McGrath sowing the seeds of success for De La Salle

DEREK MCGRATH may be just 34 but he has already enjoyed an impressive coaching career.

McGrath began his coaching career in his early twenties as he was starting out as a teacher in Waterford’s renowned De La Salle college. That was in 1999, and under manager Seamus Quirke, McGrath coached the local U14 team to a Féile Division Two title and repeated the feat four years later.

But those were just the seeds for later and greater success.

In 2007 and 2008, De La Salle college won consecutive titles in the fabled Munster Colleges Dr Harty Cup and followed those with All-Ireland crowns.

Coaching that team, this time alongside another De La Salle native Dermot Dooley, was Derek McGrath.

One Sunday, backboned by many of those from both the Féile and the colleges All-Ireland successes, the De La Salle senior team face favourites Thurles Sarsfields in the Munster club final in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Derek McGrath is involved yet again. But not in a coaching capacity.

“Well I’m on the panel, I’m not doing any official coaching or anything like that. I’m helping out a bit on the sideline, that’s all but not anything I could take any credit for!

“I’ve been on the panel for the best part of 20 years. I was there in the disastrous years for De La Salle when these type of games — a second Munster final in three years, two county senior titles — weren’t even a dream.

“I missed the final two years ago through injury. I missed the whole year in fact (though he did star in the All-Ireland semi-finals win over Cushendall of Antrim early in 2008, his first game in 14 months).

“I’m probably the elder statesman on the team. I came on in the Waterford final this year and I was delighted with that – it was nice to get ten minutes on the pitch, whether it was done out of sentimentality or not.”

Still making a contribution then, on and off the pitch; just yesterday his younger charges from the school were beaten in a Dean Ryan Cup final.

And it’s from those underage successes, that the senior glory has been built.

He explained: “Those All-Ireland wins at the different levels were very important, it gave them all a winning mentality. You look at the likes of Eddie Barrett, Eoin Madigan, Stephen Daniels, and now Jake Dillon. They’re all mainstays of this team now and they were mainstays of the college teams. You get that winning mentality and bring it forward – some of these fellas were also involved in the winning Féile teams in 1999 and 2003 so all along they’ve become used to winning.

“It was a case of making the breakthrough, winning that first title, and once we did — with the college and with the club — it becomes easier. I read in a local paper lately that De La Salle are now firmly established as Waterford’s leading club, and the secret of that was bringing through all those guys who have established a winning pattern, who have developed a winning attitude. They’re a fierce honest bunch with a nice bit of humility about them. The example is set by John Mullane – there’s no big ego on the team, it’s all nicely set up, everyone goes out and plays for each other. That is the essence of the team.”

How much of all that, however, was established in the school?

“Our mantra was always the same, to let them express themselves; to create a nice warm, friendly atmosphere where fellas could be happy, but at the same time be able to take constructive criticism.

“They’re all intelligent, it’s a case now of letting them go out and express themselves. Nowadays, the more praise you give a player the better he performs, whereas in the old days it was nearly the opposite. The days of coming down hard on a player are nearly gone. These guys have become a very self-motivated bunch, self-propelled, which is what you want – you don’t want management dictating, just guiding.”

And that’s what Derek McGrath will be doing Sunday; even if he’s not an official part of the management set-up, even if he’s not on the starting 15, he will still be there, watching, assessing, guiding.