Conor Kearns reckons he is a better player thanks to his time in the Ireland Under-21 squad, training with fellow-goalkeepers Caoimhin Kelleher and Gavin Bazunu.
And he believes the door is now open for some of his young Shelbourne teammates to follow in his footsteps.
Already this season Kian Leavy has made his debut at that level.
A late call-up to former Reds midfielder Jim Crawford’s squad for last month’s friendly against Iceland, he made his bow in the Turner’s Cross clash.
Kearns was capped under Stephen Kenny at the 2019 Toulon Tournament, when he came off the bench in the third-fourth place play-off against Mexico.
And while Ireland lost on penalties, the then-UCD shot-stopper impressed - and even saved one of the Mexican spot-kicks.
“The manager had said to me before the game that he’d try to get me on depending on the circumstances of the game, but it was still 0-0 at the time,” Kearns recalled.
“I managed to get on and obviously it was a really enjoyable experience.
“You look at some of the players who were in that squad and what they’ve gone on to achieve in the game, it was an environment that I loved being a part of and I have many fond memories of it.
“Certainly there are some lads in our team now, the likes of Kian Leavy, who you’d love to see getting a chance in the next couple of months.
“Kian made his debut in Cork, so I’m absolutely delighted for him.
“I think he is one of many young players coming through here who could definitely feature in international set-ups over the next few months.”
Kearns spoke of the benefits of training with a pair of goalkeepers that subsequently followed Kenny into the senior set-up.
“You are training with the likes of Caoimhin (Kelleher) and Gavin (Bazunu), and I was in a couple of squads with Gavin,” he said.
“You get that sense of the level they are at, the attention to detail that goes into their work.
“Look, I’m very fortunate to have been around a few environments like that.
“Paul Skinner is our goalkeeping coach here and he is probably offering the best goalkeeping service there is in this country.
“Now it’s for me to look at the standards I’ve been around and to try and push myself to as high a level that I can possibly get to.
“I’ve learned a lot from those two lads, so that was obviously a hugely beneficial experience for me.
“It’s a learning environment as much as it’s a competitive one. That’s the way I always saw it
“ I was obviously honoured to train at that level, but in the long-term it’s not much use to you if you are not learning every day you are in there.”
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Shels boss Damien Duff’s side is packed with youngsters, such as on-loan ace Leavy, who are gaining valuable first-team experience at Tolka Park.
Kearns reckons he got his international break thanks to his exposure to men’s football while at UCD.
“My breakthrough season was 2018. Playing senior football is probably why I got the chance to get into the Under-21 squad,” he said.
“It gave me a chance to get a feel for different environments when many kids my age were still playing underage football. I was fortunate in that sense.”
After leaving UCD, Kerans had spells at St Patrick’s Athletic and Galway United, before moving to Shels last winter.
“I’m absolutely loving it,” he said of his time so far at Tolka Park.
“With the standard of players and standard of coaching, it’s kind of a sink or swim environment, but it’s something you have to relish as a player.
“You are learning every day and enjoying every day, so I don’t think there are many better environments in the country to be involved in.
“They (Damien Duff and Joey O’Brien) are demanding, but they are both ultimate professionals and they don’t ask you to do anything that anyone else in the dressing room wouldn’t expect you to do.
“It’s just, be receptive to information, work hard and they will never be overly critical.
“They say, ‘Just do what we ask of you because we know you are capable of doing it’.
“That’s the type of environment that you want to be in.
“You can see they care about the players, they care about improving us, so you couldn’t ask for much more from two highly experienced players and coaches.”
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