Togetherness is the key to minor success story

The predominant word to describe the Meath minor foootball camp is togetherness. After every game, players and management alike have spoken about the great atmosphere that prevails and they have attributed the team"s ongoing success to the camraderie enjoyed by everyone involved. Manager Pat Coyle is the captain of the crew and his band of enthusiastic lieutenants have ensured a smooth running of the good ship that represents Meath minor football. No man is an island and so it is with the help of an exceptional backroom team that Coyle and Meath have advanced to an All-Ireland MFC semi-final against Tyrone. Plucked from virtual obscurity to guide the fortunes of the Meath minors, many of the names on Coyle"s lists of assistants are not household handles, but to the players, the five wise men have become father-figures, with most of them being involved with the management since under-14 level. It is that level of consistency that has benefited Meath football this year and something that has been absent for a while. Coyle and his management team are often referred to as the proverbial duck. He is the cool, calm and collected exterior of the set-up, but his backroom team are working furiously below the surface to make sure this Meath side is going places. Coyle"s experience is crucial, but he also has drawn from the wealth of knowledge available to him from selectors Paul Clarke, Martin Blake, Richie Cahill and James Battersby. All men have an extensive knowledge of coaching under-age in the county and Battersby"s experience as a former coaching and games development officer with Meath GAA has brought a valuable component to the minor contingent. 'It is a great honour to be involved with this minor team and everyone"s input is vital in getting us this far. Pat Coyle is a great manager and his relationship with the players is brilliant. All the lads respect him and it is his skills that have helped get the lads this far,' said Battersby who won three Meath SFC medals with Skryne. 'The other selectors all have a great knowledge of the game and I suppose we all bring something different to the table. That has helped with the progression of the team. 'It is an all-round team effort. The players have worked very hard this year and to be fair to them they have worked hard for us every year since they came together at under-14 level. 'The fact that the players all know each other so well is crucial to what they have achieved so far. The majority of the panel is the same as it was three or four years ago and some of them have also won the Gerry Reilly u-16 FT. 'It is a new departure for the Minor committee to maintain a management team through the ranks and so far it has worked, but we have our aims set on reaching an All-Ireland final and we know it is going to take a tremendous effort to get past Tyrone. 'We played them in the Ulster MFL final and brought them to a replay. It was unfortunate that the replay was fixed for the week after our win over Dublin in the Leinster MFC. A lot of our players were exhausted and that told, but we will be a lot fresher on Sunday than we were that day and hopefully we can get the right result. 'Some of our performances haven"t been as good as we know the lads are capable of, but there were definite signs of improvement against Tipperary in the quarter-final at Portlaoise. 'Against Offaly in the Leinster final, some of the players were nervous, but with that experience under their belts they should have no fear of playing in the huge stadium. 'It has been hugely enjoyable so far this year, but we need to take it a step further. If we can get to an All-Ireland final it would be a major boost for football in the county, but there is a lot of hard work to be done yet,' concluded Battersby.