Jamie Barron of Waterford poses for a portrait at the launch of the Munster GAA Championship at Pairc Ui Chaoimh in Cork.
By Stephen Barry
Jamie Barron has credited Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald with changing how he thinks about the game of hurling.
The three-time All-Star described Fitzgerald as a “breath of fresh air” as they seek to implement his new methods in time for their Munster Championship opener against Limerick on Sunday.
“It is different,” said Barron when asked to compare the changes to previous regimes. “It’s a lot of talk and it’s a lot of assessing, a lot of analysis. Stuff that we mightn’t have been too used to in the past with different managements.
“There’s a lot to take in but we’re doing a good job on it so far and hopefully we can implement the information we’ve been given and carry it out in Championship.
“He shows us lots of new methods of approaching different scenarios. It’s all stuff, when you see it, you think to yourself, ‘Janey, how didn’t we think of that before?’
“It’s a new way for us and we’ll see how it goes and we’ll see what benefits we do get out of his style of thinking.”
As for Davy the man-manager, Barron rates Fitzgerald’s strong player focus as his key attribute.
“It's been a breath of fresh air. He's great to work with,” said the Fourmilewater flyer.
“He's very understanding. He's totally for the players. He looks out for us. He makes sure that we're enjoying training as well as putting in all the hard work.
“He brings a lot of educational stuff to us, loads of learning. It's just for us players now to be able to take on board all the information he's giving us and try to implement it out on the field of play. That's what we're trying to work on now for the last four or five weeks.”
Waterford hurling manager, Davy Fitzgerald.
Barron arrived on the senior scene two years after Fitzgerald’s 2008-11 tenure as Waterford manager. Pauric Mahony’s retirement earlier this year severed the final remaining playing link to that time.
For Barron, it wasn’t until he met Fitzgerald that he got a true sense of his character.
“Everyone has a picture in their head of what Davy’s like but Davy’s a lovely fella behind it all. He looks out for each and every one of us, he looks out for his backroom team, and he’s a big family man. You can’t fault any man if they’re his principles.”
Waterford spent five days in Portugal after their League elimination to Kilkenny and while Barron picked up “a bit of a tan”, the focus was firmly on soaking up tactical lessons.
They did three sessions a day, morning, lunchtime, and evening, with hurling and tactical training to the fore as well as recovery work in between.
“I think we've come back in a much better place from it,” said Barron.
“It's stuff you couldn't probably get done here at home so we're delighted to get away and be able to do it out there.”
Barron’s own League campaign ended early, with his second-half red card against Tipperary. It was a mistake he owns up to.
“No, we didn't contest it. I suppose I raised my hand and I connected with a face guard which is obviously a clear breach of the rules now, it's a red card.
“I took my marching orders and I got on with it, took my medicine, and that was it.”
His fine form that day offered little consolation in his hard-nosed self-analysis.
“It was the cause of us shipping two goals and losing by 10 points. No matter how good you're going by yourself, it's all about the team and that night I left the team down and was primarily the cause for a 10-point loss.”
Jamie Barron of Waterford in action against Alan Tynan of Tipperary during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group B match between Tipperary and Waterford at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary.
Sunday will offer the acid test of how far those five weeks of tactics and training have gone toward bedding in that new style.
“It takes time to be able to change and think in new ways and implement new plans,” said Barron.
“We're working hard behind the scenes. We're doing our best to be able to get up to speed as fast as we can with new management and new styles and so on.
“Hopefully it'll all come together before the 23rd of April.
“This year, we've a different run-in to what we had last year. We'd two weeks after the League final and then Championship is upon you whereas this year, we're able to sit down and assess ourselves a bit better.
“Maybe we're not in the limelight of other teams where they can look at us and suss it out that bit easier.
“We're coming in after a lay-off and hopefully it'll stand to us a bit more than the way it panned out for us last year.”
As for the “massive challenge” of Limerick first up, Barron said: “We’ll be hoping to take learnings from the beatings we’ve taken over the years at the hands of them so it’s tough but we’ll give it our best shot and see what we can do.
“Someday, they’re going to be beaten and hopefully we can be there to step in and take over.”
