An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 32 | BY GNR PAURIC O'SULLIVAN, PR BRANCH S ometimes there are landmarks in time and history which command our full attention - and then you hop back to the realities of today. Captain Richie Barber grew up in an era where Jack Charlton led our famous team to a World Cup quarter final in Italy. Those unforgettable moments live firm in his mind and it is how he models his style on this Irish team. Having played with the Defence Forces team since 2011 and then earning the role as captain in the European Championships, they took big scalps by defeating Ger- many and the UK Armed Forces. Capt Barber describes his development from player to manager as "a right of passage" and something that fills him with pride and he feels privileged to hold this position. We think of managers as individuals who have accu- mulated years of experience on the side-lines, however Capt Barber has barely hung up his boots, to call time on his playing career and he is propelled into the bosses role. Taking over from Comdt Deccie Sheridan and Comdt Ian Snee, the new man in charge states he is taking over a well oiled machine, "They brought a lot of professionalism to it and it made my job easier." Not happy to just continue steering someone else's ship, Capt Barber has decided to continue layering each element of professionalism by adding new chinks to his armour. Scouring the army and recruiting the best in each of the perspective fields, the team is now armed with an audio/visual element for match analysis, strength and conditioning coaches and a top class physio in the hands of Bty Sgt Lloyd Murphy. With the CISM World Military games approaching in October of this year, the team stand to compete and match the world's elite with new purchases such as GPS trackers, which give extensive data on player performances. This team, given the numbers they pick from within the DF, are superseding all expectations, but Capt Barber asks for more, even though they face huge challenges, "Of the 18 players who helped us get to the games, we have lost 9 through overseas service or others who have terminated their service." While most other countries can work with the same squad for prolonged periods, this team goes through an annual transition of players. Many managers would feel like they are banging their head against a wall, but a youthful Capt Barber embraces the challenges ahead. Taking all into "We'll give it more than just a lash Jack" The DF Soccer team playing against a Shamrock Rovers recently. Photo: Armn Sam Gibney Sports in association with Teamware.ie

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