Learning to shoulder the responsibility of the last man back

Galway goalkeeper James Skehill has put some method with the madness, writes IAN O'RIORDAN

SOMEONE HAS to do it – and if the last man standing in front of Kilkenny in an All-Ireland hurling final hasn’t exceptional method then he must be a little mad, in the complimentary sense of the word.

James Skehill appears to qualify on both counts, although he doesn’t readily admit to either: the Galway goalkeeper is softly yet confidently spoken, and portrays a sense of calm responsibility that you’d expect from the sort of a man willing to take an assassin’s bullet in the line of duty.

“I would class myself as mentally strong,” he says. “But every goalkeeper is prone to mistakes, and they’ll be the first to admit it. It’s how you react after a mistake that defines you. I have tried to train myself so that physically and mentally I react in the most positive nature possible.

“As an outfielder, you can miss a ball and it won’t be seen, whereas in my position if you miss a ball it’s three points to the opposition. But it bears no thought in my mind that the goal is behind me. I deal with every single ball as an outfield player would.”

That’s the method speaking, but the madness emerges too when Skehill recounts the series of injuries in recent years that might well have stopped a lesser man in his tracks. Still only 24, Skehill has twice dislocated his shoulder, left and right, and badly broken a finger – and in fact still requires an operation to completely repair shoulder ligaments torn in the last injury, playing in the league match against Waterford, last March.

“I dislocated my right shoulder, the first time, playing against Dublin, in a challenge match, in 2009. That put me out of action for about four months, and I was only back after that when I broke my finger. So I was in and out of form, really, the goalkeeper position between myself and Colm Callanan.

“Then the left shoulder went, against Waterford, in March, just as I’d found some good form. The big disappointment there was not only to be missing the rest of the league, but that form was effectively cancelled. It does require surgery, too, but it won’t be until I finish the career. There would be too much healing time, and I’d be an impatient enough man. You do feel pain alright, especially in cold weather, but you just learn how to hit tackles, your capabilities when you’re under a high ball reaching for it, and your diving method.

“But I’ve worked hard with the physios as well, weight sessions and exercises, to ensure the injury doesn’t happen again, to try and prolong my health for as long as possible. So far it has worked, and the strength has built back up.”

It should be pointed out at this stage that Skehill – who works as a civil engineer in Galway – actually began his hurling life out the field, playing corner forward, with his club Cappataggle, before working his way back to his true vocation. He also won an All-Ireland vocational schools title with St Brigid’s, Loughrea, as a forward: “Then I was told to go into goal,” he says, “and I’ve been stuck there.

“But I suppose I’ve always kept my eye on the spot. When I turned 17, I started to think about the senior ranks and trying to get myself into a minor team at an early age. And I’ve played all my hurling for Galway in goals, and as I’ve moved up through the ranks you get used to it, and I think I am suited to it.”

Success came with it, too – an All-Ireland minor title in 2005, an All-Ireland under-21 in 2007, and a year later he made his senior debut under then Galway manager Ger Loughnane, in the Leinster championship rout of Antrim.

Skehill admits he is still learning, mentally and physically, and credits several individuals for helping him keep his eye on the ball. “I have a routine when I concede a goal,” he says, “that’s been practised throughout, since my minor days. You have to stay calm, physically and mentally, after a goal goes in. Puck-out technique is important too. You have to win the next puck-out, so I try to focus on that.

“With experience comes knowledge of how to deal with those situations. As I go further in my career I hope to improve mentally and really focus on the main problems of my game.

“But this would have been the first year getting specific training in that regard. John Commins, who was in goal with Galway in ’87 and ’88, has come in for sessions done, along with Nicky Quaid, with Christy O’Connor from Clare.

“I was also in Limerick IT, when Davy Fitzgerald was over us, and he worked not just on the physical side, but also on the mental side. He was in some high-pressure games in his career, and some of that rubbed off on me, helped me how to deal with that. All that has elevated my expectation and my willingness to win. They raised a standard that I had to match, whether in fitness, or conditioning. It adds to you hugely.

“I’ve read up on some stuff as well, like the American tennis coach, Brad Gilbert’s book, which was very focused on the mental side of his tennis game. I took a few things from that and tried to implement them into my own game. If anything it’s improved me 10 to 15 per cent in terms of the mental side of my game, and when you’re mentally right, you’re physically right, in my view.”

Sounds like Skehill has it right on all counts – the method and the madness.