Proud Offaly man taking hard knocks for the greater good

HE may not be capturing the limelight in the way that some of his colleagues are but Joe Hoctor has been as inspirational as anyone for Offaly U20 hurlers this year.

He has embraced a fairly drastic change of position with every ounce of his being and then took the decision to leave him off for the Leinster final on the chin. The Carrig-Riverstown man has put his head down, worked his socks off on and off the pitch and put the greater good ahead of his own needs.

One of the elder statesmen in the squad who are preparing for the All-Ireland U-20 Hurling Championship final against Cork on Sunday, Hoctor's experience and work rate has been crucial and inspiring. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, he has displayed great battling qualities and produced a man of the match performance in the season changing win over Galway when he scored 1-2.

While the younger generation of 2022 minors are creating a welter of excitement in Offaly and have been crucial to progress to the All-Ireland final, the experience, physicality and leadership of the older brigade has been equally as important. Neither cohort could excel without the other and Joe Hoctor is in the older brigade, one of a handful playing their last year at under 20.

Despite his man of the match display against Galway and scoring two crucial points in the semi-final win over Dublin, Hoctor was the unlucky man to lose out as Brecon Kavanagh, Adam Screeney and Dan Ravenhill returned from injury for the Leinster final. Injuries to Ben Miller and Shane Rigney made two of the calls easy and management deliberated long and hard before deciding to start their strongest team for the Wexford game and leave Hoctor off.

Having gone off at half time against Dublin, Hoctor would not have been stunned at the call but it was naturally very disappointing for him.

“I was disappointed of course but it all about how you react to these things. We are all part of a group and at the end of the day, we have the same goal which is to win an All-Ireland title and Leinster championships. There is no time for lying around and feeling sorry for yourself. You just have to get up and go again.”

He was wing back as Offaly lost the Leinster minor hurling final three years ago and expected a defensive role this year but that changed when management decided he brought a crucial different ingredient to the attacking table.

“At the start of the year for practice matches, I was playing corner back and wing back. Then one training I walked in and Hughie (Hannon, coach) and Leo (O'Connor, manager) came up to me and said they were thinking of playing me centre forward. I said that's no problem at all, I will go wherever ye want me to. It has been working so far and hopefully it will continue to do that.”

He comes from the Carrig-Riverstown club, located geographically in Tipperary but playing in Offaly for several decades. Back in the late 1990s, early 2000s, their most famous hurler, Ger Oakley had to endure painted road signs of “Judas” in the village as some locals reacted adversely to him wearing an Offaly jersey.

Thankfully, Hoctor has not seen any of this animosity, saying: “I definitely don't experience any of it. We don't get the same treatment that maybe he did. We are definitely considered to be Offaly hurlers, through and through and we have always been supported.”

He is just enjoying life as an Offaly hurler, the buzz of winning and preparing for his first All-Ireland final.

“It is a great achievement. We knew we had great skill around the camp. We thought we might have been a bit young at the start of the year. That is what people were telling us from the outside anyway but there has been a lot of hard work done, a lot of gym work, a lot physically and it has been shown so far in the championship that we can compete. That we are not a young team, we are strong, we are physical, we can match anyone.

“In the last four years, this group of players have been involved in three Leinster finals which shows us that there is improvement going on. We are really striving to be stronger and getting back to where we want to be. There is a lot of progress being made and we are excited.”

There has been a big turnover from the minor team of 2020.

“When I was playing minor three years ago, there is not too many from that group playing now. Whether that is due to commitment issues or the stronger minors coming up in the last few years. They have really brought the standards up and really strengtened the group.

“It has been huge. They have brought a massive confidence and belief around the group which we probably didn't have in recent years. That might have caused us in that Leinster final a few years ago, just the belief to get over the line but they have brought that now and hopefully we can get over the line at the weekend.”

Offaly progressed comfortably out of the second tier and he remarked:

“Getting the few wins at the start of the year really built momentum for us but we respected every team we played and we went out as if they were the top teams as well. There is no easy teams in the championship and we learned that. They really got us ready for Galway and Dublin and Wexford. Now the momentum has continued to build for this All-Ireland final.”

He spoke about the importance of the win over Galway.

“It was a huge victory. It was a great day. I suppose a lot of Offaly people weren't expecting it at all and it was a great surprise to them but we knew we had the talent to win that match. We knew we had the work done to win that match. We knew what this group is capable of and we are really driving it on now.”

While he didn't get into the action against Wexford, Hoctor savoured the occasion and celebrations.

“There was great excitement around the place. Offaly has been bringing a massive crowd to matches for last few years once they find a successful team. It is great really and hopefully there will be a massive crowd for the All-Ireland final because it is like having a 16th man on the field. It's huge to the players. You don't actually realise it until afterwards. It is massive and it really drives us on.

“It is very exciting but it is all about training hard, keeping your head down, keeping focused. Trying to stay away from all the other side of things. Getting yourself to training and working hard. Keeping your mind on the main goal which is winning an All-Ireland final.”

Now they are one game away from a historic All-Ireland success.

“We have come up with big performances in previous matches when we weren't expected and that will be on the back of our heads. We know that we have been underdogs for nearly every match and we have thrived off it so hopefully we can really pull together for the final and use all that determination.”