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18th May 2017
09:11pm BST

"When you see the way the older guys have really responded to them(the younger lads), you know, they've started to take care of them and are gelling them together. It's not just about the game of hurling, you know, these guys need to know how to balance their work life, their training life, their college life and their own personal time."
The key, according to the famed full-back is ensuring that the younger players know when and how to leave behind the GAA world and to make use of their personal time and space to refresh their own minds.
Sometimes less is more, and according to O'Sullivan, Cork's more experienced players have been informing their younger players on how it is more beneficial to them to focus on other parts of their lives and not to over-think the game.
"We've a lot of lads in the squad who are experienced, who have been through the mill on the same type of system and to see them actually take the guys, not even take them away, but sitting down and chatting to them before training and after training, how to get that balance right and mentoring them, you know you forget about the on pitch stuff, because good hurlers will always be able to play together but what i see off the field has really brought them together."
'The Rock' emphasised the breath of fresh air that these younger players, such as Luke Meade, Mark Coleman and others have been to The Rebels this year.
They will be making their biggest step-up yet on Sunday in the Munster-Championship first round against Tipperary, however.
"There's no dressing it up, them guys have played throughout the National League. The Championship arena is different. Will they make it through the championship arena? They're putting their hand up every week...it's very refreshing to have these guys in."
Listen to the O'Sullivan interview here from 23'00".
https://soundcloud.com/sportsjoe-gaa-hour/diarmuid-osullivan-interview-cork-improvement-encouraging-hard-workExplore more on these topics: