Under 'The Mayo Way' coaching plan, which was unveiled early this year, a number of the county's former players have joined those who nurture the future of the Mayo footballers.
One of those is Ciaran McDonald, now head coach of the Mayo U14 development side.
Speaking in an interview with The Mayo News Football Podcast, McDonald said that the move into coaching at this level has been a learning experience for him as much as it has been for the players in his squad.
"I'm probably as nervous as the players are," revealed the 43-year-old.
If we can have a centre in the middle of Castlebar where every seven, eight, nine, ten-year-old boy can look at those four walls and say, 'I want to be there someday' to his mother or father, that's the key.
Until this, we'd did have that. 13-year-olds didn't know how to get into a Mayo jersey, what was their route there. They know now that there's a route. There's going to be a building, with numerous pitches, with a big Mayo GAA crest and they'll want to get inside those gates. That's the key to it.
It's taken us a few weeks but they've finally realised how big it is, because it is, it's big to represent your county. It's big to hopefully to be the future of the green and red of Mayo. They're beginning to realise that and they're beginning to come out of their shell - shyness is a big thing. Any 14-year-old coming into a new environment, it's very hard to get a few words out of them.
It's vital that we gain their trust; that they trust us and we trust them because no matter what teachings you do on the football field, if you haven't go their trust, it won't flourish.
McDonald said he prefers that he may be well-known to the parents of the players under his tutelage but not to the players themselves.
All the Mayo underage developmental teams will play with the same style and football philosophy, an approach which will ease the progression of players through the ranks.
"I love my time with Mayo but that's gone, it's all about the future. If I can give them one per cent to what they have, I'll be happy."
"It's been a long process. All the group of coaches, I can only speak for the U14s, have gone to a lot of the club games, most of the club games. It's only fair to see them in their natural environment.
"When they come into trials here or they come into group games, they could be shy, there might be one other from their own club along with 15 or 16 strangers. If you go to a club game, you see their natural talent and you see their work rate, you see their heart - you know you have a player.
"When you come here, it takes time. It takes some weeks of repetition. It's probably boring for them at the beginning,'What am I doing here? This is too easy' but it's all about repetition, it's all about getting the little things that make the difference, it's all about new ideas.
"[The Mayo Way] It's not just a certain set of rules. It's the way we believe football should be played, which is number one, enjoyable. If we can turn out a young boy that's loyal and dedicated, a proud Mayo man and proud to stay in Mayo, that's a lot bigger than what's happening on a football field. We're creating a culture and an individual we can be proud of and Mayo people can all be proud of."
Picture credit: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
