WHEN Peter Keane was confirmed as the new Kerry boss last October, he went about building a managerial team to rival the all-conquering Dublin set-up.
Revered coach Donie Buckley was brought in while Kingdom legend Maurice Fitzgerald was retained having served as a selector under previous boss Éamonn Fitzmaurice.
Keane included Tommy Griffin and James Foley in his backroom team as the duo had worked with him when he guided Kerry Minors to All-Ireland glory in 2016, ’17 and ’18.
Yet, the final piece of the jigsaw wasn’t completed until Armagh native Jason McGahan was unveiled as Kerry’s first Head of Athletic Development.
His role mirrors that of Bryan Cullen in Dublin and McGahan has been tasked with overseeing the strength and conditioning of Kerry’s senior, U20, minor and development squads.
Far from being thrown in at the deep end, McGahan gained first-hand experience of working with the Kerry seniors when he worked alongside former Kerry assistant Cian O’Neill in 2015.
That was the year Dublin started their current unbeaten run – claiming a 0-12 to 0-9 win over Kerry in the decider.
The following season, O’Neill was appointed as Kildare boss and McGahan stayed loyal to the man who first brought him to the Kingdom and enjoyed a fruitful three-years with the Lilywhites. But when Kerry came calling looking McGahan’s services last Autumn, it was too good an opportunity to turn down.
“Back in 2015, Cian O’Neill was at the head of it and I was more or less assisting Cian with the Sport Science and the Strength and Conditioning,” said McGahan.
“This time around, I am heading it with the backroom staff I have with me. It is a different role and it is me putting my own stamp on it.
“After the 2015 season, Éamonn (Fitzmaurice) had asked me to stay on and I was going to, but I wasn’t aware that Cian had been offered the Kildare job.
“To be honest, if it wasn’t for Cian O’Neill taking me to Kerry, I wouldn’t have been there in the first place. The way I looked it at was, you don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
“I opted to go with Cian to Kildare and I finished my PHD and finished three years with Kildare.
“I was looking at a full-time job and there were lecturers posts available, but when Kerry came knocking again, you just don’t turn down that gig.
“You are working with a county who, this weekend, will go after its 38th All-Ireland title - it is a good place to be.”
The 42-year-old has come a long way since first taking charge of his native Tullysaran as player/manager almost 10 years ago.
Coaching stints at Pearse Óg, Carrickmore and Douglas followed, but McGahan’s research into training loads and monitoring of GAA athletes for his PHD at Cork IT saw him come to the attention of O’Neill, who is the head of Department of Sports, Leisurs and Childood Studies at the university.
Using the latest technology, McGahan is able to track and monitor the training of the Kerry players and adapt their workloads according to the GPS data.
“I’m not interested in how far or fast an individual ran or whatever. We look at the build-up of that across a week or a month and see where they lie and monitor training loads,” stated McGahan.
“That’s crucial now at a time when you might only have a week to prepare. The area around recovery, getting the loads right and the balance right is vital.
“We measure the external loads through GPS in terms of what they do. The internal load is how that is perceived, so we monitor that as well. You watch to see if players deviate from their base and you can modify their loads. When you are going through a phase of Super 8 games, some boys maybe need to be getting fitter if they aren’t getting game time.
“That’s what it is about - monitoring their well-being, how well they are sleeping, their stress levels, their muscle soreness, their moods. The first question I ask the players every morning is, more or less, how do you feel?
“They respond through an app and that information is fed to me and I can read the data and see what players need to be monitored more closely than others.”
McGahan is fully aware of the general perception that Dublin are out in front when it comes to strength and conditioning. Jim Gavin does little to dispel such notions. Indeed, it gives the five in-a-row seeking All-Ireland champion an aura of invincibility.
For McGahan though, he feels other counties need to “stop looking over the ditch” and get their own house in order rather than worrying about what Dublin are up to.
“To be honest, I think teams are too busy looking over the ditch,” said McGahan.
“I think teams should be looking within their own county and within their own abilities and trying to do the best they possibly can with what they have.
“You look at certain club teams, the likes of Slaughtneil or the likes of Fermanagh at county level. They mightn’t have the population, but if you have a group of players who want to do something special, they do it.
“Once you start looking over the ditch at other counties, you start building crutches and excuses. Instead of building excuses and building crutches, why not try and get a solution?”
The build-up to Sunday’s decider between the two most successful counties in Gaelic football has been strangely subdued and McGahan feels Dublin are happy enough with the low-key build up.
“I think Dublin are happy that there isn’t much talk about the five-in-a-row as it will put less pressure on the players,” he added.
“From our perspective, if someone had said to us 12 months ago, we’d be in an All-Ireland final, you’d have taken their hand off.
“Dublin are possibly going to be classified as one of the best teams to ever played the game. It is a big challenge, but these boys relish a challenge.”
A talented corner-forward in his playing days, McGahan represented Armagh and Minor and U21 level and holds the distinction of scoring the first point in the new Athletic Grouds following its redevelopment in a JFC defeat to Grange.
Yet, by the time O’Connell’s secured an historic first Armagh Junior Football title in 2015, McGahan’s coaching career had taken him away from Tullysaran. Should Kerry prevail against the odds in Sunday’s final, he says a trip to his home club could be in order.
“If the full-time whistle goes and we are one point ahead, I will turn around and try and find one or two Kerry officials in the crowd to try and make a plan to get the Sam Maguire to Tullysaran!”
