Coaching The Beating Heart Of Wexford’s Lizzy Kent

For Lizzy Kent the love of coaching has been evident from a young age, the Wexford Ladies Football manager and Wexford Youths interim boss is now doing it at two different codes.

Kent is a former player for Wexford, but while predominantly being a soccer coach, she had the experience at GAA from an early age also, now trying to help two of Wexford’s Women’s sides flourish this season.

Initially brought in to fill a vacant role on a temporary basis back in 2021, Kent revitalised a team that was finding the going tough, that year they made the All Ireland which looked highly unlike, this year they are going for a three in a row of final appearances, Kent was happy to take the position and has enjoyed being the manager well into her second year at the helm.

“Well I think initially it was kind of a short term gig that was the initial thing just to kind of see out the 2021 campaign, and in fairness as in like, the girls, it’s all credit to them to be really honest with you, I mean really put their shoulder to the wheel, we went on a tremendous run and obviously didn’t end the way we wanted that year against Westmeath in Croke Park, but I suppose if you said at the start but that we were going to end up in Croke Park, people would have probably laughed at you. 

After that and I suppose when things had settled down, had a chat with the county board and chatted with the players. I suppose, I’m involved in Ladies Football in Wexford for the last probably 30 years at this stage and probably in a coaching element for 20 years, so it’s massively close to my heart and I suppose it’s a real privilege and an honour to obviously manage the county.

I’m working with a tremendous group of girls a tremendous management team, we all keep each other on our toes which is hugely important and I suppose on top of all that it’s a hugely enjoyable environment to be in and you know as well as obviously it helps when you’re on the road and you’re winning and you’re getting results and whatever. 

Even on the tough days, we pick each other back up, we bounce back and the bounce back ability within the group is super, I’ve such admiration for that as well so no it wasn’t at that stage it was it was an easy decision to say yes and I feel very lucky to have been I suppose part of this journey with the crew over the last couple of years as well.”

Coaching has been in the blood and mindset of Kent from an early age, almost being a fabric of her DNA, Kent has experience from a players mindset, along with coaching and managerial, bringing a blend of knowledge and skills that she has learned since her teens.

Now managing two different sports, Kent who was an accomplished player for Wexford, making the All Ireland Intermediate Final in 2007, had really dipped her toe into the coaching world and has been on a journey of discovery ever since.

Despite that playing career, Kent always wanted to be a coach, more so that playing which she did until her retirement, but the mind always was fixated with coaching, she details her journey from being a teenager helping friends out due to a lack of teams in the area, all the way to being an Inter-County manager, hoping to record All Ireland glory with The Model County.

“I was maybe a little bit different from some players, so I always really, really enjoyed coaching and I suppose when I was younger in my club at home, we probably like when I was 12 or 13 we didn’t actually have a team, so when things kind of got moving and whatever, probably about 15, I actually started coaching some of the girls that I played with or if you want to call it that, looking back now would I call it coaching, but anyway, I used to run the sessions anyway, I was probably about kind of 15 when I really started I always had that kind of curious or inquisitive mind in relation to the game and in relation to, you know, looking at oppositions and whatever. 

I mean at that stage it was probably maybe a bit random, you know I know some of my mates at the time thinking does she ever let it go, so I coached and whilst people would maybe feel that soccer was maybe my background, Gaelic would have been, I would have been probably involved in all levels, at club from under 12 up to adult, I would have coached at all levels of underage intercounty from 14’s to minor. 

Been involved in school teams over the years, been involved in college teams and then obviously like being involved like I coached a little bit with the adult team in Wexford, over kind of previous kind of regime. So I suppose my background would have really started in football and probably maybe when I finished playing Inter county football whilst I’d been involved in club soccer and whatever it was at that stage, that I got involved with the Wexford Youths.

So a whole new horizon, a whole new kind of eyes open to something completely different, but I suppose you have a little bit different to somewhere, I would say I love coaching as much as I loved playing, you know, so I haven’t heard too many say that but I can definitely say yeah I enjoy both and probably to the irritant our irritation of the player sometimes ’cause I am as excited about the session as I probably was about playing a match a few years ago.”

Coaching Wexford Ladies since 2021, Kent now has found herself being in the hot seat at Women’s Premier Division outfit Wexford Youths, on an interim basis, experienced and well versed now in the coaching of both codes, she now has to balance both at the same time.

Youths are currently taking a back seat however as they are not in competition due to a summer break for the Women’s World Cup, but she has balanced the two and has found a great overlap in the coaching style used in both.

“Hugely actually I find myself like using the same language and the same challenges, I suppose are areas that you’re looking to fix their very mirroring like, so there’s times that I would be doing a soccer session and the language I’d be using the following night in the football session would be similar you know, maybe defensive elements or attacking elements and yeah, massively probably have seen it more and more in the last probably, maybe early doors, maybe not as much when I was coming in, your kind of finding your footing maybe your own style and your own kind of thought processes on it as well.

Now I would see it massively and I would see a lot of areas that I suppose that one would help the other you know, I suppose that’s the big benefit of being involved in a number of sports ’cause it always kind of keeps you on your toes or keeps you thinking, so something that’s worked in the football, which maybe might be a little bit unorthodox, but that is transferable to the to the soccer and and vice versa as well, you know so I think maybe it’s a good challenge from my own mind in my own coaching and my own coaching journey as well.”

Kildare are next on the mind of Wexford, they meet on Sunday to determine who will advance to the All Ireland Final, something Wexford are all too familiar in doing the last two years, Kent believes Kildare will be a tough test and that ehr side will need to be at their best, to end a six game losing streak against the Lilywhites.

“Firstly we’re really looking forward to it, anytime that you get to head into an All Ireland semi-final you have to really look forward to and enjoy, enjoy the occasion, we’re under no illusions that it’s going to be a really, really challenging battle, we know that we’re going to have to be at our absolute best.

Kildare have had a tremendous season, you know, like winning Division 3, winning the Leinster Championship, so we know we’re going to have to be at our absolute best on the day, but really looking forward to it.”

Ahead of Sunday’s meeting of Kildare, you can watch the full interview with Lizzy below: