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The old one-club days are gone. It's now a fortunate young person who lives in the village they grew up in, especially during their twenties and early thirties when many, maybe even most, will have to travel to make their way in the world. If they can return to Ireland in their later years they are also the lucky ones.
I was involved with a successful minor team some years ago, all of who could have figured at senior club level; but form the first fifteen all but one have left, first for 3rd level, and then further afield to progress their careers.
The GAA will have to adapt to this new fluidity, work out some way to keep our young people involved
befair (Down) - Posts: 237 - 20/02/2021 19:43:04
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I can't see Australia/NZ looking for many workers in the short to medium term. USA is a closed shop and UK is screwed with brexit...opportunities to work abroad may be very limited in the coming years..travel of course is shut down at the minute but when it resumes there will be a rush to travel.
I actually think a split season will help club players greatly...you can travel for 6 months and return to play if you want. It allows you to have a life outside football which up to now had got ridiculous in some cases.
yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11227 - 20/02/2021 20:05:52
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Replying To yew_tree: "I can't see Australia/NZ looking for many workers in the short to medium term. USA is a closed shop and UK is screwed with brexit...opportunities to work abroad may be very limited in the coming years..travel of course is shut down at the minute but when it resumes there will be a rush to travel.
I actually think a split season will help club players greatly...you can travel for 6 months and return to play if you want. It allows you to have a life outside football which up to now had got ridiculous in some cases." I agree its no doubt losing people is a harsh reality on rural teams and areas. Maybe home working will make a difference but the reality is people want to spread their wings and tge Irish have it in their DNA.
arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4895 - 21/02/2021 00:38:33
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Rural clubs have been decimated by immigration out of the country or to cities. The ones where the city and towns spill over into get larger. I remember when Ballygunner was a small village club and then got swallowed up into Waterford city. In fairness their success has a lot to do with leadership also. Mount Sion used to be the dominating team but now this generation wants the new big house on the outskirts.
Of course this pandemic may change things again and people stay in their rural area or move there. Hopefully the GAA structures that existed in country areas has not gone. People realize that living on top of each other is not a great idea and in some place that movement out has already begun.
Canuck (Waterford) - Posts: 2655 - 21/02/2021 13:46:05
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Replying To Canuck: "Rural clubs have been decimated by immigration out of the country or to cities. The ones where the city and towns spill over into get larger. I remember when Ballygunner was a small village club and then got swallowed up into Waterford city. In fairness their success has a lot to do with leadership also. Mount Sion used to be the dominating team but now this generation wants the new big house on the outskirts.
Of course this pandemic may change things again and people stay in their rural area or move there. Hopefully the GAA structures that existed in country areas has not gone. People realize that living on top of each other is not a great idea and in some place that movement out has already begun." Yeah what you say is true. But the notion that after the pandemic things will go back is a nonsense. Dublin Docklands has tumble weed blowing through it, vast empty blocks of Offices and apartments huge negative implications for city centre hospitality businesses. On the flip side I see lots of advertisements from rural communities trying to entice 30 somethings down to Rural Ireland in the hope they settle. But also for maybe those people from midlands commuting to Dublin a chance to stay and build roots. The pandemic is a game changer and a great opportunity for rural communities to get their acts together and entice young couples back home. But things will not go back to what they where, there will be a huge amount of dereliction in City Centres, back to the 1990's I am afraid for Dubs.
arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4895 - 21/02/2021 16:38:33
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Replying To arock: "I agree its no doubt losing people is a harsh reality on rural teams and areas. Maybe home working will make a difference but the reality is people want to spread their wings and tge Irish have it in their DNA." Agreed. We could make things more enticing for young people to stay. e.g. improve broadband nationwide, promote rural development and employment etc. But i has almost become a right of passage for a lot of young people to head away and spread their wings as you say. Indeed when it comes to my own kids I'll probably encourage them to do the same. It broadens their horizons and provides an invaluable education that cannot be read from a book.
Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9116 - 23/02/2021 10:15:49
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Replying To Lockjaw: "Agreed. We could make things more enticing for young people to stay. e.g. improve broadband nationwide, promote rural development and employment etc. But i has almost become a right of passage for a lot of young people to head away and spread their wings as you say. Indeed when it comes to my own kids I'll probably encourage them to do the same. It broadens their horizons and provides an invaluable education that cannot be read from a book." Alot of it is for work reasons in fairness. Loads of people I know emigrated but those who did it to travel (not for employment in other words) usually returned within a few months.
I've never felt the urge to do it myself (I'm 35),never really saw the appeal.
