Hewitt’s journey from crushing injury blow to coaching and management

Tommy Hewitt knows a thing or two about coping with sporting adversity. After all, his own playing career was cut short by injury in his mid-20s.

But when it came to managing the first Athlone Town team to compete in the Women’s National League - with the Covid-19 pandemic causing several challenges - he had to call on all his reserves of experience.

Tommy has served as assistant manager with the Athlone Town men’s team, and he was head coach with the Irish Defence Forces team at the Military World Games. Yet he admits that last year was probably his “biggest learning experience” in terms of dealing with setbacks and helping a team to respond to them.

“You often hear the saying that managers can lose dressing rooms. You can say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and also you can say the right thing at the right time. It’s not all about roaring and shouting and bawling. It’s about treating them first and foremost as human beings and second as footballers,” says Tommy. “Girls don’t want to be treated any differently. They want to be told if they’re doing things right or wrong.”

The devastating injury which ended his playing days at the age of 25 propelled Tommy into coaching and management earlier than planned.

“It initially started off as a groin injury. But when it was investigated further, there was deterioration of the hip joint, which led to hip resurfacing,” Tommy recalls.

A talented attacker, Tommy was told to stop playing top level sport in order to ensure a better quality of life in later years. “I was told I had to look at other ways to stay active, top level sport was out, so I went down the coaching road then,” he says.

“It was tough. At the time I suppose it was like an outer body experience - is this really happening to me? You go and get a second opinion and, a year later, I had to get my hip resurfaced. That was because of the amount of pain I was in, and nothing was working.”

Dr David Cogley, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon (and son of the renowned rugby commentator Fred Cogley), was among the medical experts who treated Tommy. “He did all he could to get me back playing. I had other issues with muscles around the hip, not just wear and tear. I was getting painkilling injections but I couldn’t play with the pain, it was that bad.”

Leinster and Ireland rugby player Sean O’Brien had a similar hip resurfacing operation in 2019 and he has since returned to playing action. “So many advances have been made since I got it done,” Tommy says.

Tommy broke into the Athlone Town team at a young age and played under Liam Buckley and Dermot Keely.

“I joined the Army when I was 20 and I went overseas and I missed a season effectively,” says Tommy, recalling that he missed out on the 1998 FAI Cup semi-final against Cork City. “I played the following season and I had to stop then.”

While still a teenager Tommy did a coaching course under the direction of Pauric Nicholson. “I was always one of those players who was thinking about the game and coaching. But when you’re playing, you’re just concentrating on playing and you think you’re going to play forever.

“When the injury happened, I had to look at other ways to get enjoyment out of the game. The old cliché is that nothing replaces playing, but you have to switch off from that.”

Having coached the ADSL team for three Kennedy Cup campaigns, Tommy praises the contribution of long-serving ADSL officials Padraig Quinn and Terry O’Neill. Tommy also managed local junior soccer outfit St Peter’s and he got involved in the women’s game through the MSL side in the Gaynor Cup.

“Larry Kildea, a good friend of mine, asked me to get involved and I got hooked then,” admits Tommy, who was very impressed by “the willingness to learn and get better” among the young female players.

From his involvement with MSL teams in the Gaynor Cup, Tommy became aware of the talent in the midlands region.

“There are players that I coached and I would have steered them in the direction of the likes of Peamount or Galway as there was nothing for them here at that level. Bealnamulla and Willow Park were great teams locally at the time, but these girls wanted to step on to a different level. That has come back to haunt me now as I can’t get them back,” says Tommy, before adding philosophically “but that’s football.”

Tommy always saw himself as a coach rather than a manager. “My biggest thing was about developing players and I never really wanted to go into management. I just wanted to be a coach.”

But the chance to manage his hometown team in their first WNL season was an enticing opportunity that he couldn’t turn down. Other job offers had come his way, but they didn’t fit the bill. “I was holding out for this to be honest. It was one job I really wanted to do.”

“I saw the talent that was coming through and, in fairness to Mickey O’Connor and John Hayden, they had a vision two or three years ago that Athlone were going to have a senior women’s team in the league.”

One of the attractive aspects of the job is to create a pathway for players from Athlone and surrounding areas to play in the WNL.

