By John Harrington

One of the primary lessons that coaches try to impart to players from a young age is to give the ball to the player in a better position.

You might think that the elite players would have a firm grasp of that basic, but it’s not always the case.

In fact, if you’re used to being the main man for your club team, the number one shooter who is expected to carry the burden of scoring, then instinctively knowing when to be a smaller cog in the machine at inter-county level doesn’t come easily.

The current Armagh football panel has no shortage of natural scorers with players like Stefan Campbell, Rian O'Neill, Oisin O'Neill, Ruairi Grugan, Ross McQuillan, and Conor Turbitt to call on.

It was telling, though, that when Kieran McGeeney spoke last month about why he had brought Kieran Donaghy into his backroom team that he suggested his forwards needed to get better at playing as a unit rather than individuals.

“The reason I went after Kieran was Kieran made a career out of bringing other people into the game and I just think that’s something we were still missing in Armagh," admitted McGeeney.

“It’s sometimes hard to explain to people. Sometimes, I think you can have too many good forwards.

“You need people to make them tick, a bit like (Ciarán) Kilkenny does for Dublin, like Kieran would have done for Kerry, things like that. I just thought Kieran would have that type of background in his basketball too.”

Donaghy himself is more than happy to have been tasked with helping the Armagh forwards become a more cohesive, selfless unit.

Taking the percentage option rather than going for glory himself was a big part not just of his own game in his playing days, but the ethos that made Kerry such a successful team in that era.

“I think for any team to be successful, decision making when it comes to shot selection is important," says Donaghy. "I would have been like that coming from a basketball perspective as a player, when I came into the Kerry dressing room I would have never cared about scoring.

“I would have seen an assist as good as a score whereas I think at that time in 2004, 2005 when I was coming into the Kerry squad, assists weren't really a big deal. So trying to make an assist a big deal during my Kerry time was something I'd have done naturally.

“I think people started seeing the value in that. And then someone like Colm Cooper, unfortunately I couldn't go and score 1-10 in every game but he could, but he often chose not to. He often chose to give it to the guy in the best position. Even with my basketball camps, I'd be coaching kids and I'd often call the best player aside. I'd say, 'When you get into the lane, I know you can score, I've seen you score.

“We're in the third day of the camp and I can see what you can bring to the team, but you know what? This kid hasn't scored yet in three days. So if you can go in there and tell him to stand in there and give him a ball, he's going to feel great about himself.'

“And if you can get that level of understanding, bring it from that very basic explaining level to a top elite sports team where everybody is feeling better about each other and everybody is chipping in with a score, everybody is looking for the guy now that can get the assists as well.

“And that unselfishness which is a big part of my philosophy as a coach that the best player in the best position gets the ball every time. And I don't care who scores so you're not going to impress me by scoring, you're going to impress me by making the right decisions and in fairness to the guys we've got some fantastic footballers who are well able to put it over the bar.

“They're doing a great job on that side of the ball and making each other look good at times and giving it to the guy in the best position and not forcing things. Our wide count is quite good so it's obviously something every team out there is trying to improve on and it's all stemming from what Dublin do.

“They get the ball up the pitch, they work it to the right position and they're the best team. So you've got to take traits they're bringing and try work on that as well. That's one of the tings I'm trying to work on with the guys and they've been very good so far.”

Donaghy is still a relatively inexperienced coach, but feels like he’s in a great place to learn alongside one of the most experienced inter-county managers in Kieran McGeeney.

Between his time with Kildare and now Armagh, McGeeney has managed at the highest level of the game for 12 years unbroken.

“He's very direct, he's very thoughtful about what he does,” says Donaghy of McGeeney. “The prep that goes in away from the group is at a very high level, I would say. He's challenging me and Ciaran McKeever and Denis Hollywood as a backroom team. He's challenging Ciaran McKinney as a goalkeeping coach. He's been very open to our ideas and stuff that we're looking at.

“I ask him for feedback all the time and he's very honest and that's what I want as a guy who's trying to learn from him and learn the ropes of what a coach and selector can bring to a group. So, yeah, he's been brilliant to deal with.

“I talked to Johnny Doyle in Kildare before I took the job because I knew Kieran from playing with him and I knew the backroom team. Johnny told me how highly they spoke of and thought of him in Kildare in the six years he was there and how upset they were when he was leaving kind of proves what he is to the group.

“This is his sixth year here now in Armagh so I think if a manager has that type of longevity then his players know that he'll do anything for them. He's been really, really good to work with so far.”