Galway9801 (Galway) - Posts: 1698 - 23/02/2021 13:14:30
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There are a number of reasons why though. I will be called a snowflake but I don't care.
1. The lack of a calendar which can plan a life around. And then, when the county team are beaten, club players are expected to just drop everything else in their life because the club is starting.
2. GAA at club level is stupidly serious. I and many more like me (mid 20s) look after myself, drink a bit but work out in the gym, can do my own training to get fit. Driving from Dublin to Wexford to run around a pitch for an hour is pointless. If there isn't hurling or footballs involved in the training, it isn't hurling or football training.
3. The lack of craic. Until the team are knocked out, people think you have to live the life of a hermit and never set foot outside the house on a Saturday night. Can players not have a social life or chase the shift because the GAA team are still in competition?
I played soccer in Dublin the 2 winters before last and it was serious but also good craic. 4 lads on a roster had to be there 20 minutes earlier than the rest to get the nets and flags up when playing at home. Games often ended in the pub afterwards, not for 10 pints (that did happen after some cup win) but more often than not for 1-2 pints. Training was 2 nights a week, every game was pre-planned, it was competitive but great fun and sadly we were top of the table when the season ended.
Instead in the GAA dressing room, there's lads demanding team charters, gym memberships, gyms themselves or 3 pitches but don't ask about buying a ticket "I am a player". And then you have the paid manager roaring about doing it for the parish yeah get lost you mercenary and do it for your own parish. And then matches on the weekend of Electric Picnic, having bought tickets a year in advance.
I am just not a hard-core GAA player though, and but for Covid I wouldn't have played last year at all. Come to think of it, I don't know why I even post here! :)
StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1732 - 23/02/2021 16:47:53
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Replying To StoreysTash: "There are a number of reasons why though. I will be called a snowflake but I don't care.
1. The lack of a calendar which can plan a life around. And then, when the county team are beaten, club players are expected to just drop everything else in their life because the club is starting.
2. GAA at club level is stupidly serious. I and many more like me (mid 20s) look after myself, drink a bit but work out in the gym, can do my own training to get fit. Driving from Dublin to Wexford to run around a pitch for an hour is pointless. If there isn't hurling or footballs involved in the training, it isn't hurling or football training.
3. The lack of craic. Until the team are knocked out, people think you have to live the life of a hermit and never set foot outside the house on a Saturday night. Can players not have a social life or chase the shift because the GAA team are still in competition?
I played soccer in Dublin the 2 winters before last and it was serious but also good craic. 4 lads on a roster had to be there 20 minutes earlier than the rest to get the nets and flags up when playing at home. Games often ended in the pub afterwards, not for 10 pints (that did happen after some cup win) but more often than not for 1-2 pints. Training was 2 nights a week, every game was pre-planned, it was competitive but great fun and sadly we were top of the table when the season ended.
Instead in the GAA dressing room, there's lads demanding team charters, gym memberships, gyms themselves or 3 pitches but don't ask about buying a ticket "I am a player". And then you have the paid manager roaring about doing it for the parish yeah get lost you mercenary and do it for your own parish. And then matches on the weekend of Electric Picnic, having bought tickets a year in advance.
I am just not a hard-core GAA player though, and but for Covid I wouldn't have played last year at all. Come to think of it, I don't know why I even post here! :)" You're no snowflake Tash! Youre actually spot on with a lot of what you've posted here!
PoolSturgeon (Galway) - Posts: 1902 - 23/02/2021 17:19:09
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Replying To PoolSturgeon: "You're no snowflake Tash! Youre actually spot on with a lot of what you've posted here!" This is absolutely correct. Football is a hobby, to be enjoyed, and even at club level has become absurd. Paid managers, fitness coaches, weight training, gym membership etc; this is another reason we lose so many adult players; it is impossible to be married with kids and a career and train 2-3 times per week.
Trouble is, once one club does it, every club has to do it, and we are running to stand still.
befair (Down) - Posts: 237 - 23/02/2021 17:29:33
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Replying To StoreysTash: "There are a number of reasons why though. I will be called a snowflake but I don't care.
1. The lack of a calendar which can plan a life around. And then, when the county team are beaten, club players are expected to just drop everything else in their life because the club is starting.
2. GAA at club level is stupidly serious. I and many more like me (mid 20s) look after myself, drink a bit but work out in the gym, can do my own training to get fit. Driving from Dublin to Wexford to run around a pitch for an hour is pointless. If there isn't hurling or footballs involved in the training, it isn't hurling or football training.
3. The lack of craic. Until the team are knocked out, people think you have to live the life of a hermit and never set foot outside the house on a Saturday night. Can players not have a social life or chase the shift because the GAA team are still in competition?
