Player Development- Tadgh ‘Ratty’ O’Hurley

[HoodRatRoyalty]

The light at the end of the tunnel was bright and as Tadgh walked towards it he was forced to squint under the glare of the sun.  He shielded his eyes as he crossed the touch line and trotted out onto the field. The practice grounds were busy already, he had thought he would get an early start but it seemed half the academy had the same idea. He scanned the groups for a familiar face. There has to be someone I know here. Nobody… Tadgh sighed and made his way to a group stretching. Knowing nobody was not a new feeling to Tadgh, who had been brought to Canada as a young adult. He was orphaned in Ireland and had provided for himself as a preteen living the streets and running from trouble. And boy could he run. He was one of the quickest people he knew. Not just quick either, he was agile. He could twist and turn and squirm to avoid capture. The way he moved and suddenly darted places earned him the nickname ‘Ratty’. Ratty also suited his appearance, his blondish hair was tousled and braided wildly in a Celtic fashion usually with flyaways rampantly bursting out of the braid, he was shorter but sturdy with the scruff of a beard. A lot of people said he looked a lot like Ragnar the Viking. He loved that comparison and he tried to embody that Viking spirit.  When he was on the pitch he usually played on the outside, being shorter he was not effective in bringing down balls but he was a stingy defender who could steal a ball in a hurry and before they realized he would already be speeding up the field fiercely on the counterattack. His accuracy to hit someone on a long run or cross was probably his bread and butter as he was not known as a striker or finisher as his legs seemed to be geared for pace instead of strength and it would be no issue for him to make multiple and continuous runs throughout the match as his workrate was through the roof. If it was one thing Tadgh had learned in his youth it was not to be still.  He finished up his stretches, thinking about his past and how he got to this point. He wasn’t sure how he would fare out but he figured his shot here in Victoria’s Academy was his best chance to make a name for himself. He stood up, dusted his shorts off and set off on a quick jog to warm up his legs. This was going to be interesting, and hopefully a little fun.

[HoodRatRoyalty]

Tadgh was just finishing up his warmup and one of the coaches called him over. He marched over to the box where the coach was standing with a bunch of the forwards. 'O'Hurley!'
'Yessir!?'
'You any good at putting crosses into the box?'
'I will do my best coach.'
'Let's see how accurate you are.' He rolled a ball over to Tadgh 'hit the corner' Tadgh took two steps back and struck the ball, it arced out in a beautiful hook and then slammed into the brace, a couple of inches below the crossbar on the right post. 'Not bad... Go to the sideline where that bunch of balls is and when I tell you send in the cross I call for.' Tadgh nodded his agreement and set off for the sideline. He wasn't sure what the coach meant by the cross he called for but he figured it would be easy enough to figure out. He rolled a ball out a few feet in front of him and arranged a few more for quick access and then turned and waited for instruction. He could see the coach talking to the forwards and making gestures with his head and arms. His arm went over his head. 'O'Hurley! send it in high at the dot!' Tadgh nodded. Shouldn't be a problem. He saw which striker had lined up and as he started to move he lobbed a cross high into the area, as the ball came down it was almost in a perfect position for a header, but the forward mistimed the jump and was too high for the ball and it struck him oddly in the neck. The coach nodded. 'Keep dong that!'

Player after player took turns running towards the box, and with almost pinpoint perfection Tadgh put cross after cross into the box. Every cross was obtainable, not every one was received. After a while the coach got him to try a few low ones, and ones towards the back post. Without fail or question Tadgh continued to hit the mark on near every cross. 'O'Hurley! that's good!  come in!' He kicked the ball he had ready back into the pile and headed over to the coach. 'Quite a service you got there.' 

'Thanks coach!' He replied. That's all I did for my youth team, take the ball down the sideline then feed the giant we had in the center. 
'Giant?'
'Yeah, we had a 6'7" forward with a head on him like a watermelon. If you put it anywhere in the box it was his. I think he scored 23 goals last season.'
'Well if you can do that in a game I'm sure you'll do just fine here. So box service is your game?'
'Eh... well part of it. I prefer to stop the attack on the wings. I don't like anyone coming down my wing and I don't let anyone put a cross into our box. Then if I can turn things the other way I'll lead the counter attack.' 
'Well lets see it. ' He motioned for a player to line up with the ball across from Tadgh. 'Beat him wide and take a shot on goal' As the player began his run in Tadgh looked as though he was going to turn and run back to defend then with one quick change of direction, toe punted the ball out to the side and was off down the sideline before the player even realized he didn't have the ball anymore. The coach hooted! 'Come Back! Nice job there. Do you think you can do that consistently?'
'Ill try coach. I'll do my best.'