AUSTIN GLEESON HAS lit up the hurling landscape in 2016 with eye-catching outfield displays.
That’s of little surprise to Sean Power, his Mount Sion club mate and the man who has supervised Gleeson’s inter-county underage progression, the boss when Waterford won the 2013 minor All-Ireland and the boss tomorrow when they contest the U21 All-Ireland.
Yet back in Gleeson’s younger days, Power put him between the posts for Waterford.
“He hates me saying this now but, at 14 in the Tony Forristal he was played in goal. Actually, Gavin Power was our centre-back, who was our goalkeeper against Antrim.
“At that particular weekend, you’re talking about playing three or four games in a weekend right, and Austin’s physical fitness at 14 wouldn’t be anywhere near what it is now and wasn’t anything near what it was for fellas around him.
“So the four-game weekend thing mightn’t have suited him. And I say that with the nicest amount of respect for him and I hope he doesn’t give me a dig when he hears it!
“But, no, he’s a very capable goalkeeper as well. That was his spot and fellas develop in different positions and when guys hit their peak height velocity as well when they grow up, they develop differently.
“At 14 and 16 that was just one of those things that were required and he did it with a smile on his face.
“If Austin Gleeson was required to go in goal on Saturday, Austin Gleeson would go in goal happily in an All-Ireland final for Waterford.
“These guys are fiercely competitive. They really love playing for their county and they’ll do what’s required for the team.”
Power has a strong link with this current crop of Waterford players. While still playing junior hurling for Mount Sion, he got involved in the club’s underage teams and that was the springboard to coaching Waterford underage sides.
The present bunch stood out a long way as players on the path to hurling brilliance.
“When we invited everybody in to Walsh Park at U14, I think we had about 90 kids wanting to play for Waterford that year. And that was just the city kids.
“We had something similar in Fraher Field the following week, so you were talking about 15 or 20 guys who were going to play for Waterford Under-14 that year and about 150 kids came to try out.
“But when we broke it into smaller matches there were guys that stood out from the first time I saw them and now they are playing senior hurling for Waterford.
“It’s amazing, from an early stage you could see it. Now they were raw and there was a lot to work with but you could see they had something.
“You’d know each other well. Sometimes they listen to you and other times they don’t!
“No, we trust each other now and we’re at a stage where we nearly know what each other is going to say or do in advance of it. That telepathy or understanding or whatever you want to call it goes a long way.
“There are pros and cons for continuity but I would always say it has helped us along the way with the development.”
With this Waterford team, there is high expectations given their recent exposure at senior level. Waterford have only a single All-Ireland U21 hurling title to their name and that was back in 1992.
“That’s what we’re all striving towards,” outlines Power.
“It’s to win this thing on Saturday. The senior team have made great strides, on the day in the replay against Kilkenny we were all heartbroken for that narrow defeat.
“At this grade, the Munster championship was a great win for us. We hadn’t won that since 1994.
“So that’s something but ultimately we’re all in this thing to win All-Irelands and it would kind of tick off a decent year for us to win this one on Saturday, certainly.”
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