I played soccer in Dublin the 2 winters before last and it was serious but also good craic. 4 lads on a roster had to be there 20 minutes earlier than the rest to get the nets and flags up when playing at home. Games often ended in the pub afterwards, not for 10 pints (that did happen after some cup win) but more often than not for 1-2 pints. Training was 2 nights a week, every game was pre-planned, it was competitive but great fun and sadly we were top of the table when the season ended.
Instead in the GAA dressing room, there's lads demanding team charters, gym memberships, gyms themselves or 3 pitches but don't ask about buying a ticket "I am a player". And then you have the paid manager roaring about doing it for the parish yeah get lost you mercenary and do it for your own parish. And then matches on the weekend of Electric Picnic, having bought tickets a year in advance.
I am just not a hard-core GAA player though, and but for Covid I wouldn't have played last year at all. Come to think of it, I don't know why I even post here! :)" Fantastic post Storey and many truths in what you posted.
CiarraiMick (Dublin) - Posts: 3674 - 23/02/2021 17:58:21
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I think the majority of people will agree with the post..makes a lot of sense..
CTGAA10 (Limerick) - Posts: 2208 - 23/02/2021 18:25:55
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Replying To yew_tree: "I can't see Australia/NZ looking for many workers in the short to medium term. USA is a closed shop and UK is screwed with brexit...opportunities to work abroad may be very limited in the coming years..travel of course is shut down at the minute but when it resumes there will be a rush to travel.
I actually think a split season will help club players greatly...you can travel for 6 months and return to play if you want. It allows you to have a life outside football which up to now had got ridiculous in some cases." But a split season means you are putting the interests of 99% below the 1%.
Play both simultaneously. Put all parties together and come up with a season structure that suits as many people as possible. If that means some players dont play on as many teams as they normally do then so what
KillingFields (Limerick) - Posts: 3496 - 23/02/2021 19:11:17
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Replying To StoreysTash: "There are a number of reasons why though. I will be called a snowflake but I don't care.
1. The lack of a calendar which can plan a life around. And then, when the county team are beaten, club players are expected to just drop everything else in their life because the club is starting.
2. GAA at club level is stupidly serious. I and many more like me (mid 20s) look after myself, drink a bit but work out in the gym, can do my own training to get fit. Driving from Dublin to Wexford to run around a pitch for an hour is pointless. If there isn't hurling or footballs involved in the training, it isn't hurling or football training.
3. The lack of craic. Until the team are knocked out, people think you have to live the life of a hermit and never set foot outside the house on a Saturday night. Can players not have a social life or chase the shift because the GAA team are still in competition?
I played soccer in Dublin the 2 winters before last and it was serious but also good craic. 4 lads on a roster had to be there 20 minutes earlier than the rest to get the nets and flags up when playing at home. Games often ended in the pub afterwards, not for 10 pints (that did happen after some cup win) but more often than not for 1-2 pints. Training was 2 nights a week, every game was pre-planned, it was competitive but great fun and sadly we were top of the table when the season ended.
Instead in the GAA dressing room, there's lads demanding team charters, gym memberships, gyms themselves or 3 pitches but don't ask about buying a ticket "I am a player". And then you have the paid manager roaring about doing it for the parish yeah get lost you mercenary and do it for your own parish. And then matches on the weekend of Electric Picnic, having bought tickets a year in advance.
I am just not a hard-core GAA player though, and but for Covid I wouldn't have played last year at all. Come to think of it, I don't know why I even post here! :)" Very fair post, and one that few would disagree with.
I might go one step further (and not being an all Ireland winner im just guessing here), and opine that many hurlers or footballers who do end up winning the holy grail end up feeling like it's a bit of an anti climax.
Galway9801 (Galway) - Posts: 1698 - 23/02/2021 19:23:53
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Replying To StoreysTash: "There are a number of reasons why though. I will be called a snowflake but I don't care.
1. The lack of a calendar which can plan a life around. And then, when the county team are beaten, club players are expected to just drop everything else in their life because the club is starting.
2. GAA at club level is stupidly serious. I and many more like me (mid 20s) look after myself, drink a bit but work out in the gym, can do my own training to get fit. Driving from Dublin to Wexford to run around a pitch for an hour is pointless. If there isn't hurling or footballs involved in the training, it isn't hurling or football training.
3. The lack of craic. Until the team are knocked out, people think you have to live the life of a hermit and never set foot outside the house on a Saturday night. Can players not have a social life or chase the shift because the GAA team are still in competition?
