'My role is diminishing every year, which is great" - says Ronan McGarrity

ONLY recently he scored 27 points and pushed a young team to the limit. Ronan McGarrity showcased his leadership skills only a few weeks ago, in Ballina's top of the table clash against the  unbeaten Tralee Warriors.

It wasn't enough eventually to beat the Kerrymen, but just another proof that McGarrity still has it on the basketball court.
One might be tempted to believe, that the upcoming BIDL Plate Final in Dublin this Saturday is only a stepping stone for McGarrity and a very young team around him.

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One might think, he will remain the main motor of an increasingly successful Ballina basketball team. But that would be wrong.
“My role is diminishing every year, which is great,” McGarrity says, speaking to The Mayo News ahead of the final.

Difficult as it may be to understand, that’s exactly what the club and Ronan wanted. The 43-year-old doesn't see his main role as the protagonist on the court any more: “I've had my time, I've had my day, I've had my chance, I've had everything,” Ronan humbly admits. Now it's his job to pass on his experience and knowledge to the next generation.

“There's a lot of talent being developed at the moment in Ballina with the U-20 team in the National League and that's doing really well. It gives me great satisfaction to see that there's another generation coming through. The underage club is flying. The numbers are huge.”

Ronan's role for the last number of years has resembled a one-year rolling contract. He is always there to be of some support and keep things moving forward.

He has reached a stage in his career where he's happy to see the young generation taking over: “I've got a lot more enjoyment sitting and watching now, than I would have playing.”

He points out, that the young players need to get their minutes. Training is all fine and well but pressure situations during a game, reacting to adversity, is indeed a completely different ball game.

Describing his own role, Ronan makes clear: “The best way to coach, I feel, would be during a game where you see a guy that might be struggling, and you can say, keep going, or look for this, see this guy, look for that. You can see it a lot clearer when there's a game going on.”

But it's also crucial to keep the standard high. He explains, that the guys can't drop their standards. If they're playing against a lesser team and winning comfortably it’s important to keep driving home.

“Some of our progress we've made was because the young guys have the comfort in the first year of me being there and there's a couple of other guys, senior lads that were there too. But eventually that blanket has to be pulled away from them. They have to be able to fend for themselves,” says McGarrity.

Merry Monk Ballina are every happy about recent progress. The club focuses on developing the youth teams and building a strong foundation for the senior team. Making this Plate Final is another step on the progression ladder for a predominantly young team.

“If we keep going at the speed that we're going at with the young guys, eventually the club will hopefully be dining again at the top table.” 

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