Jake Morris remembers being called up to the Tipperary senior panel for the first time as an 18-year-old.
"I was like a young calf let on in a field," says Morris.
"I was a late bloomer in the senior team that year, I was only called in in April. I missed the whole league and everything - I was after breaking my jaw that winter so I didn't really see it coming, it was a bit of a surprise.
"You’re kind of shocked and you go in there and it’s a bit daunting at the start but the boys, Brendan and Seamie and these boys are so experienced. They welcome you and make you feel so comfortable in the set-up and they really want you to be yourself in there. They quickly get that across to you and that makes you feel welcome.
"But, at the end of the day, I try to think that I’m in here to hurl, I’m not here to look at these boys. I’m trying to make the team myself and that’s the way you have to approach it because it’s very easy to get caught up in the awe of Seamus Callanan or Brendan Maher and what they’ve won and achieved."
Tipperary Hurler Jake Morris at the announcement of UPMC as Official Healthcare Partner to the GAA/GPA at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
A year-and-a-half on and the Nenagh Éire Óg man stands on the verge of making a breakthrough to the starting team.
2019 was a momentous year for Morris. In the space of just six August days, he won both the senior and U20 All-Ireland hurling titles.
In the former, he came off the bench to score a point as Tipp destroyed Kilkenny. He had played the same role three weeks earlier in the semi-final against Wexford, firing over a sensational point from the sideline - the last of the game - as his side won by two.
The U20 victory was one in which Morris was central. He scored 0-8 less than a week after winning his first senior All-Ireland title.
Morris being primed for that game was due to a combination of admirable maturity and advice from a few older heads.
"I think me, Paddy [Cadell] and Jerome [Cahill] came together and a few of the senior lads had a word with us and said it'd be worth it on Saturday [to stay away from celebrations] so we kind of minded ourselves," says Morris.
I remember chatting to Paudie Maher and Bonner Maher throughout the celebrations and they were saying 'finish it off now on Saturday'. Because they had experienced that in 2010 and Bonner's words were 'It'll be the best thing you'll ever do in your life if you win on Saturday'.
I suppose the three of us together would know our own limits and we didn't want to be flat on Saturday. We didn't want to let our team down. We were the older guys on the U20 team, [the ones] with experience and we just came together and said we'd bide our time and have a right crack off it on Saturday.
I think we were all home early enough Monday evening from the Ragg.
I suppose it was hard because I was at home all week and my own family and girlfriend were out celebrating all week. I was like, 'Jesus, I was the one playing' and I was at home sitting down with my feet up.
It was hard but it was worth it in the end. [I was] playing with a lot of my close friends and I wasn't going to let them down.
Along with this year's titles, Morris won a minor All-Ireland title in 2016 and an All-Ireland U21 medal in 2018. That much success so young might inflate the egos of some. That should not be a problem with Morris.
"They're the kind of small things that drives you when you're training on the cold winter nights," he says of bringing the Liam MacCarthy Cup to his old school.
"Those days, you won't forget them anytime soon.
"There was a funny photo of when Brendan [Maher] and the Bonner and Brian O'Meara came to my school in 2010 when I was in fifth class. I ended up winning an All-Ireland with them guys this year. So it's funny how it goes.
"I'd tell the kids that. It's important when you bring the cups around the school that you're trying to inspire the kids because they're the next generation of winners, hopefully.
"It's funny how it goes. Time goes very fast. Before I know it I'll be 30 and someone else will have a photo of me. You just have to take everything as it comes to you and appreciate everything you do achieve.
"To be getting complacent at 20 years of age with what you've won would be very silly. I suppose I'm just looking at my next one. It's an unreal feeling winning an All-Ireland and it would motivate you to win another one.
"I don't really look back at previous achievements. They were unreal and it's maybe nice to look back at Christmas time, you might stick on one of the All-Ireland finals, but it's just important to stay looking forward while you can because you don't know how long you're going to be fit and healthy."
UPMC, which offers trusted, high-quality health services at UPMC Whitfield Hospital in Waterford and other facilities in Ireland, will work with the GAA/GPA to promote the health of Gaelic Players and the communities in which they play.
Top photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