I played soccer in Dublin the 2 winters before last and it was serious but also good craic. 4 lads on a roster had to be there 20 minutes earlier than the rest to get the nets and flags up when playing at home. Games often ended in the pub afterwards, not for 10 pints (that did happen after some cup win) but more often than not for 1-2 pints. Training was 2 nights a week, every game was pre-planned, it was competitive but great fun and sadly we were top of the table when the season ended.
Instead in the GAA dressing room, there's lads demanding team charters, gym memberships, gyms themselves or 3 pitches but don't ask about buying a ticket "I am a player". And then you have the paid manager roaring about doing it for the parish yeah get lost you mercenary and do it for your own parish. And then matches on the weekend of Electric Picnic, having bought tickets a year in advance.
I am just not a hard-core GAA player though, and but for Covid I wouldn't have played last year at all. Come to think of it, I don't know why I even post here! :)" You are no snowflake its the reality I see it in our club in Dublin Senior = Serious! S&C and fitness is king and yet I have never seen so many players injured that have been on a S&C program its a black art. Out of a panel of 26 - One with a damaged vertebrae, two ACL's and two torn Meniscus Tears and one broken heel. And of course fitness and agility are hugely important to play GAA but most coaches seems to have forgotten in Football and Hurling they have core skills that are what makes the game. But if there is no fun whats the point?
arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4895 - 23/02/2021 21:55:29
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Replying To StoreysTash: "There are a number of reasons why though. I will be called a snowflake but I don't care.
1. The lack of a calendar which can plan a life around. And then, when the county team are beaten, club players are expected to just drop everything else in their life because the club is starting.
2. GAA at club level is stupidly serious. I and many more like me (mid 20s) look after myself, drink a bit but work out in the gym, can do my own training to get fit. Driving from Dublin to Wexford to run around a pitch for an hour is pointless. If there isn't hurling or footballs involved in the training, it isn't hurling or football training.
3. The lack of craic. Until the team are knocked out, people think you have to live the life of a hermit and never set foot outside the house on a Saturday night. Can players not have a social life or chase the shift because the GAA team are still in competition?
I played soccer in Dublin the 2 winters before last and it was serious but also good craic. 4 lads on a roster had to be there 20 minutes earlier than the rest to get the nets and flags up when playing at home. Games often ended in the pub afterwards, not for 10 pints (that did happen after some cup win) but more often than not for 1-2 pints. Training was 2 nights a week, every game was pre-planned, it was competitive but great fun and sadly we were top of the table when the season ended.
Instead in the GAA dressing room, there's lads demanding team charters, gym memberships, gyms themselves or 3 pitches but don't ask about buying a ticket "I am a player". And then you have the paid manager roaring about doing it for the parish yeah get lost you mercenary and do it for your own parish. And then matches on the weekend of Electric Picnic, having bought tickets a year in advance.
I am just not a hard-core GAA player though, and but for Covid I wouldn't have played last year at all. Come to think of it, I don't know why I even post here! :)" Think you've nailed it in one here Storey. I've had much the same exp the last few years, which has only been highlighted by me going travelling for a years.
1. No calendar makes it impossible. Being from one of the smaller clubs in the smaller counties in Connaught I went off to college in Dublin, so I'd always be back home to work in the summers, and in fairness I'd an understanding employer at the time who worked around the football for me. Once i started full time employment this went out the window. Breaking you neck down to train on a Friday evening, and constant pressure to get down an evening during the week. "It's just three hours down, and the roads would be quiet going back". But at the same time you can do all this, and never know when games are coming. And to be honest, by the time I moved to America a few years ago the love of the game was gone from me, and I'd figured that was it. Fast forward to America and I fell in with a club, and also a set of fixtures when I knew I'd have a minimum of 11 games over 15 weekends.
I then moved to the UK, where it was much the same, a solid fixture list, that let me plan plan weekend trips for the year in March (ironically some used of these were to watch the home club).
2. I've often said to mates at home the club game is gone for people not living and based at home. Attendance sheets for gyms and pitch sessions have become the norm at home, which I don't have a problem with, but as not many from our village venture outside it historical, one lad that did after I moved reached out to me. He joined a club in Dublin, and was doing every gym session and more in his university, but because he wasn't physically present at home for their sessions, his attendance was been marked with an X. And then this attendance was being used to help pick teams early in the year. How is a 20 year old lad supposed to stick at that? That and everyman has to give €50 to the lad who started up S&C to be a member of the panel this year, despite the 20 year in question at the time being in DCU and getting a S&C program from DCU team he was with.
