AUSTIN STACKS WILL put a new management team in place “in the coming weeks” after announcing that Stephen Stack has stepped down as the club’s senior football manager.
Stack spent four years at the helm and oversaw plenty of success. In 2014, the Tralee outfit won the Kerry County League, the Kerry Senior Football Championship and the Munster Club Senior Football Championship.
Austin Stacks were eliminated by eventual runners-up Kenmare District at the quarter-final stage of this year’s Kerry SFC, but they did win the separate Kerry Club Championship at the expense of Dr Crokes.
A native of Listowel, Stack won two senior All-Ireland medals with Kerry during his playing career — in 1986 and ’97 — as well as five Munster titles. As a manager, he guided Austin Stacks to an All-Ireland semi-final where they suffered a one-point defeat to Slaughtneil of Derry in February 2015.
Austin Stacks chairman Liam Lynch paid tribute to Stack’s contribution to the club in a press release: “Reaching 13 competition finals since he became manager of our senior football team and winning nine [including county and provincial honours] bears fervent testimony to his coaching, man-management and team-building capabilities [amongst others].
“Such success has provided the club with a very firm bedrock upon which to develop many new facilities and best-in-class off–the-field structures, and all on Rock Street will remain forever indebted to Stephen for this.
“Imbued with a great leadership abilities, tremendous attention to detail and excellent assessment of people and situations, Stephen has brought tremendous qualities to our club and all players, supporters and administrators have reaped the rewards from working with, listening to and knowing him.
“Many people, whether players or managers, flash across the life of a club for a year or two and never stop to understand its ethos or culture. Stephen is the rare exception who expressed a genuine desire from the very first meeting to get involved, support and truly immerse himself in our club and that is why he will always be part of the Austin Stacks GAA Club’s history and folklore.
“Everyone at Austin Stacks GAA Club wish Stephen the very best in everything he does in the future and I, for one, am confident that many teams and businesses, far greater than our own, will benefit from his capabilities in years to come.
“The 2017 Austin Stacks senior football management team will be put in place in the coming weeks.”
