics before the actual session.”

Blending full-time staff with volunteer coaches has helped the development according to Magee. “What we’d do is we'd assign a GDC to work with hurling and football at U16, U15, and at U14 we'd have two staff members working individually with the football and hurling because it's a bigger animal there with more numbers,” he adds.

“So, that helps managing the dual aspect of it, managing those conversations between the player, coaches, and parents.

“You're able to say this weekend is a football weekend so the dual players will be coming this way and vice versa. We try to be fair for the dual player. You'd still have the squads training even if they have their dual players or not.

“If they're dual players that they're able to go up through the system. You're only as good as the volunteer or the coaches, who put their hand up. Over the last number of years, we've good volunteers.

“We're lucky that they give up their time and that they want to do it for Westmeath. We've a mixture of parents, who're managers and coaches, and this year we've a sprinkling of different coaches, who aren't parents. That brings a different element and dynamic to a group.”

In Leinster Colleges competitions Westmeath schools have competed well recently. “There is a good nucleus of work being done in post primary schools,” Magee responds.

“The teachers involved, the consistency of hurling and football is a combination of all of that. You've a cohort of lads with the CBS, who did well on the football side, but also, they're competing in A hurling. Playing at that higher level at a consistent basis has helped. There is a good crop of lads coming through.”

Winning the inaugural Tailteann Cup in 2022 was a boost for Westmeath and Magee acknowledges the efforts of the senior football management set-ups in the intervening years aiding young talent. “If you look at Jack Cooney, the amount of work he put in there, Dessie (Dolan) went after him, continued it on,” Magee reflects.

“You'd Dermot McCabe last year and the continuity of Mark McHugh being there from last year.

“There has been a response. Just having that consistency, a good quality of coaching across the full spectrum between everybody, it just seems to be coming to fruition at different stages.

“We're just lucky at the moment that we're getting the results. You could have a conversation soon; it could be different.”

The collaboration between County Board and Leinster GAA is hugely important. “To be fair to Frank Mescall, County chair last year into Paddy Wallace and Keith Quinn, who has been there as secretary and operations manager Pat Doherty, and Alan Mulhall (Leinster GAA Coaching & Games Manager), the big thing for any one of us is to see what can continue here,” Magee says.

“We're only as good as what we leave behind. So, what can continue? I've always looked at it in that sense.

“I'm the Head of Games, with the support of the county entrusted on myself, we look at the needs of a club. We need to go back to the needs of the club. With a club we need to get as much exposure of our staff into a club environment across coach education and that helps.”

Ensuring that the clubs are catered for adequately is critical for Magee. “You've four GDCs, who work regionally with a number of different clubs,” he says.

“They'd be set the task of running the programmes that are there nationally from your coach education, your Go Games, your schools coaching, and so on. Over the last two or three years we've been working closely with our post primary schools.

“Then, you've got your promotional officers, that work directly on the ground with clubs. We've four at the moment; they work across two or three clubs.

“You'd have Luke Loughlin with ourselves, he's with Mullingar Shamrocks and St Oliver Plunkett's. You've Jason Daly working with Moate and Tubberclair as a football development officer and doing some of schools coaching in other areas. You've Philomena Kennedy working with Garrycastle and Southern Gaels.

“Within our GDCs we've also got Robbie Forde and the recently retired Kieran Martin. We've been very lucky that we've got those and the balance right. The important thing is they're all Westmeath people; they know the county inside out.

“The relationships they have with the structures around them has helped in a number of areas. We've a vision of meeting the needs of the clubs as best we can with the hours we have.”

Magee wants that work to be reflected at every grade of inter-county action. “At the top level, you inherit what comes from the clubs really,” he says.

“If we can get as many kids playing as long as possible in school, outside of school, clubs, in all of the different environments.

“Fundamentally, we've gone after that space, looking at how can we do this better? How can we have our games played in schools more? How can we get more games opportunities for kids?”

Rural and urban clubs must be catered for. “It isn't a one shoe fits all, it's about being adaptable,” Magee says.

“If you go into a Mullingar Shamrocks or St Loman's, you could run a coaching course where you might have 15 or 16 coaches that need to do that. A smaller club might only have one or two.

“What we end up doing is regionally pooling clubs together, and that seems to be working well. We'd put similar size clubs together and like-minded people within these coaches to run workshops for those.”

Magee has embraced the role. Throughout his life as a player and coach, Magee has seen Gaelic games in different ways. “I live in Athlone, I've been lucky,” Magee says.

“The playing career with club and county, and I started off with Clan na nGael Fontenoy, went down to Arklow for four or five years, and back up to Dublin as a promotional officer in Geraldines Morans.

“So, I've been lucky in a sense to be able to see the Dublin environment and the county environment, too. Coming down here, you've the big towns like Athlone and Mullingar. So, you've the rural and urban, and how the dynamic works.”

A player centred approach is key. “What you're trying to advocate is that if there is a child that walks into a GAA club and it's the very first day, what is their journey going to look like?,” Magee says.

“If they say to you, I want to play Gaelic games, hurling or football, and what are you going to do for me? We need to do as best we can for that child, whether it's in a club environment, school environment or going to college.

“That's the way I've looked at it, what can we do for the child or the player that wants to play our games and what can we do to put structures in place to allow that player or child play in different environments. Club will have its on and off season, but in the on and off season what does the school look like?

“Do we have junior teams, do we have first- and second-class mini blitzes? In our post primary schools, in first year, do we run Super 7s for those stepping out of playing Cumann na mBunscoil? That's what really has dictated the conversation when I meet staff or the County Board and their support for me in the role.”

The journey continues. “By any stretch of the imagination, you're not perfect, you're learning as you go along, but the big thing is being adaptive to the environment and being reactive then at the same time,” Magee adds.

“If something needs to be done or changed, that you can do it. You're only as good as the team around you and the volunteers. It's them and the staff, who you want to thank, and I try to have a good working relationship with everyone.”