nocky I'm well aware where Carlow town is located but you have more of a spread in a boarding school so obviously you'll have people from Wexford,Wicklow, Kildare etc. I will of course take on board opposing opinions but I haven't been dealt a lot here. A few posters here have contributed valid posts. Others have just given their personal experiences but won't elaborate how the coaches/schools football directly influence players.

Anyway as I've outlined time and time again I don't believe we should pull the plug on schools football completly but certainly theres a need of a shake up west of the currently overflowing Shannon. I'm suprised no one from Munster or Ulster has engaged in this discussion.

Right to make things more constructive, lets compare Leinster and Connacht Schools football. First of all how is training operated in yer schools? Do ye have league games? and does every school participate?

datsrite (Sligo) - Posts: 473 - 19/11/2009 18:58:32    488758

Nocky your point on people willing to travel to GAA schools is something I find both interesting and confusing. It bemuses me why anyone would select an EDUCATIONAL institution on the basis of their football teams. Also this will promote the elitist schools and therefore widen a gap between A schools and C/D/E schools etc.

datsrite (Sligo) - Posts: 473 - 19/11/2009 19:02:37    488762

The two A boys schools in Carlow, Knockbeg and Carlow CBS and the A girls schools St Leos draw heavily from Carlow town and from a strong football region in Laois. Knockbeg to my knowledge play the Laois minors once a year and are usually the winners, although the Laois minors on the Knockbeg team would play with Knockbeg for this game. The extra year does make a huge difference at this age, especially in weight. Disparaging comments on Carlow from Sligo would be taken with a large pinch of salt, although I certainly would be the first to admit and point out Carlow's failings. St Leos and Knockbeg are both contenders in the Leinster competition year in year out, the CBS has done well at the younger age groups but has yet to make a big splash at senior. There are 26 teams playing in Leinster A which does not suggest a huge gap or elitism. The lower level competitions which I have witnessed in the Dublin area have been of value first as competitions and secondly as a way to get people involved in GAA. There is a league held in Leinster, every school participates. It runs from Sept to November. Your last comment datsrite shows a narrow focus on what education is and a lack of understanding of the importance of schools football and schools sport in general. B/w you hit a gopod point on the success of sport in a school depends on who is orgainsing it, St Malachys in Belfast have 1000 catholic boys, yet their primary focus is on Basketball and Athletics. You would imagine a thousand strong Catholic school in Belfast would be contenders for Gaelic Football but the people involved have a different focus.

getonwithit (Carlow) - Posts: 527 - 20/11/2009 10:55:35    489214

19/11/2009 19:02:37 datsrite County: Sligo Posts: 271 488762 Nocky your point on people willing to travel to GAA schools is something I find both interesting and confusing. It bemuses me why anyone would select an EDUCATIONAL institution on the basis of their football teams. Also this will promote the elitist schools and therefore widen a gap between A schools and C/D/E schools etc. ___________________ The GAA schools in the southeast have excellent academic records datsrite, and as I have said before many lads who would otherwise drop out after the JC stay on and complete the LC just to play Senior. I suppose the students' parents send their children to these schools to get the best education and to receive coaching in football/hurling which improves them hugely as a player. You seem to think this is a bad thing, I disagree. You asked about training/matches etc. - training will take place at lunchtime, or more often after school. The big 'A' schools have their own pitches so they don't have to travel anywhere to train and have a place to play challenge matches/minor competitions. Teams are managed by teachers within the schools who are experienced coaches and have completed many coaching courses. Challenge matches and games from some of the minor competitions will often take place during school hours, although the championship is now played weekends. Any schoolwork missed is caught up on, all the teachers are supportive of the teams.

nocky (Wexford) - Posts: 2059 - 20/11/2009 13:13:53    489352

Well things seem to differ greatly up here. In my old school and indeed I believe it was and still is the same in other but training always took place during class time. Coaches who were acknowledged by the county board done the training but the county board did not always foot the bill. As for teachers being trained. If you were someone who talked about football in the staff room or played a bit in your day you got the job as manager. You mis-understood my point about education. I know there are excellent schools in Wexford but was confuses me is that a parent/student would rank football as their number one priority in picking a school to attend where there may be a decent football structure in place. Yes getonwithit I firmly believe it is all in the organising of the competitions and thats where the problem lies for me. If something is not run to a acceptable standards I can't see how it benefits really. Here there is a League set up from Sept to 1st/2nd week of November. However as you see the games are not played. Teams enter leagues and don't play games unless their in A or B so was it not wiser for the schools to not enter themselves and allow for schools who are interested to play. And if that school just wanted to play Championship let them. Small little changes I feel could make schools in Connacht much better.

datsrite (Sligo) - Posts: 473 - 20/11/2009 19:22:47    489748

datsrite you have asked about the value of schools football... and its a valid question. From my standpoint in Carlow the value is immense and i believe that its a mistake to undervalue its importance to the individual player as testified by previous posters, as a huge benefit to the local club as it brings the player to a different standard .. definitely in Carlow and above all it gives the most basic reason for sport, enjoyment. Most games are played while school is going on and this is understandable and this must be a welcome break for students who are largely bored sitting for too long in a classroom each day. The training is usually taken by teachers who are interested in their pupils. In Carlow in both hurling and football this has proved very beneficial. If these teachers did not do the work with their pupils then the club would have a lot more to do . Recent club progress can be put down to the work of these teachers in schools. The club finals in both codes are witness to this in Carlow. Look its quite simple, if there was no value in these school sports then school principals would surely have pulled the plug years ago. There is different standards from one school to another as with clubs and the fact that there has been an amalgamation in Dublin Schools has brought on the hurling a ton in Dublin. Sometimes this does pay dividends and the GAA has always lauded the contribution of teachers and schools. Of course there are young lads who will look forward to the day out of school. Would you blame him? My view is that school games are essential and the organisation of them is excellent. Perhaps Sligo schools have difficulties... in Carlow they seem to work hard at their sport and it has helped the county teams. The different age banding makes it impossible to judge whether schools or county is higher.

carlowman (Carlow) - Posts: 1872 - 20/11/2009 21:55:38    489913

I see there was a Kerry Colleges team entered in the Harty Cup, they lost to De La Salle Waterford (one of schools hurling's traditionally strongest teams) by a late goal. Surely another example of the benefits of these competitions, and of amalgamation in certain circumstances. Can't be doing Kerry hurling any harm to have these lads playing at such a high level.

nocky (Wexford) - Posts: 2059 - 21/11/2009 00:19:30    490014

I am aware that Rugby and soccer now have regional teams that take the best young players from clubs and mould them into regional teams. They have regular training sessions and young lads want to be on these teams. Its therefore worth considering that schools now look more seriously at the prospect of joining up together to form regional or in some cases county teams to bring up the standard and give a goal for aspiring players. As far as i can see the Dublin schools has been the best example of where one of these teams has been successful and has been one of the springboards for the present success of the county hurlers. So... it should be considered in some circumstances.

carlowman (Carlow) - Posts: 1872 - 22/11/2009 22:16:18    491292