Last year, players from the Athlone area such as Katelyn Keogh, Kayleigh Shine, Sinead Farrell and the Heatherington twins from Glasson (Allie and Robyn) were part of the Athlone squad. Keogh and Shine, both of whom have represented Ireland at U-19 level, will be expected to play key roles again this season.

“Rather than thinking about going to clubs like Peamount and Galway, younger girls in the area have a pathway to come through with Athlone,” says Hewitt.

“We built something last year. The goal was to get a team on the pitch and then the second goal was to compete. I felt we did that even though some of the results didn’t show it.

“In fairness to the club, they are not putting any pressure on me as a coach to win matches. They want to establish themselves over the next three or four years, to create a pathway for girls to come through.”

Hewitt candidly describes Athlone’s sixth-place finish (out of nine teams) last season as “a false position” and he’s not reading much into it.

The Athlone man contends that clubs like Shelbourne, Peamount and Cork are on a “different level”. However, he believes the arrival of some “very good players” will prove a significant boost to the Athlone squad this season.

He describes Abbiegayle Ronayne as “a proven goalkeeper”, saying she decided to leave Galway to get first team football. Another goalkeeper, Offaly native Ciara Glackin has also joined Athlone.

Tommy is pleased to have the “pedigree and experience” of former Northern Ireland international Catherine Hyndman. “I was trying to get her last year but she was having a baby. She’s going to add huge experience. I can see it already in training, she’s a bit older and wiser. We lacked that last year; we had a very young team.”

Another new signing is attacker Muireann Devaney, who Tommy describes as “an exciting talent” and he sees the Sligo native as “definitely one to watch” for the future.

Tommy is delighted that the likes of the Brady sisters (Kayla and Leah) and Kellie Brennan are still on board. “You know when you go to a match, whether it’s soccer, Gaelic or hurling, you can pick out the skilful players. Kellie always makes you smile when she’s on the ball. She’s a free spirit, she works very hard for the team but you just don’t know what she’s going to do next because she has bags of skill.”

Athlone are away to Shelbourne in their opening game of the new season on March 27. “To be honest no matter what game we got first, it was always going to be a tough game. The majority of teams are ahead of us and Shelbourne are a fantastic side,” says Tommy.

“All the managers and coaches in the women’s league are fantastic people. I could pick up the phone and talk to any of them. They are so open and we have great dialogue,” he continues.

In particular, Tommy mentions Peamount manager James O’Callaghan. “I think James has had seven seasons with Peamount, but he’s so humble. They gave us a thumping up there last year and he was so positive to me afterwards.”

As for the challenges posed by Covid-19 last season, Tommy said the Athlone players took to the various rules and regulations “like a duck to water”.

“The thing I found strange is that you didn’t have as much time in the dressing room to do team talks. We didn’t get any cases (last season) which was fantastic and the main thing was that everybody was healthy,” he adds.

Originally from St Ruth’s Park in Athlone, Tommy has been living in the Summerhill area close to the town for a number of years and he now works with An Post as a postman. Tommy and his wife Sinéad (Lennon, from Kielty, Athlone) have three children, Ellie (18), Lucy (13) and Harry.

Ellie is a talented Gaelic footballer with Clann na nGael and has represented Roscommon at minor level. She had the misfortune of sustaining a cruciate ligament injury two years ago. Harry plays with the St Joseph’s FC U-10 team, with Tommy involved as a coach. Tommy has also done some coaching with Clann na nGael at underage level. Thanking his wife, Tommy says: “Without Sinead, I just couldn’t do what I’m doing. She’s the glue that sticks us together.”

Tommy is full of praise for an initiative his assistant manager Anto Fay came up with. “He’s involved with the MSL Gaynor Cup team and he started a mentorship with the senior players. Each squad player has a player who they can contact for advice. Anto came up with that initiative at the start of last year and the girls are doing Zoom interviews with the (Athlone Town) players and asking them questions.

“I remember when I was a young fella growing up watching Athlone Town. All I wanted was to talk to the likes of Rod de Khors and Dennis Clarke. You never got the opportunity to do it. Even though you were so near them, you felt a million miles away from them.”

Tommy is also glad to have Alan Loftus “a sports scientist and personal trainer” in his backroom team, adding that the Limerick man has trained a number of top athletes. “You’re only as good as the team around you,” Tommy adds.