Dempsey hails Cats’ winning mentality and professionalism

Not a line you hear at many Kilkenny press nights but then Mick Dempsey doesn’t hail from here. And yet since he became physical trainer in 2005, the Laois man has been part of six All-Ireland successes.

The point he’s making is the satisfaction he continues to harvest from working with the players.

After last year’s disappointment, he admits he was more likely to remain on because of “the challenge” it presented. But it wasn’t the deciding factor.

“The lads are a privilege to work with because their attitude is just top-class. They are really professional in every aspect and they just get on with it. That makes it easier to go back.

“To me it’s not really about the winning or losing. If we’d been losing obviously I would have been sacked, but for me it’s about the process and watching players develop and just getting all the preparation right.

“If you get all of that right you have a better chance of winning, but the winning and losing doesn’t influence me hugely in terms of what decision I would make, assuming I’m wanted to stay on.”

The battles he has in keeping Henry Shefflin in check appeals to him, for instance. For a sports science fanatic like the Carlow IT GAA academy director, he feels privileged to work with somebody who complements his awesome natural talent with an equally voracious work ethic.

“As a result of the injuries he has had, he needs to be careful not to overload. Recovery is more important to him now than in previous years, and he is listening.

“But who am I to argue with the likes of Henry Shefflin who has been so successful, if he wants to do a little bit extra on his own?

“We try to rein him in as best we can but sometimes you have to listen to the player as well. If he feels it’s actually working for him, we can’t ignore it. It’s not just about what we think; we’ve got to take the individual into account as well.”

What the likes of Shefflin puts himself through, Dempsey says, is easily comparable with professional sports. “One area, strength and conditioning, is now on a par particularly with rugby, I think. It’s been a major focus of the game for a good number of years.

“I think with the AFL as well, the only major difference is we’re dealing with amateur players. They don’t have the same rest and recovery but again I think it comes back to the subject of specificity. We are as professional but our programmes may be different because the demands of rugby, and positions in rugby, are entirely different to the game of hurling.”

Under Dempsey, Kilkenny’s preparations have rarely been far from the cutting edge of sports science. “We have detailed information so now we can tailor the fitness to the game so it’s more specific whereas years ago some of the training wasn’t exactly related to what was happening in the game. So I think that has benefited players and obviously there’s more of a focus now on the strength side of it.

“Overall, players, whether it’s cardiovascular or from a physical strength point of view, are better conditioned. I think the fundamentals are still the same but maybe that extra 10 or 15% has changed due to the information we have available to us. But the fundamentals are still the same.”

Players are doing more because they’re capable of it thanks to those modern methods endorsed by Dempsey. Colin Fennelly’s last gasp block on Graeme Mulcahy in the semi-final was a prime example.

“It just goes to show the ambition and character of fellas, and what it really shows is players, at times, are willing to sacrifice their own games or maybe their own positions in the interest of the team. And ultimately I think that’s what makes a huge difference.”