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A lot of time and energy, has been put into development teams over the years, by the Managers , Coaches and Coaching & games ( CB) . Are the systems working and if so where is the evidence, especially with Meath Football. What have we won at national level in the last 5 years. Mhi_nanOgAbu (Meath) - Posts: 4 - 11/11/2014 09:28:38 1671297 Link 0 |
Question is,how many 14/15 year olds will keep playing the game etc.. ziggy320001 (Meath) - Posts: 2432 - 11/11/2014 10:24:32 1671313 Link 1 |
Maybe the question should be what are we doing to ensure we retain the U14/U15s that we have at this level ... How much more are we doing to retain the players,from the highs period of the 80's and 90's period when every Meath youngster wanted to be a County GAA player . Soccer , Rugby and other sports put everything into enticing the players into their sport . They are well organised , with top notch coaches in most cases. The cream of the crop of Gaelic footballers are an easy target for these outfits . But what are we doing to retain them . Rugby & Soccer workshops for talented players are the norm for this age bracket . A weekend away at a training camp is not unusual. What do Meath GAA do to persuade the elite players that GAA is the place to go . a two hour session in a local GAA pitch..... Can we do more? Chaisleain_Abu (Meath) - Posts: 220 - 11/11/2014 12:00:44 1671359 Link 0 |
ziggy and Chaisleain have hit the nail on the head. We have some very talented development teams coming through the ranks but unfortunately people seem to think that they'll automatically stick with football and that's that despite these players often being extremely talented at other sports. Ratoath Royal (Meath) - Posts: 1362 - 11/11/2014 14:17:08 1671425 Link 3 |
Ratoath , I understand your sentiment about not giving the young lads a jersey . I know of another Leinster County team who give their Development players a jersey after a Leinster blitz outing . Meath Development Football teams do not give out football jerseys. Its frowned upon from the top table , I think that the Development Managers are even warned against it. For Development squads ( Only) Money is tight ,and unfortunately it looks like its the Development squads that suffer.....And thus the future of Meath Football. Maybe the top table should be held to account for the lack of resources supplied to the Development squads. After all , resources require finances , and its the top table that controls that......Maybe hiring and firing, and changing Managers, and management teams is not the issue with Meath football . Maybe the issue is that you only get out of football , what you put into it. And that's why we are behind when it comes to climbing the steps at Croke Park . Look to the youth to see the future ......You always start with the Foundations when you want to build to the sky. Meath County Board take note......Pay for it now so that you can reap the rewards later, otherwise we will always be looking on from the pitch. Mhi_nanOgAbu (Meath) - Posts: 4 - 11/11/2014 15:33:38 1671475 Link 0 |
One thing i was told by a work colleague, his son is 13, and excells in the sports in plays, hes courted by his local GAA, soccer and rugby, his father never played sport, but what he did say was that he was reluctant to let him play GAA, SIMPLY because of the antics he has seen on sidelines of juvenile games, the swearing, insults etc, he told me his son plays rugby and none of that happens, the discipline incredible and the referee is the boss, no questions asked!. sob (Meath) - Posts: 492 - 11/11/2014 16:28:44 1671498 Link 0 |
RatoathRoyal ziggy320001 (Meath) - Posts: 2432 - 11/11/2014 17:13:25 1671520 Link 1 |
I don't mean this in a "Leave it be, it'll sort itself out" way. But I think the risk from other sports is a bit overstated. From my experience, yes you see lads quitting/putting Gaelic games on the back burner from 14-17 and putting effort into Rugby and soccer, but its only because they're young, impressionable and reckon they can make it. CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1643 - 11/11/2014 17:19:43 1671523 Link 3 |
Castlebravo is right about 99% of these young players getting dropped from rugby and soccer academies. The trick for GAA clubs is to keep the communication going and always be welcoming to the lad and include him in what's going on in the club . I have seen so many talented GAA players quit to try and make it at rugby and soccer but are too embarrassed or uncomfortable to come back into the club scene. Poormouth (Meath) - Posts: 204 - 11/11/2014 17:38:17 1671529 Link 0 |
