He had an outstanding playing career and now Eddie Brennan is a few steps on the road to making his mark as a manager.
It's never an easy transition, but in Kilkenny it would seem that Brennan, Henry Shefflin and DJ Carey are set to leave a real imprint on hurling in the years to come.
Maybe one of them will end up as manager of Kilkenny seniors some day. But that's for another day!
We need your consent to load this SoundCloud contentWe use SoundCloud to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
As for now, Brennan's stock has risen even more in the aftermath of Laois' win over Dublin and with it a date with Tipperary in Sunday's All-Ireland quarter-final.
Prior to taking on the O'Moore County, the eight-time Liam MacCarthy winner guided the Cats U-21s to an All-Ireland U21 final appearance. And then last autumn came the call to manage Laois.
"I always looked upon the Laois job that the cup was half full," Brennan revealed to RTÉ Sport when outlining his immediate thoughts on the position.
"I knew there were lots of lads who were not fulfilling their potential. It was about getting a decent crew in, getting the lads who wanted to play. Yes, there were some who didn't want to come on board and that was fine.
"I had the hand I was dealt with, that's what I was going to work with. After that it was a case of making sure lads had pride in who they were and where they were from."
It would seem that Brennan is intent removing any obstacles that are in the way of achieving a sense of enjoyment and harmony within the squad.
To illustrate that point, he referred back to his time under the tutelage of Brian Cody.
"Brian would have been good with discipline. You knew where the line was without him ever saying it. You came to training on time and there was no question of you missing a session here or there and then expect to go on the field on Sunday and perform.
"So, if a problem crops up, we will deal with it and not dwell on it too long"
"I enjoyed being in that Kilkenny set-up. I was comfortable with the sacrifices that had to be made. You have to make choices and you have to be happy to do that. I enjoyed my time as a county player. I want the Laois lads to enjoy their time as county players.
"So, if a problem crops up, we will deal with it and not dwell on it too long. We'll work our way around it. The easiest thing to do is to roll over.
"I look back to the league matches against Waterford and Galway. We were struggling and while it was tough on the players against teams going through the gears and seeking out big scores, our lads kept going.
"That's was pleased me the most. I learned a lot about the lads on those two days."
Follow Cork v Kilkenny (2pm) and Tipperary v Laois (4pm) in the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals via our live blogs on RTÉ.ie/sport and the News Now app. Watch live coverage on The Sunday Game from 1.30pm and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio's Sunday Sport and Raidió na Gaeltachta. Highlights of both games on The Sunday Game on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player from 9.30pm.
