A tornado of F3 status is significant — wind speeds can reach 257km/h (160mph). Everything that is not firmly fixed is ripped into chaos. That’s what speed does, it creates chaos.
Last weekend, Mayo’s David McBrien broke from the halfway line. He whizzed by five Galway players, covering 70m and heading for the black spot. He gave a one-two with Aidan O’Shea. A composed finish with the side of his right foot. Game changed.
Look at Monaghan’s Conor McCarthy versus Kildare the previous evening. Drawn game with no time left. Two Kildare players rapidly closing from in front and one chasing from behind. His speed wasn’t so much over the ground, it was more technical — finding a way to shift his body to quickly get his shot off before he was blocked or dispossessed. Monaghan win by one.
And then there is the speed of thought, where some players consistently find themselves in the best positions. Colm Cooper, Andy Moran and Bernard Brogan spring to my mind here. Like snooker players, they were always plays ahead. For years. And as a defender, if your attention lapsed for a second, you were dead. A relentless and intriguing game of focus.
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At certain points in games, there is a need to manage momentum. Tactically, there is always a trend in a game that’s either going for you or against you. That calls for players to make a decision call on the pitch, either to propel that trend forward or curtail it. Stephen Cluxton pushing up on Killian Spillane in 2019 when Dublin were down to 14 players is a good example. High levels of awareness. Rapid decisions. Speed is critical.
My own club Na Fianna had a staggering 950 children at their mini-league finals day last weekend. They’re getting exposure to greater levels of holistic development from earlier ages than has ever been the case before. This is consistently translating to higher standards years later. The rising quality of physical, technical and mental speed at a senior intercounty level is palpable and it is largely due to the quality of volunteer club coaching taking place across the country.
This weekend, if you are looking, examples of all three types of speed will be stitched across each game in Croke Park. The time to do something or to be somewhere on the pitch is slashed.
What other areas of speed are deemed important now?
To be a fly on the wall in any intercounty team environment now would be interesting. They will all be busy helping to get things done — logistics, facilities, equipment, gear and the plethora of performance elements such as nutrition and recovery options. Speed.
Keep pulling on this thread of speed. What do you find now that is critical? This specific question has my antenna up this week. Ten teams are left in the two football championships. Each will have a different context.
As of 8.40am last Monday, the players knew their opposition for this weekend’s Sam Maguire competition. Six days for some, seven for others. Although plenty of time, the pace noticeably increases at this point. What you choose to do next as a player is decisive.
Do I need to call my boss to take work off Friday or Monday? What team do I now have to study in detail? When will I fit it in with team training? What direct opponents might I come up against? Do I have something relevant in my notebook that could help my team-mate? Aside from personal preparation, at what velocity is the team operating?
A team too quick to draw an assumption might not cover a potential blind spot. In the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final, Donegal exposed Dublin’s approach of going man-to-man everywhere. Donegal scored three goals. It is a memory that remains so vivid in my mind.
The goals came down the middle of the pitch — it was my centre-back position that was at fault. And we couldn’t say afterwards that we didn’t prepare for the game. We prepared bone deep. But we were too quick to assume this approach was going to work in this game.
A game unfolds in thousands of ways. For example, Derry in their six games to date have 18 different scorers. They present options from all angles and all lines. So, if Cork take too long thinking through every specific player or pattern, they might be giving up valuable time to other relevant points. And what you cover is too shallow to stick.
Added to all of this, Croke Park holds certain questions revealed only in the moment. Dublin have played Mayo 10 times in the past 11 years. A full house will bring an exciting energy of a different level. Expectation is heightened now, way beyond any previous games in the season to date. Emotions will ride higher. Like the tornado, Croke Park too can cause chaos.
This weekend eight teams will compete — each one of them will believe in their core they have the quality to win. And they do.
Monaghan’s Karl O’Connell won a 40-60 break with a minute to go last weekend against Kildare. A minute later his side were victorious. His desire got him there. I suspect in each game this weekend something similar will present itself. Clutch moments where an urgency will be the difference.
Right in the centre of any tornado is where it is most calm. This weekend that’s where the best players and teams will operate. Seeing the absolute chaos swirling about them while they stand right in the centre, still and perfectly present.
