Trials
The next morning, Declan’s mum gave him a lift out to the county grounds. They arrived at 9.30, which gave him half an hour to get ready and catch up with Stewy and the others. As soon as they entered, he saw a man he didn’t recognise at the gate. He was about 20 years old and looked really athletic. He waved to them as they approached.
‘Hi, I’m Tim,’ he said. ‘You must be the guys from Smithgreen. Congratulations on winning the final! Come this way.’
As they walked towards the dressing room, Declan counted over 40 players already there. He’d thought he would be one of the first, since he’d arrived so early, but it looked like he was one of the last. He noticed David Jenkins from St Saran’s. It was weird to see him again so soon after they’d played against him in the final. As Declan gazed around, he saw no sign of St Saran’s most notorious players, Tommy and Jim Culbert. He hoped they weren’t coming. Those guys had been a nightmare during that match. They had no decency or honour. They would do anything to win.
When the Smithgreen boys got to the dressing room, they saw different-coloured bibs on the benches. As they put the bibs and the rest of their gear on, a man walked in. At first, Declan thought it was the same guy they’d seen outside, but this man had a T-shirt that read ‘Bainisteoir’. It was the man he’d seen speaking to Sam yesterday. Seeing him up close was weird. He looked like a totally ordinary person. Didn’t stand out at all. But in his head, Declan was in the presence of a legend.
‘Good morning, everybody,’ he said. The dressing room went silent. ‘My name’s Brendan Kelly. The first thing I would like to say is congratulations to all of you on being selected for the trials. You are all fine footballers but, unfortunately, out of the 45 of you here today only 20 can be selected to represent the Development Squad against some of Ireland’s best teams. As you can see, there are four different-coloured bibs. You’re going to play two games and then get some lunch while we deliberate. At 4 p.m. this afternoon, the 20 for the panel will be announced.’
Whoa. Declan was starting to get a little anxious. He was so excited about being there that he’d forgotten he mightn’t even make the top 20. By four o’clock, his dream of playing in Croke Park could be over. He could feel his nerves acting up and realised he had to shake it off. Panicking wasn’t going to help. He had to focus. Do what his mum had said: enjoy it and try his best. They’d just won the championship. He could do this.
Since Declan had a blue bib, he followed the rest of the blue-bib players onto the first pitch. Stewy had an orange bib on, so he would be playing on the second pitch. Since the first two matches would be played at the same time, Declan knew he wouldn’t get another chance to speak to him. ‘Yo, Stewy!’ he shouted.
He spun around. ‘Yeah?’
‘Best of luck, man,’ Declan said. ‘Let’s show them what we’re made of. You can do it!’
‘Yeah,’ Stewy said with a nod. ‘Deffo.’
In the first match, Declan felt he played quite well. He managed to score a goal and a point. He also set up a goal for one of the others. Only one other player on his team scored more, so he felt like he had a chance as long as he could keep up that pace.
In the second match, he scored two points. This time they were up against the team wearing yellow bibs – and Declan was playing against Smithgreen’s own Brian Bohan, who played excellently at midfield.
Declan nearly scored a goal but got tackled – unfairly, he felt – just before he took the shot. It was clear in the second match that some of the players were playing more desperately. They didn’t want to be sent home and were relying on cheap tackles to get the ball. Declan felt like Brendan wasn’t going to take on players who played unfairly, even when they showed promise. The All-Ireland competition would have really high standards, and he knew they wouldn’t put up with that sort of behaviour. He looked over at Brendan and could see him shaking his head. Although the player got the ball off Declan, it was clear Brendan didn’t like how he’d done it.
The referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the game and the players were called to gather around Brendan.
‘Hey, guys,’ he said. ‘You all played really well today. I have a lot to think about for the next hour while you go and get something to eat. At four o’clock sharp, make your way to Room 8 where we’ll make the announcement.’
The boys walked back towards the dressing room and Stewy gave Declan a high five. ‘All we can do now is wait.’
As they made their way to the canteen, Declan could feel his tummy rumbling. And yet, he was so nervous he could barely eat. He imagined most of the players felt the same way.
Stewy gave him a reassuring nudge on the shoulder. ‘You played really well – I’m sure you’ll make it.’
‘Not sure, Stew. Let’s see what happens.’
‘Hey, a lot of players should feel worried. But not you. I was watching you. You proved that winning goal in the final wasn’t a fluke. You have something special.’
‘Thanks, Stew. You played really well yourself. I had a look at one of your games when we had a break for a few minutes. Hey, any idea where Hector Hernandez is for these trials? He’d be a sure thing to make this team.’
‘Dad said he’s visiting some relations in Spain with his family.’
‘Well, the team would be much stronger with him on it, but I suppose that leaves an extra space for somebody else.’
As they finished their meals, Tim came in. Although everyone was in the middle of a chat, the whole room fell silent as soon as they saw him. He looked around, making eye contact with all of them. ‘Alright, guys. This is the big moment. Follow me.’