To me if you are good enough at 17 or 18 in this country you are going to get your chance to play first team football - Damien Locke

For a man who has just turned thirty years of age, Damien Locke has a very impressive football C.V already and one which is growing by the week.

This week will see another season of Leinster Senior League football kicking off for clubs across the country and also for Kildare side Newbridge Town as they enter their 50^th year. It is also the beginning of a new chapter for Kerry man Damien Locke.

From quite an early age, Locke knew himself he wasn’t going to make it as a player in the pressure cooker environment that is modern day football but there were many aspects within the coaching side of the game that appealed to him.

The experience that Locke has accrued over the last number of years is quite impressive and includes receiving his UEFA A Coaching badge, coaching analyst with the Republic of Ireland Senior team during their Euro 2016 tournament success and a coaching offer from Premier League Champions Manchester City in a unique role as a coach within their Chinese Academy.

Not an offer that you get every day but one which Damien turned down at the time. As tempting as it would have been to just jump at an offer like that, Locke took stock of the bigger picture at the time and with all things considered decided that it wasn’t the right role for him at the time.

“The whole Man City thing came about a few years ago during my time at Wexford” Locke explained about the offer from Man City.

“I went over there for a couple of days to take part in a number of different assessments as part of the interview process for a coaching role and to assist their newest academy at the time over in China.

“When I got offered the role I was in my final year of college in I.T Carlow and Wexford Youths were a month away from winning the First Division. Having been involved with the club for three years at that stage I just weighed everything up at the time and decided it wasn't the right time for me.

Upon delving deeper into the role, it turned out to only be a ten month contract in China. With being so close to a college degree and promotion brewing with Wexford he decided to stay at home and continue to work hard within the coaching environment with Wexford F.C.

He spent six years overall with the club including the final eighteen months as manager. Although the initial feeling on leaving the club was one of disappointment, overall Locke says he really enjoyed his time with Wexford and is very much looking forward now to the new challenge with Newbridge Town.

“My initial reaction was disappointment because I had made a commitment for the season to the dressing room on day one when I signed those players” Locke commented regarding his departure.

“Have no doubt, there were plenty of times before now that I could have stepped away but because of that commitment I made to them at the start, I never did.

“I only ever knew about the struggle and spending within our means at Wexford, maybe it was me being naive but I didn't even spend the full budget given to me at Wexford for two reasons, one, based on the budget, we weren't going to be good enough consistently throughout the season to compete for the playoffs so why put the club in any sort of debt and two, I couldn't look my players in the eye and tell them there are no expenses available for them come the back end of the season after they fulfilled their end of the deal right the way through.

“Is there a solution? I’m not sure. I’ve been involved in the club licensing meeting with the license committee before and all I know is there is great work being done by volunteers in this league to get the licence approved for clubs and there is an amount of work involved in the process each year. 

“I loved my six years at the club, during my first two years I progressed a lot as a coach under Shane (Keegan) and then we had that great group of lads in 2015 and 2016 before I took over as manager.

“From the time I took over I was always very realistic, the club had gone from the Premier Division to rock bottom not only losing Mick (Wallace) from behind the scenes a month or two into my reign but the club losing Shane was also a massive blow. I always knew we had to treat it as a fresh start and it would be four or five years before Wexford could challenge for the playoffs again.

“I still believe in that today hence why I spent so much of my time involved trying to get the best young lads from Wexford and the surrounding counties into the club. I always kept one eye on the future because if all you did was concentrate on the results not going your way things would become very negative very quickly and you would soon lose belief in the younger lads and as a group overall.

“Bringing through younger lads to give them a platform to become better footballers is what I enjoy most about being the manager and also the huge benefit of being involved in the coaching side of things. It was something that sold me the job on day one as it was what the club wanted and right up to my last hour as manager I brought in another young talented centre forward from Waterford on loan to give him some game time so I believe I was consistent throughout in providing these opportunities for players.

“I have never regretted taking the job even at such a young age or the sacrifices I made to do the job. I always knew without having 4 or 5 years in the role it was never going to be a successful tenure but the experience I’ve got from it was worth the 18 months, along with giving so many young lads the stepping stone to hopefully push on and have decent league of Ireland careers.”

As someone with such a wealth of knowledge and experience working with young players and right through the underage grades with Ireland at international level Locke is a man who is well placed to speak about pathways for ambitious young players.

As tempting as it might be for a youngster to jump at an offer from a top European club when they come calling with lots of temptations and a shiny contract, Locke has also seen the other side of the coin and the importance of at least resisting this temptation until the Leaving Certificate transcript is in your back pocket. It’s amazing what two short years can do for maturity levels and a general life skills point of view at that age as well.

“I understand the pros and cons to both sides of this age old debate” said Locke on the popular topic of conversation amongst coaches, parents and everyone involved in the game.

“In my opinion education is very important so if you can stick around to get a good leaving cert at least, this will be so beneficial towards your future both inside and outside the game of football. Your football career can be taken from you in an instant and this must be factored in when making decisions like this.

“There is also the fact that there is a massive difference in maturity between a lad of sixteen heading away on his own in comparison to an eighteen or nineteen year old.

“To me if you are good enough at 17 or 18 in this country you are going to get your chance to play first team football, if not in a full time club then you have the opportunity to get involved in environments like I.T Carlow or any of the FAI ETB courses around the country until you get the right move away.

“The problem from what we have seen in years gone by is that the number of lads that have went and returned and are now no longer involved in elite football is far greater than those that get that second chance and take it. “

The Leinster Senior League and Newbridge Town is where Locke will focus all of his attention on for the moment having taken over as first team manager ahead of the new season at the top end of amateur football which kicks off this week.

The LSL is new territory for Locke but he has crossed paths with a number of the players at different times at underage and is quite encouraged by the standard that these players are involved at.

“I don't have much experience of the Leinster Senior League itself but I know of quite a few players that play at that level and would've managed against teams they were involved with in the Leinster Senior Cup during my time with Crettyard and Wexford.

“I had a few offers shortly after leaving Wexford and Newbridge Town was the one that appealed the most.

“From what I have witnessed in recent years and after my stint involved in the First Division I’ve no doubt the likes of Bluebell and Crumlin who have consistently been up around the top of the LSL over the last number of years could without doubt compete really well in the Airtricity League First Division.”