Читать книгу The Boys of '93. Derry’s All-Ireland Kings онлайн

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The wind and the rain was that bad that day, that what little crowd there was was in the stands. Kildare wouldn’t keep a ball behind the net because they were trying to slow the game down. I made him go out and stand behind the goals and every time the ball went over the wire he’d to go and get it back. He came in drenched. That put an end to Gary’s soccer. I could maybe even understand someone else going and playing, but Gary?

It was hard on him. I was hard on him and it took me a few years to learn that I had to treat him like everybody else. I suppose there was the fear that people would accuse me of singling him out for special attention because of who he was. I did but not in the way everyone expected.

And he had no escape. The rest of them could go home and mouth me off to high heaven. He had to look at me again. But he’s a quiet boy and said nothing. He stayed a player on the field and a son when we were at home. I eventually learned how to separate being his manager and his da and that if things weren’t going well I couldn’t take it out on him.