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Stephen Wallace has stepped down from his role as manager with the Kerry Juniors and will now manage the IT Tralee football side.
TWO-TIME All-Ireland winning manager of the Kerry Juniors, Stephen Wallace, will not be seeking another year in charge.
It has been announced that Wallace will take over as manager of the IT Tralee GAA side and hope to end a nine year run without a win in the Sigerson Cup for the college.
“My three-year term is up with the [Kerry] juniors,” Stephen Wallace told TraleeToday.ie on Friday. “I discussed it with the county board, but I feel it’s time for a new voice after three successful years – three All-Ireland finals where we won two of them.”
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“It’s time for a new approach there and a time for me to move on to something new,” said Wallace.
The Ardfert man will takeover as manager of the IT Tralee and enter the role vacated by PJ Reidy. Wallace is a former student at the college and played Sigerson Cup for the IT in 1996 and in fact scored the the side’s first ever goal in the Sigerson Cup.
At his disposal are Gavin Crowley, who trained with the Kerry senior team this year, former Kerry U21, Conor Keane and a smattering of players from Tralee clubs including Denis McElligott, Shane Guthrie and Alan Duggan.
Wallace looks back on his three years in charge with great fondness. Three Munster titles and two All-Ireland crowns stands as an impressive haul.
“The real satisfying thing is seeing guys go on to play with the Kerry senior team. A lot of the guys played National League last year and Tadhg Morley made his senior championship debut. I’d be very hopeful that a lot more of them will play National League football with Eamonn [Fitzmaurice] next year as well,” he said.
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Wallace is now setting his sights on ending a nine year Sigerson Cup losing streak for IT Tralee sides.
“It’s a huge project for us. To take on a team that has not won a game in nine years, you are not going to turn things around overnight, but it’s a challenge. There is definitely raw material, the talent is definitely there. A lot of it is out of your control, but if we had everyone available I’d be hopeful we’ll have a good enough year,” he said.
After such a successful number of years with the Kerry juniors and his own club Ardfert, the ITT will be lucky to have him.
