By John Harrington

The Defence Forces Gaelic Football team was the first side that Jim Gavin managed.

That's fitting, because his military background has heavily informed and influenced his approach to management ever since.

“I would have been a flight instructor in the Air Corps so that's teaching and coaching is really teaching, the same principles and methods of instruction apply,” says Gavin.

“I've used a lot that I've learned in aviation in terms of instruction on the training field, because there's lots of synergies there. It's the same thing, you're training people.”

Perhaps Hollywood is to blame, but when you ponder what a military approach to management might be the image of a screaming drill-sergeant comes to mind.

Gavin certainly doesn’t fit that mould, though. And he disputes the belief too that a military approach to commanding is a top-down, 'one size fits all' model where individualism isn’t tolerated.

“That's the way you might perceive the military to be, but, you know, good military systems and good military commanders would understand that Platoon or Company is the sum of its parts,” he says.

“It's the individual components that make it unique. It's the same in the field of commercial aviation.

“Like, commercial aviation is a very process-driven industry. That's why it's so safe. When you jump on an Air Bus at the front end you'll see two pilots on the flight-deck.

“But, behind them is the cabin-crew, behind them is the baggage-handlers, behind them is the engineers, the refuellers, the aircraft security, the air-traffic control, the ground-handlers, the fire-service.

“It's all very regimented, but the strength of it is that you have people following that particular process and within they can express their individuality.

“It's the same process in any dressing-room. You have 30 players and a system you want to play to and a game-plan, but you want those players to express their uniqueness because that's what makes them special, that expression piece on the field of play.”

It was traditionally a GAA manager’s responsibility to have his team so fired up before a match they’d almost take the door off its hinges on the way out.

At the highest level now, though, most players would tell you that those days are gone and it’s more important to have ice in your veins rather than fire in your belly because the game is so tactical and you can’t have your thinking-process clouded by emotion.

It’s certainly hard to imagine Gavin being the sort who gives stirring orations in the dressing-room, but you’d easily believe he’s the best in the business at preparing a team to the nth degree and ensuring every box possible is ticked so they’re in a position to deliver an optimal performance.

He’s lucky too he has a very competitive and motivated panel to work with which means his role is more a facilitator than a manager who needs to crack that whip.

“We are very fortunate to have an intelligent group of players,” says Gavin. “And they have a mind-set…they have a great passion for learning and trying to build on previous performances.

“They’re very analytical thing about themselves. And there’s a continuous mentality to keep growing and keep learning from games, whether we win, lose or draw.

“The process always remains the same. I suppose a lot of it has got to do with the experience that they have gone through in the last number of years.

“I suppose most of the squad have played either with minor or Under 21 campaigns. So there’s a bank of experience there that they rely on.

“But there’s also a great trust there amongst the group. And between the player group and the management group. There’s a very strong trust there.

“And great belief in what we’re doing. And in times of stress, for people outside looking in, the players can remain composed and concentrate on the game in hand. And try to make those right decisions to seek out the win.”

Gavin would much prefer to be in the trenches with them than watching on from a distance.

He insists that winning an All-Ireland as a manager is “absolutely” in no way comparable to the one he won as a player in 1995. One of Gavin’s favourite lines is, “it’s a players game”, but he will at least admit to taking some satisfaction from helping these Dublin players be the best they can be.

“There's great satisfaction from seeing people be there best and to self-actualise,” he says. “Absolutely, that's the enjoyable bit.

“There's satisfaction from seeing the players perform. In those circumstances, from a management perspective. Because myself and the management team don't kick the ball or put those tackles in or make those passes. The players do it, so it's the players game.

“The manager's job is to sync those moving parts and get them to work in harmony. Yeah, that's the satisfying bit, seeing those players collectively put the performance in.”

Like a well-oiled Military machine.