Contrast that with America and UK, where the GAA almost becomes a home away from home for everyone, but you're still allowed enjoy yourself. The biggest bane of america was games were always a sunday, and working a 9-5 there I wanted my few drinks on a Saturday, and that was never a problem, and I knew as long as I didn't do the dog it would be grand. This thing of drinking bans in March until you finish a champo that you don't know when it'll be is madness. Lads are adults, trust them.
3. The craic and comradery is probably the biggest thing I miss. Like ya, you can break your neck down from Dublin on the weekend for games. But, I miss the training with the team, I miss that craic, and coming in and out of the dressing on Sunday, where you're breaking your neck back to Dublin, it's not long before you feel like an outcast in there. And that's something I probably didn't realize I missed until I was training a few nights a week again with teams abroad, but at the same time, everyone knew you were out there trying to make a living for yourself, and if you missed the odd session, it wasn't the end of the world. Still won senior championships in both countries I've moved to :P
A chance to move home came up recently, and after being stuck in the UK due to the pandemic for the year I've made the move, so now I'm back contemplating rejoining the club. But at the same time, I know they're also all been flogged and sending in 5 and 10ks to whatsapp groups 2/3 times a week, and still no idea when games are. The same as Storey, maybe I'm gone a bit soft living in the city, but I do love my club, but I'm guessing I'll be around home until July/August (office in Dublin currently closed) If things open up, I want to have weekends away with friends I've been locked away from the last year. Not signed up to games that might be August....could easily be October. If only they could set out a 10 week window to work towards :)
manabroad2020 (USA) - Posts: 2 - 24/02/2021 09:41:44
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Some great posts here and I'm in agreement with a lot of it. I have finished playing now but like some of ye would have worked in Dublin for years and played club at home on the weekends so I understand the frustration. The thing that really used to annoy me was having started a league campaign, usually around late March, and a Championship during the summer, I'd still be playing the odd lame duck of a league game come late October or November. You'd be standing there in the wind and rain counting lost weekends during the summer when a game was postponed at the drop of a hat.
I think it is absolutely imperative for the GAA to learn lessons from this pandemic-induced hiatus and to reconstruct the GAA calendar entirely. Split seasons for the club and county player. They no longer have the excuse of, "well this is how we've always done it, it would require too much change to introduce something radical". Covid forced the club first - county later template in 2020 so it absolutely can be done.
Get a master template in place for the club player firstly and then wrap the county competitions around that.
Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9116 - 24/02/2021 12:22:17
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Replying To Galway9801: "Very fair post, and one that few would disagree with.
I might go one step further (and not being an all Ireland winner im just guessing here), and opine that many hurlers or footballers who do end up winning the holy grail end up feeling like it's a bit of an anti climax." Funny, I work with a retired Tipp hurler won All-Ireland and he says he regrets not going to do things like travelling, working abroad, and basically enjoying his youth more.
He says that while he's glad he played hurling at the top, he regrets not taking a year or two out and saying to hell with this I want to live and have the craic for a year or two.
StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1732 - 24/02/2021 16:42:35
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Replying To arock: "You are no snowflake its the reality I see it in our club in Dublin Senior = Serious! S&C and fitness is king and yet I have never seen so many players injured that have been on a S&C program its a black art. Out of a panel of 26 - One with a damaged vertebrae, two ACL's and two torn Meniscus Tears and one broken heel. And of course fitness and agility are hugely important to play GAA but most coaches seems to have forgotten in Football and Hurling they have core skills that are what makes the game. But if there is no fun whats the point?" "damaged vertebrae, two ACL's and two torn Meniscus Tears"
Add cruciate, hamstring injuries and others to that. These strengthening coaches and trainers should be charged in court. They are hanger ons for money. There were always injuries but it seems to have gone crazy now. Like was said play football and hurling. Enjoy it.You will want to come back. If you want steeple chasers train horses.
Canuck (Waterford) - Posts: 2655 - 26/02/2021 14:23:55
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Replying To Canuck: ""damaged vertebrae, two ACL's and two torn Meniscus Tears"
Add cruciate, hamstring injuries and others to that. These strengthening coaches and trainers should be charged in court. They are hanger ons for money. There were always injuries but it seems to have gone crazy now. Like was said play football and hurling. Enjoy it.You will want to come back. If you want steeple chasers train horses." Agree with this. Some of these S&C guys are complete charlatans who the medical council should be striking off.
Lads giving S&C programmes and they have no idea how muscle is built. I know 1 friend of mine who is a physio, in a bit of a sting operation they invited an S&C guy to a meeting pretending to be wanting to get him involved for the club. He gave his speak, and at the end he thought he was on to a winner when my friend started asking him questions about the advice he had just given.
It was like the end of an episode of Cowboy Builders he was saying.
StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1732 - 26/02/2021 21:26:01
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