‘Rock’ ready to mould next line of Rebels

Diarmuid O’Sullivan hopes that he can use his experiences as a Cork hurler to help mould the next generation of Rebel stars.

O’Sullivan has taken up the position as a coach of the county’s Rebel Óg U16 development squad. This is part of a new approach where former stars are being installed in such positions, with Ger Cunningham and Derek Kavanagh also on board.

For O’Sullivan, working on non-hurling attributes will be just as important as improving players’ skills.

“The key thing is aiding player development,” he said. “They’ll learn about hurling but, hopefully, they’ll learn about themselves too, what it takes to become an inter-county hurler.

“You can’t just turn up one day and decide that’s what you’re going to do. There has to be a willingness to want to make the most of the opportunity, it’s a wonderful chance so you have to want to take it with both hands.”

While delighted to be on board, O’Sullivan took time to come to a decision. His final response was informed by a new approach whereby training dates are set in a fairly rigid manner.

“It was late autumn when I was first approached,” he said. “They were planning ahead and wanted to hit the ground running. For someone who wanted to pursue a coaching career it was a good opportunity, but at the same time if you asked me if I accepted straightaway then I’d have to say no.

“I’m still playing with Cloyne this year so time is a factor there, but the structures that the Rebel Óg have laid out seem to have things fairly well nailed down.

“There will be a lot of sessions on Sunday evenings and once you know the times and dates it’ll be easy to work around them. When things are changing week to week, it’s almost impossible for the players and coaches.”

A strong support structure will also be key.

“Excluding a bit of helping out with Cloyne underage teams the last few years, this would be the first time,” O’Sullivan said.

“I’ll have Ronan Dwane and Eoin O’Mahony with me, Eoin was with the U15 team last year so there’ll be some familiarity there. Getting involved is a thankless task, I think anybody in any club would tell you that.

“I was lucky enough to have played for Cork and won a few medals and, hopefully, I can impart the wisdom I picked up along the way and develop a good understanding with the players.”

The Cloyne man is also realistic enough to know that such an understanding will take time to ingrain itself.

“The main thing to realise is that I’ll make mistakes, maybe as many as the players, but you have to accept that,” he said.

“There’ll be a bedding-in period but it’s important to be fearless and take it slowly, the thing isn’t going to turn around by itself. Younger players need to be treated in a way that will help them develop and be ready to move on to minor and beyond.”