Katie Molloy: Born to play, born to lead

Katie Molloy broke into the Antrim senior team as a promising youngster but is now one of their most important cogs. She spoke to Michael McMullan as they head into the championship.

In Katie Molloy’s camogie world, she counts herself very lucky. A drive into Dunloy’s premises and their impressive facilities hit you between the eyes.

Two pitches. An all-weather floodlit training area. Forward thinking club Gaels put their heads together to think of the future.

The current teams have been brought up on the back of an indoor academy and a gym.

Molloy credits the work that went before her. She also emphasises the level of coaching in her younger days.

McNaughton hails impact of young Saffron stars

A look into her medal collection growing up and you see the symmetry. Féile, u-16 and minor silver, times two.

Her father Malachy, one of the club’s championship blue bloods, is now Chairman.

Alongside Tom McLean, they called Katie into the club senior team in her last year of u-16.

Naturally, it took time to find her feet. Her silky skills saw her flourish and after time with the county minors, the senior camp soon came calling.

Now, she is captain of the Antrim u-23 team and senior vice-captain, a team who have mixed with the country’s best in Division 1A this season.

Having such a young player in a leadership position, as the county dines at the top table, tells a lot.

LOCKED IN…Katie Molloy in full focus during a game with QUB

Away from the pitch, she is mixing training with studying medicine at Queen’s in Belfast.

While Molloy credits manager Elaine Dowds with the drive she channels into the team, there is a bit of give and take around her shifts.

“Elaine is very understanding and she works with me all of the time,” Molloy said.

“She’s always chatting to me about it and making sure that everything is going smoothly.”

During her studies in St Louis Ballymena, Molloy loved the sciences and had a rapport with people.

“Medicine was always something that I had considered,” she said. “I’m in third year so I’m in the hospital at the minute, it’s up in Belfast, so that’s handy enough.”

Older sister Caoimhe, brothers Ronan and PJ play with Dunloy. Their mother Charlene, from nearby Cloughmills, fully supports them on the sporting journey.

Katie’s early memories were of the Go Games and getting two All-Ireland Féile experiences – to Tipperary and Wexford.

At school, there was netball and football, but camogie has always been number one.

“I’d have done a bit of running but it was nearly always to improve my camogie,” she added.

“I’m lucky enough that we’ve always had the academy and facilities like that in Dunloy, we were very lucky growing up we had them.”

Growing up, Aileen McManus (nee Martin) was someone she looked up to and was an inspiration as one of her coaches.

“I always remember Ashling Thompson whenever we were growing up and the girls on the Cork team,” Molloy added.

It turned full circle when Antrim beat Cork earlier this season. Thompson was at the heart of the Rebels’ defence.

CLUB TIME…Katie Molloy in action against Loughgiel in last year’s championship. Photo: Michael Corcoran

“It was actually a bit mad,” Molloy said.

“I was playing number six as well. Seeing her at the other end of the pitch, I was in awe at the start and then you get it yourself settled.”

That whet the appetite for wanting to play at the top level. It makes all the effort over the years worth it. Years of playing. Years of enjoyment.

“Our underage coaching was first class at Dunloy,” she said.

“We had the likes of John McArthur and Anne McGilligan taking us, it was unreal

“My daddy took me for a few years as well. The focus at underage was always about getting better and getting ready for senior camogie.

“That’s why having the academy was important, you could train the whole winter nearly.”

When the call came to join the Dunloy senior team, it brought a wake-up call of the physicality needed to compete.

“I was playing with Aileen (McManus) and Chloe Drain (now McShane), they definitely toughened me up a wee bit,” she said.

There were also the words of advice from Malachy, pointers of what went right and things that needed improved.

“I suppose that’s what makes you better,” she added.

In the Saffron of Antrim, Molloy was involved at u-12 and u-14 level before a gap until minor and a call from John McArthur to join the minor squad.

County call

When the Antrim senior call came, Molloy came into a squad who were challenging for league titles and promotion to top flight.

As a youngster, like when coming into the Dunloy team, it can be daunting. Especially playing camogie at the top level as a teenager.

“It took me maybe a wee while to get used to that,” Molloy said.

“It’s hard to find your feet and your position within the team but all the girls have been unreal.

“They’re all so nice, they brought you into it and they were so welcoming. It was easy in that way.”

At the other end of the age spectrum, fellow Dunloy player Nicole McAtamney had the experience of playing on big championship days and all the bumps along the way.

“Me and Nicole would now be best friends because of county,” Molloy said, “she was one of the girls that took me under her wing.”

Life in the fast lane of inter-county senior is as much about getting acclimatised to the level of conditioning as the speed of the camogie.

Molloy heaps praise on their strength and conditioning coaches Lucia Dowds and Curtis Ashcroft.

“We’re competing with the top teams physically as much as we are in our camogie ability,” she said

“That is a big difference because you go down south and they’re very strong girls and they’re strong teams.

“We’ve worked really hard with Curtis and Lucia’s coaching. There’s that sort of ‘no lost cause’ attitude within the team.

“Elaine drives it, her and ‘Gooch’ (Conor Gillan – coach) keep telling us we’re as good as them, we can compete and we go out every day to win.

“They have that belief in us that we can do it.”

When All-Ireland champions Galway came to Cushendun in the league, they had to dig out a two-point win.

Of the two teams in last summer’s All-Ireland final – Cork and Galway – Antrim beat on and ran the other close.

MEET YOUR HERO…Katie Molloy looked up to Ashling Thompson when she was younger and ended up playing against her this sesaon

“We’re putting in the work,” Molloy said of Antrim’s efforts. “We’ve been training since last year and we have been doing a lot of work on our strength and our camogie.”

“You can see that we’re setting high standards in training and that’s coming out against the top teams in matches.”

Which is most important in top level camogie – the skills or the conditioning? Or both?

Molloy paused before saying it’s the latter. There is a need for both sides of the bargain.

“You need to be on the top of your game at both,” she said.

“If you slip against these teams, let your concentration or anything go they will punish you for it.

“I’ve noticed that physically we’re competing with them just as well which is definitely good.”

Looking into the remainder of the season, Antrim have their Ulster title to defend against Derry in Portglenone on Saturday before taking aim at the All-Ireland intermediate race.

“Things are positive and there’s a buzz within the team heading into the championship especially after the league campaign,” Molloy outlined.

“The competition at the minute within the team is brilliant. Everyone’s pushing each other on, so everyone’s looking forward to the championship. We’re just hoping that we can bring what we’ve learnt in the league into the championship.

“We’re still trying to raise the standards. Elaine and ‘Gooch’ (Conor Gillan) and Chloe (McShane) and all are keeping the standard of training so high. Hopefully we do well and we’ll focus on Ulster first I suppose. We’ll probably end up playing Down in the All-Ireland championship, so it’s a good chance to see what the teams are like.”

The early days in Dunloy’s academy were well spent. The hours of honing a craft for days like Saturday.