Tony Browne: passionate to get things right at Under-21 level.
At this stage, I know Tony Browne for over 20 years. I’ve played club and county along side ‘Browner’ and can readily admit that without Tony I’d have far fewer championship medals.
On my first night at training with Mount Sion back in 1994, the first person over to welcome me was Tony Browne, “any lad that can hurl is welcome in Mount Sion”.
Tony is the player with the greatest hurling intelligence I’ve ever played with. His ability to be in the right place at the right time is unrivalled.
Do you remember Tony scoring Championship goals against Kilkenny (’98), Tipp (’02) and Cork (2010)? You sometimes wondered what Tony was doing that far up the field but you always thought Tony knew best, he could see things that others couldn’t.
To be selected as Hurler of the Year back in 1998 even though Waterford failed to reach the All-Ireland speaks volumes for his ability as a hurler.
This year Tony Browne rode shotgun beside Derek Lyons as the Waterford Under-21 hurler’s assistant manager.
Last week, Tony penned a ‘state of the nation’ type of address regarding U-21 hurling in Waterford.
The article which appeared in this paper and was carried in summary in the Irish Examiner is sure to be the subject of much discussion and debate throughout the county.
Having experienced U-21 hurling at close quarters this year Tony has made some important if stark assessments.
The former All-Star described the grade as being “lost in Waterford” and spoke about difficulties at managing at this grade, suggesting that we’re “at least three years behind the top teams and playing catch up”.
Tony, you may recall, also has plenty of playing experience at this grade himself. The last (and only) occasion the ‘Cross of Cashel’ trophy travelled to the Crystal city was back in 1992 with a certain Tony Browne as captain. Browne was still U-21 in 1994 when Waterford won their second Munster title at this grade. It’s safe to say Tony knows a thing or two about winning at U-21 grade.
Browne reminds us that as a U-21 player himself that underage hurling always took priority and his commitment to the U-21 grade didn’t obstruct his preparations for senior level, it enhanced it. This, I think is a key message from Tony.
Like Tony I too was fortunate enough to be part of a successful U-21 team. In 1995 I lined up beside the likes of Tommy Dunne, Brendan Cummins, Paul Shelly and Eddie Enright who like me were also part of the senior panel at the time.
It’s remarkable that although some 20 years ago the structure in the grade was exactly the same. It’s straight knock-out and you invariably play three days before or after the seniors.
In 1995 we played Limerick in the opening three days after losing to the same opposition at senior level.
This game was played at the Gaelic Grounds and, senior panellist or not, after a poor start I was hauled off.
We then played Cork in the semi-final at Thurles. Prior to the game we met up in St Pat’s training college for a puck around.
The manager Michael Doyle and selector Jerry O’Brien called me into a room on my own. They had a slip of paper with my name on it and if I didn’t perform they were going to be quick to use it.
This was the kind of tough love in vogue at the time but you knew where you stood. The first ball I went for that night had me sandwiched between two Cork players the result of which left me prostate on the ground, coughing up blood.
This was Championship so there was no time for lying on the ground. I was adamant that the slip of paper with my name on it would never see the light of day. Things worked out and we went to win both Munster and All-Ireland titles.
Like Tony I was, first and foremost, an U-21 player who just happened to also to be on the senior panel.
Playing and training with the U-21s was part and parcel of your overall hurling development. The senior management always watched your U-21 games, even challenge games.
Guys not performing at U-21 level were frequently released from the senior panel while the opposite is also true. If a lad played well for the U-21s he was often drafted into the senior set-up.
There was no such thing as fixed panels, players came and went depending on their form for their clubs as well as in training and challenge matches. Winning at U-21 mattered, mattered hugely.
Browne pin-points Clare and Limerick as the trend setters at this grade. He notes their enthusiasm and energy for the U-21 Championship and how they have invested in this grade. Harmony, balance, joined up thinking are all words Tony associates with these successful set ups.
Tony calls on all (“top table down and including players”) to prioritise the grade and invest in it.
The elephant in the room of course is the difficulty in preparing the U-21 hurling team when so many of these players are part of Derek McGrath’s senior squad.
This year, 14 U-21s were training with the seniors which posed a real dilemma for Derek Lyons and his management.
How can you adequately prepare any team if your players are unavailable to train and play challenge games with you? With great difficulty is the answer I’m afraid.
The Munster semi-final against Clare in Ennis came three days after the Munster Senior Final, leaving Derek & Co with little time to work with their full panel. That’s a problem.
In his post-match interview that night, Banner boss Michael Moloney said he believed that Waterford were a better team with better players but Clare had been preparing for this game for months.
At the start of the year, Derek Lyons initiated a series of challenge games for the Waterford U-21s to play against the county’s 12 senior clubs.
This was a great idea but unfortunately, with so few of the front line players made available to play in these games, their significance was greatly reduced.
I believe a number of the ‘14’ U-21 players would have benefited more from concentrating on that grade rather than being full-time members of the senior squad. They really should be U-21 players’ first and senior players second.
I certainly believe that if you’re good enough you’re old enough, but do we honestly believe all 14 were good enough for senior inter-county this year?
The likes of Austin Gleeson, Patrick Curran, Tadhg de Búrca, Shane Bennett, Stephen Bennett, Tom Devine and Colin Dunford are players of exceptional ability worthy of any senior panel – their talent has proven that.
But other young players need more time to develop and U-21 is the ideal vehicle to ensure a smooth transition from minor to senior.
Next year’s U-21 panel will, no doubt, largely consist of players from the All-Ireland minor winning side of 2013.
Like this year we will have a panel of players that have the potential to win titles. We really can’t afford to pass up on this opportunity by not giving the U-21 players and management the best possible opportunity to achieve success.
All-Ireland titles at any grade in Waterford remain akin to hen’s teeth. But these kids have done it at minor level. They have proven they can perform at the highest level when the pressure is greatest in the Croke Park cauldron.
Winning at U-21 needs to be a priority for this bunch of talented players and they must be available to train and play as a separate entity. After all, we’ve tried the opposite and it hasn’t worked.
If things don’t change, they tend to stay the same – and when Tony Browne speaks, we should all listen.
