Life of Ryan just gets more interesting

GAELIC GAMES: Ian O'Riordantalks to the youngest county manager in the country who says age is no barrier in modern-day management.

Of the many new managerial appointments this season none were more surprising than Jason Ryan. Aged just 31, Ryan was handed the Wexford senior football job without any previous county management experience, without any great playing credentials, and without any real knowledge of Wexford football.

In fact, his appointment last November was widely greeted by two words: "Jason who?" And it wasn't just that Ryan was taking over a team that in recent years had shown the potential to compete with the best in Leinster. He was also taking over from former Dublin midfielder Paul Bealin, who brought a lot more experience to the job and yet couldn't deliver on that potential.

Ryan was at least relatively well known in his native Waterford, as an active member of their senior football panel as recently as last summer's championship. And he'd also spent the last year coaching Wexford club Clongeen, which ended in them winning a first county football title.

That resulted in Ryan's name being put forward for the Wexford job, following Bealin's departure after three years. Several high-profile names were mooted as possible successors but in the end the county board went for Ryan, aware of the risk they were taking and yet confident they had found the right man.

"Well I was flattered in many ways just to be asked, and more so when I got the job," says Ryan - who is still nine months shy of his 32nd birthday and therefore the youngest county manager in Ireland.

"But I was keen to do it. It was something I always aspired to, and was working towards, and when the opportunity did come along I was more than happy to take it. Especially to work in a county like Wexford that has some real quality footballers."

He was aware of the commitment involved. Married and living in Waterford city, Ryan teaches PE at Coláiste Chathail Naofa in Dungarvan, which would make for a challenging commute to Wexford training and back home. His only concern, however, was turning his back on his own playing career.

"There was just no way I could play on with Waterford," he admits. "So I just had to leave my own playing days behind me. It just wouldn't be possible. Training with a county team is a huge commitment in itself but it's an even greater commitment as manager. All your evenings are still taken up but you also spend a lot of other time on the telephone.

"And that was a hard decision, not to play on with Waterford. But the reality is with a team like Waterford you put in the same effort as any other county, the same number of hours at training, and not always get the same sort of reward at the end of it."

Yet his age, he felt, was of no concern. Ryan had qualified and was then teaching in London for most of the past 10 years, also spending time in America and Australia, but reckons he's been involved with training teams of various sorts since he was 16.

When he returned home four years ago he straightaway started looking for training opportunities in both football and hurling, and while he's quite likely to be mistaken for one of the players every time he takes to the sideline, Ryan feels his age shouldn't come against him.

"No, I never thought age came into it, and that I was too young. As I said the only hard decision was leaving my own playing career behind, and whether or not I was too young to do that. But I never saw my age as a barrier against starting in county management."

Those who know Ryan say he displays maturity beyond his years, and he's certainly comfortable talking with the media. More importantly, he appears comfortable around the Wexford senior players, many of who would be around the same age. His first competitive game was last Sunday's O'Byrne Cup win over Laois, after which Wexford forward Matty Forde, who hit 1-6, talked highly of Ryan.

"People say he's only 31 but he knows football inside out," said Forde. "He has huge enthusiasm and I think the fact he was playing last year means he's in touch with the players."

Next up is Sunday's O'Byrne Cup quarter-final against Carlow, the team now managed by Bealin, which will no doubt throw some extra spotlight on Ryan: "I'm very happy with the reaction from the players, and the level of commitment they're showing from the start," he adds. "But it's only one game down, and there's still a very, very long way to go.

"But I think the O'Byrne is a valuable competition and most counties do use it to try out new players, and it is a great chance for some of the fringe players to get a foot on to the team, impress, and perhaps make the starting 15 come the league, which is just a few weeks away."

Rarely has the O'Byrne Cup also been as valuable to a new manager.