Stephen Rochford to leave no stone unturned

COROFIN football club were going reasonably well. They had won four Galway senior titles in six years from 2006 to 2011 and played in two All-Ireland Club semi-finals against Kilmacud Crokes and St Galls in 2008 and 2009.

However, they lost both of those semi-finals and despite winning another county title in 2011, there was a feeling among some of the senior players, like David Morris and Ciarán McGrath, it was time for a change. A fresh pair of eyes was required. A new voice. And someone who would coach in a slightly different manner. It was time to go outside the club for guidance for the first time.

It was a big call. But that is what they wanted. And the name on their ‘Wanted’ poster was Stephen Rochford. His reputation as a young, top-class, superbly organised coach with fresh ideas and ambition had been flagged by stints with the Mayo minors as a selector, with the Ballinrobe U21s and with GMIT where many of the younger Corofin players had studied.