DEFENDER Jason Foley feels he is a better player since Paddy Tally’s arrival in Kerry as they prepare for Sunday’s Munster SFC final against underdogs Clare at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick.
Manager Jack O’Connor has more than a touch of an Ulster influence in his backroom team with S&C coach Jason McGahan also making a solid impression in the Kingdom.
Speaking on an AIB All-Ireland zoom call, Foley felt “privileged” to have Galbally man Tally involved as Kerry seek to win their 84th provincial crown while Clare hope the spirit of ’92 will inspire them to a third title in their history.
“Paddy has been excellent and we’re very privileged to have him,” said Foley, a sprint hurdler in his teenage days.
“He’s a brilliant coach and a great mentor to the squad and to me as a defender. I suppose he instilled belief in me straight away, so that’s important as it fills you with confidence.
“And definitely, tactically, he’s been brilliant on a personal level for me. He told me to focus on certain areas of my game that I’ve always carried that into every training session and every match. He’s been very good for me and been excellent for the group.”
Although he’s been part of the Kerry seniors since 2017, the Ballydonoghue clubman never feels the finished article – but insists he’s felt huge benefit from McGahan’s work.
“I don’t think there was a moment when I felt, I’m there," Foley said. "I’m probably still trying to get there to be honest. You always think that you can improve one percent here, one percent there in your speed or your power or your agility. I don’t think you feel you’re ever the finished article. You’re always trying to improve.
“But over the last two or three years the strength and conditioning work done by Jason McGahan and the like has been very valuable for the likes of me.
“You trust the powers-that-be to get you right, so you just put in the work and hopefully it pays off.”
Foley won an All-Ireland minor title in 2015, the day when Kerry pulverized Tipperary in a painfully one-sided final. He was part of the Kerry team that fell to Tyrone in their delayed 2021 All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park.
Foley broke even with Mattie Donnelly for most of that game before substitute Cathal McShane made life more difficult for the Kerry full-back.
A year later, however, Foley was on the steps of Hogan celebrating his first All-Ireland success at senior level after an epic struggle with Galway.
A keen hurdler at 60m and 110m during his youth, he stepped away from the athletics track at 17 as soon as Kerry came calling.
“I took hurdling very seriously up to 17. It got to the stage where I was getting called up to the Kerry minor set-up and I was running seriously with my club – Listowel Athletic Club - and with Ireland, so it kind of got to the stage where I wasn’t going to be able to keep up both. I was probably going to be stuck in the middle somewhere.
“When you get the call from the Kerry minor management, as a Kerry person, that’s an easy decision to make and you go and get involved with Kerry. So I took a step back from the athletics.”
He regards Gavin White as the fastest in the Kerry panel.
“The sprinting has definitely helped me in my football career – no doubt about that. I don’t rely on my speed by it helped me along the way when I was minor and U21.
“Even stuff like running mechanics was fashionable when I was coming on the scene. So, as a minor, I was able to focus on other parts of my game because I had the running mechanics anyway and was able to use my speed in different scenarios. Do I regret stepping away from athletics? No, I knew if I stuck at it, I was confident in myself that I would eventually make it with Kerry.”
