COLUMN: Success is no coincidence for Balla Secondary School

THIRTEEN years ago, when this columnist was finishing up his time in Balla Secondary School, an All-Ireland Colleges final was barely a flicker of hope.

If anyone even suggested it, their Kool-Aid would have been sent away for analysis.

So to see Balla SS competing on the grandest stage next weekend is somewhat surreal. It’s a real landmark moment. Not for the school alone, but for the clubs, the families and the community that feeds into it.

When you consider the catchment area, you’d assume Balla would have been there and thereabouts long before now. Balla, Ballintubber, Mayo Gaels make up the majority of the school, and you can throw in some from Breaffy and Castlebar too. 

It’s decent football stock but for whatever reason, over the years didn’t bear the fruits it probably should have.

The last time Balla won a Connacht Colleges title was back in 1990, which marked a back-to-back win having been victorious the year before too. 

Then nothing. A long, barren spell. When you think of the quality of footballers that walked the corridors of that school over the past 35 years, it’s staggering that more wasn’t achieved.

As a former student, I would have loved nothing more than to compete at this level but never got close.

The only bit of silverware we tasted was a Flanagan Cup title back in 2010 when we beat St Tiernan’s of Crossmolina. A team led by Kenneth Nally and Seamus Costello, it was a day I remember very fondly.

There was always something special about playing schools football. You’re lining out with lads from rival clubs. Balla, Mayo Gaels and Ballintubber have a deep-rooted rivalry between them. A healthy hatred, if you want to call it that. 

The school is the one thing that ties them together. You make some of the best friends you’ll ever have with lads from those opposing clubs during your time there when rivalries are put aside. 

Built From the Ground Up

What has happened with Balla Secondary School in recent years is no coincidence. 

Teresa Walsh, the school principal, deserves a massive amount of credit for what she has done since taking over the reins, along with more recently retired vice-principal Anna Finlay. 

When I was there, we had a football team, but there was never a huge emphasis placed on it in the overall curriculum. 

A handful of teachers did their best with the resources they had. The likes of John Holian, Kenneth Nally, Dermot Costello, Jim Duffy and the Seamus Costello, the caretaker, all put great work in. While former vice-principal John McNicholas was always a great ambassador for the game locally in Balla. 

In the past decade, there has been a serious calibre of young teachers brought in. 

Club and county footballers who have been able to drive standards on the football pitch.

Gareth O’Donnell of Charlestown Sarsfields has been leading the senior team coaching over the past few years and has had a major, major influence. Currently alongside him is Adrian Phillips of Ballyhaunis and Darragh Acton of Kilmaine. 

Then you have the likes of Mayo’s Fergal Boland teaching there, Dermot Costello of Hollymount-Carramore, David Morrin of The Neale. Coming and going at different times was Mayo’s David McBrien and James Carr, along with Roscommon’s Darren O’Malley. 

The current vice principal is my Balla teammate, Conor Walsh, while a handful of my other teammates have come and gone since too. 

Brian McDonagh, an SNA has represented Sligo and won a senior county title with his club, Curry, while Darren Byrne, another SNA has been involved in management teams in Kiltimagh recently. 

Throw in Monty Heneghan, former Galway underage football and Declan Moran of Kilmovee, it’s a fairly stacked roster with no shortage of pedigree.

It has clearly dripped down and infused the culture of the school which, academically, is one of the top feeder schools to third-level college in the country. 

The development of a brand new football pitch along with other infrastructural projects in the school over the past few years has a campus most would be proud of.

The Coaching Gap

When you look at the traditional colleges powerhouses, St Gerald’s, Rice Colleges, St Colman’s and the likes, they rarely have an issue attracting outside coaches. 

Past pupils want to come back and give something. Most appear to have a county GAA development officer in their coaching ranks too. Those schools house the biggest crop of talented players, so the development officers naturally gravitate towards them.

You’d wonder whether those resources would be better spent elsewhere. 

The established colleges are never short of coaches. Schools like Balla and other under-resourced schools, trying to build something from the ground up with limited outside support, could benefit far more. 

I don’t recall ever seeing a development officer come into Balla during my six years there, which is a great shame as there was some serious footballers in the ranks. To get to an All-Ireland final on their own back, with the few resources they have, speaks volumes. 

Hopefully this run a tipping point.

The Final

The current team is predominantly Balla. The club has achieved good underage success over the past decade, and a lot of those players are coming through now. 

You’re seeing it in the quality of this schools team.

Mark Jennings, Ryan O’Donnell, Adam Jennings, Liam Glynn, Charlie Fallon and Dara Patton have all been outstanding so far this campaign. Ethan Duffy, only 16, hit two brilliant two-pointers against Carrigaline in the semi-final and has been a revelation. 

If Balla are going to win an All-Ireland, they’re going to need these lads to produce their best performances yet.

This columnist was accused of getting ahead of himself after tweeting that Balla were best placed to go all the way after the semi-final win. Guilty as charged. And I make no apologies for it. 

These are teenagers. You want to fill them with excitement. You want to tell them they belong. There is absolutely no harm in putting pressure on young lads because that is what makes good footballers.

The perpetual urge to play things down, to temper expectations, to not look past the next game. Maybe that’s part of the problem – finding the balance is the Holy Grail and Gareth O’Donnell and his team and managed that pretty well so far.

St Ciaran’s Ballygawley dismantled their Dublin opponents in the semi-final. This will be the hardest game Balla have faced. But I would not bet against them.

But what makes next Saturday so special is you will have Balla, Mayo Gaels, Ballintubber and Castlebar Mitchells people standing shoulder to shoulder on the same sideline. 

Roaring for the same team. Celebrating together. Commiserating together. Rivalries parked for the afternoon.

Those are precious moments that don’t come around often, if ever. And they should be enjoyed for everything they are.