All agreed , but are we just gathering the low lying fruit here . There are many skilful players that excel at football and other sports that move away because they are treated better in the other codes, its a simple fact. Is it not fundamentally flawed not to try to do something a bit more than we are currently doing. If you look at the Ulster model , which is probably as close to a professional set up as you will get . They organise Elite player academies from all across the province in various age brackets over a number of days /weekends. They bring in Elite inter-County and Provincial players to speak with these Elite youngsters, to encourage them that the GAA is comparable to the other sports , that there are benefits to playing this game . This isn't been done to pick up the low lying fruit . This is been done to retain the elite players during their formative years . Meath/Leinster , what do we do , ( And I don't mean the other code) ????? Chaisleain_Abu (Meath) - Posts: 220 - 11/11/2014 17:53:24 1671535 Link 0 |
Castlebravo ziggy320001 (Meath) - Posts: 2432 - 11/11/2014 18:11:54 1671542 Link 1 |
Castlebravo , that's the exact problem , if they head to Soccer , Rugby , till they fail at 17/18 years of age , their development years are behind them . They do not develop the same systems for the game , and thus will generally be lost at County Level Mhi_nanOgAbu (Meath) - Posts: 4 - 12/11/2014 15:39:59 1671773 Link 0 |
Like it or not we are selling a product and our product (GAA) must not only be better but it must also be perceived to be better than the competition (Rugby, Soccer, Basketball) by those making the decision (players and their families). MeathGAAHead (Meath) - Posts: 87 - 12/11/2014 16:28:06 1671789 Link 0 |
one thing I have noticed over the years is the growth in numbers being part of these development squads. dubsout (Meath) - Posts: 220 - 12/11/2014 17:15:50 1671803 Link 0 |
Suppose the plan is to improve as many players as possible with the hope being that by the time they reach minor, U21 or senior a greater number would come through and be at the required standard. MeathGAAHead (Meath) - Posts: 87 - 13/11/2014 08:57:59 1671898 Link 0 |
I reckon your correct with that ascertain . the dropout rate on Dev teams is quite high . As they say its the guys in the top 85 percentile that all sports want to get their hands on , its those guys that are suffering from burnout in sports because they excel in many sports, at a high level . And unfortunately the required skills/attributes are common to all the different sports , and a very good GAA player will , can excel in all .but that's with the correct development, but unfortunately the opposite is not true for individuals that that develop primarily Rugby systems. Mhi_nanOgAbu (Meath) - Posts: 4 - 13/11/2014 10:28:24 1671917 Link 0 |
Similar thing here in Cavan, biggest problem is some of the management teams and managers in particular doing crazy stuff and peeing both players and parents off. I believe Meath is no different Men over teams that would not be given a job in there clubs and only get the "County Job" cos no one else wants it. noelpconnon (Cavan) - Posts: 209 - 14/11/2014 14:45:56 1672290 Link 0 |
Good point Noel,I agree with you,never too sure of these county blitzes at the age of 14 etc. ziggy320001 (Meath) - Posts: 2432 - 14/11/2014 15:16:05 1672302 Link 1 |
Good Man Noel , and your idea for retention of players is to allow them to drift away between the ages of 14 & 16 to play Rugby,Soccer ,and to have no real County training done till they hit 16 , and hope that they know how to play football ,. And this is because Club football in Meath and Cavan is so good at present ( How long is it since Cavan Gaels got past the first round in Ulster). They will get the skills and development within their clubs to play at inter-county level , to compete , or even attempt to compete against the Dublin, and Tyrone's that are out there. Well done , I'd reckon in truth , you'd have your 16 year olds pushing tractor tyres up and down the drumlins of Cavan , and drinking nettle water to the sounds of Matt Leavy or Big Tom. And to turn them into better County players you use some modern technology and have them look at a VHS of the 1990 Ulster Club final match between Lavey and Kingscourt Stars ......Cabhan Abu Chaisleain_Abu (Meath) - Posts: 220 - 14/11/2014 16:03:20 1672321 Link 0 |
Why did Meath have 2 teams in Gerry Reilly this year? Neither team faired that well. FoolsGold (Cavan) - Posts: 2763 - 14/11/2014 17:04:47 1672344 Link 0 |