WEXFORD STAR LEE Chin is still considering his dual-code future and whether he will commit to football or hurling next season.
Chin hit the headlines this summer with Championship appearances in both codes in the space of 24 hours — and even topped off one busy weekend with a guest appearance on the Sunday Game.
The 20-year-old has already admitted that he is unlikely to keep up such a packed schedule next season, but he hasn’t decided whether he will stick with small or big ball.
“It was a great experience,” Chin said. “I really enjoyed it but it is something that is very hard to maintain.
You have to decide some weekends, then other weekends you are not even given the option or the choice. But it is something I am maybe thinking about at the moment – just sticking to one.I haven’t really decided about it yet but it’s something I am definitely considering.
The last inter-county action of a busy year came in the U21 semi-finals last month when Wexford were 1/80 favourites but shocked by underdogs Antrim.
“We took our eye off the ball,” Chin, who captained Wexford that day, admitted.
“We kind of had it in our minds that it was just Antrim that we were going to play and we were red-hot favourites in that game.
“It just got to too many lads’ heads and especially when there are other people around you saying ‘it’s just Antrim, you should be preparing for an All-Ireland.’
“I suppose that’s what we were thinking about and we shouldn’t, but sure we’ll learn from our experience and we’ll move on.”
Fair play to Lee for his honest appraisal of the Antrim defeat. I for one hope he chooses hurling, for no other reason that I believe it to be the superior spectator sport by far…
Fantastic hurler and a great footballer he will be a top player in any team in the county and he seems to have the right attitude, great to see!
To be honest I haven’t seen enough from him in either code yet to say he will be good at either.
As Liam Dunne said, he is a decent footballer by club and country standards for a second class football team with a third class football tradition (admittedly, it is much stronger nowadays in North and South Wexford in particular).
He has the potential to be a very good hurler however and is an outstanding hurler already in the county captaining the U21s, playing for the Seniors in centre field and at half forward and for his club anywhere from 8 to 15.
He may continue to play dual code for his club but his future lies in hurling. The knee scare he got during the summer should be enough of a warning for him. A pounding of that nature can only be maintained for so long.
He is the first dual code player since Red Barry 12/13 years ago so nobody can take that away from him. Now he should pick.
He’s potentially a better hurler, but to make the point that he should play hurling because of ‘tradition’ or the quality of the footballers is nonsense.
In Wexford, we may have a tradition in hurling, but in recent times it’s been the footballers flying the flag by a long shot, and they’re much more likely to win a National League or Leinster title at the moment than the hurlers.
By the way, Wexford have won six Leinster football and four All-Ireland football titles in a row. How’s that for tradition?
All of the football All-Ireland’s during World War 1, right? A century ago.
Yep from 1910 onwards, still ‘tradition’ though.