A chat with Terry Brady about the 2004 Cavan under 16 squad has Kevin Carney running to the bookies. Read on. Terry Brady has been to the fore of coaching at county level for the last six years. So when he says he believes the 2004 county under 16 squad is the best crew he's ever worked with then it's time to sit up and take notice. The Mullahoran native can't really say enough positive things about the panel of players who triumphed in the Fr. Manning Cup and Gerry Reilly Memorial Tournament last summer. In careering their way to both prestigious cup wins, the Class of 2004 drew comparisons with their counterparts from 1997 when both cups were last seized. However as far as Terry is concerned that's where comparisons should begin and end for he's convinced that the Breffni county has something special on its hands with the latest all-conquering panel of young Cavan footballers. "These guys are something special and they have the potential to win not only the Ulster minor title in 2006 but the All-Ireland as well. "As a group, they're as good as anything I've seen or worked with over the years; definitely the best at their age." And if you think Terry is over-estimating the players' capabilities, he suggests that a phone call to the Roscommon, Westmeath or Longford Fr. Manning Cup mentors will put any lingering doubts to bed. "Each time we played and beat those teams, their team-manager came into our dressing-room afterwards and raved about good our guys were. "What amazed them most was that on each occasion the five subs we put on were every bit as good as the players they replaced." Apparently Ulster under 16 squad members, Dane O'Dowd (Drumlane), Paddy Brady (Mullahoran), Enda Gaffney (Crosserlough), Colm Smith (Cootehill Celtic), Stephen Monaghan (Lurgan) and Niall Reilly (Ballinagh) came in for some weighty praise too while attending provincial training sessions. "The coach, Terence McWilliams from Derry was amazed at their level of skills and what we were doing with them," Terry enthuses. Superlatives trip off Terry's tongue as he waxes lyrical on the great credit the Cavan under 16 troupe brought to themselves, their parents, clubs and team-management over the course of 2004. Terry, along with team-manager John Mulvanny and fellow selectors Ray McMullen and Jody Clarke were indeed fortunate to have such a committed group of players under their aegis last year. For his own part, Terry says that the success of the panel over the last couple of years says much for the improved nature of the coaching going on around the county over the years. "The standard of football at under 16 level in Cavan over recent years has been good. "There's no doubt the coaching given to the youngsters at club level has improved significantly over the last ten years." Not one given to reading tea leaves or crystal ball-gazing, Terry, nonetheless, believes that Cavan's disastrous record at inter-county minor championship level has to be put right sometime . . .and why not next year if not before. He recalls years when Cavan seemed to have the stuff to win the county's first Ulster MFC since 1974 but things went pear-shaped at crucial times. In this respect, the memory of Derry's last minute fisted goal at Kingspan/Breffni Park which ousted John Tierney and co. a few seasons back comes flooding back to the popular county coach. Still, he reckons that the group of under sixteens who blitzed their way through the Fr. Manning and Gerry Reilly tournaments with such fervour and power has every chance of shafting that infamous monkey off the backs of Cavan Football Inc. Terry is succinct in spelling out just exactly what the latest county hopefuls have got going for themselves. "They have a tremendous will to win; their commitment is unbelievable, are easily managed and their level of self-discipline is very impressive. "I remember after we won the Fr. Manning Cup all 26 players went to the captain's house for a get-together instead of going to the pub. "For that kind of discipline, you have to give a lot of credit to their parents - who outnumbered Roscommon supporters at our match in Hyde Park - and to their clubs." Terry emphasises his belief that the outgoing group of county under 16s are something special. And he cites their results over the last year and more as proof positive of their ability and consistency. He explains that over the course of the last three years the self-same panel has played eighteen of the 32 county teams and lost just two games to Westmeath and Down - both of whom were defeated when next they met. Unlike some other Cavan representative sides that Terry can think of, last year's county under 16 squad has a capacity to finish games at full throttle. Their performance in the final fifteen minutes of any given match invariably equals if not surpasses their form during any other period of the 60 minutes, Terry confirms. It's obvious the 47-year old Cheltenham (England) born gael has enjoyed every minute of his time with the 2004 Fr. Manning Cup and Gerry Reilly Tournament winners since linking up with them back in 2002 when they plied their skills under the banner of Cavan's Under 14 Development Squad. And after conquering the best of the rest that attempted to win both aforementioned cups last year, Terry, son of well-known Mullahoran gael Johnny Joe, reckons that the cream of the crop at under 16 level in Cavan should be given their head on an annual basis. In this respect, he believes that future under 16 teams should be given the chance to similarily sweep aside all before them in the coming year(s) in the Buncrana Cup; a competition in which all of the rest of the counties that Cavan are likely to meet at Ulster MFC level take part. Either way, Terry is convinced that the all-conquering squad of 2004 should "be kept together and looked after well by their clubs." As regards the specific make-up of the squad, Terry - winner of an IFC medal with Mullahoran in 1978 - believes that, in time, the Class of 2004, will graduate from being students of the game to being masters. For that to happen, he hopes that the 'keepers in the squad will continue to work on their kick-outs; the defenders will be allowed to play in the same positions with their squad as they operated with Cavan; and that the forwards will become more "verbally aggressive". Above all, the now Lacken clubman - his sons Thomas and Myles, 14 and 12 respectively, are fine prospects - is adamant that the players in question must be encouraged, and watched over, by their clubs. That needs to happen, Terry insists, if the players are to avoid the excesses which has stunted the careers of other starlets from times past. "These players must be advised by their clubs that if they want to succeed they have to look after themselves, both physically and mentally. "The county is doing its best for this bunch; people like Caroline Crowe, our Gaelic Games Officer, Martin Cahill, Games Development Officer and Phil Smith, chairman of the minor board have been great as has John Mulvanny, Jody Clarke and Ray McMullen. "But the clubs have to take on a certain social responsibility and encourage and guide these guys along the right path," Terry opines. All things going well, we can expect a major breakthrough over the next couple of years then? "These guys are willing to listen and learn and they have a desire to succeed. "I'll be surprised if at least eight of them aren't in contention for places on the 2005 minor team and then the following year we should see things all clicking into place." A mouth-watering pros-pect, you'll doubtless agree! Tweet

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