Player Welfare, Stephen O'Neill and Rock - Amidst all the talk of player grants, managers' expenses, Croke Park availability, etc. it is heartening to take a look at the Special Congress held in Croke Park in mid-January and realise that player and club welfare is still high on the list of priorities for Cumann Luthchleas Gael. While interested parties will surely have differing opinions on the topics discussed, the fact that they are being openly discussed should be warmly welcomed by all grass roots GAA supporter. It goes without saying that a club and its players is the very life-blood of the GAA and their welfare, therefore, vital to its continuing growth and success. This Special Congress reflects well on the powers that be and in particular Paraic Duffy, our new director general, who has always advocated change for the prevention of player burnout and has continually recognised the ever developing problem between club and county when it comes to player availability and fixtures (usually to the detriment of the club). It is he who was instrumental in arranging this Special Congress. While I was glad to see all the motions that did get passed, I was nevertheless disappointed that the main motion - namely the scrapping of the U21 and U18 competitions in favour of an U19 competition - was defeated. Some of you I'm sure will raise an eyebrow at my stance on this considering the success myself and Tyrone have had at these two grades. Let me clarify - I dearly cherish my memories and medals from my U18 and U21 career and am very proud of all involved in those successes - but hindsight affords me the experience to talk first-hand on the subject. Back in those days when I and quite a few of my team-mates were juggling county U21 with county senior, club senior, club U21, Ryan Cup/Sigerson and exams something or someone had to be losing out. The fact that our clubs were suffering goes without saying but, quite significantly, the preparation of the Tyrone senior team was greatly disrupted (as is evidenced by subsequent results). The strained relationships between all managers involved were often evident as they fought for the services of their players. And yes, burnout and exhaustion - both physical and mental - were experienced by myself and my colleagues, compounded at times by playing through injury. Undoubtedly our youthful naivety and adolescent exuberance contributed greatly to this problem but the pressure was always there to perform and we never wanted to lose that jersey. It pleases me to recount that my relationship with all my managers developed into long-lasting friendships and that my welfare was, I'm sure, of concern to them. However, a manager's job is to get results and he will push his players to the limit to achieve this. So, imagine five or six managers (maybe more than that if you are a successful dual player) making the same demands of one player and you can begin to realise the build up of stress that can lead to burnout, injury, exhaustion and maybe lack of interest. Of course a great responsibility lies with each manager to ensure that this does not happen. Unfortunately the structures are not in place to bring a player safely through all these teams and successfully commit to each manager. How do you prioritise? What team do you not train for? What type of training should you be doing at that time? When do you rest? What about family, friends, work, school? Ultimately it is our responsibility, the older experienced Gael, to protect our young players, not just from miss-management and excessive involvement, but from themselves. At this age the player will always turn out, he will always want to play, he will always want that jersey, he will not want to let the lads down, but he will suffer the consequences later and thus continue to add fuel to the on-going conflict between club - county - schools - college - parents. (One of the factors that helped me to form this opinion was the data acquired through a questionnaire that was completed by the U18 students of my college Holy Trinity, Cookstown, as part of a dissertation. The results showed that 75% of the lads would prefer to keep the present U18 and U21 systems regardless of the excessive training demands and fixtures programme. They felt that as well as just having the chance to play more football these two grades also gave them greater exposure and a better chance to impress county selectors. This further promotes the suggestion that the enthusiasm of youth itself can in fact be detrimental to the player's progress instead of improving it as intended. Further proof that the onus is on us to review, and revise where necessary, the structures we have in place keeping in mind the welfare of our modern players). Thankfully, many of the motions designed to help alleviate these problems were passed at Special Congress and can only be good for the prosperity of player, club and county alike. Some of the motions included: the months of November and December as a closed season for inter-county teams; a charter drafted by County Committee on behalf of clubs on agreed policy for the availability of players for club fixtures and training (signed by county manager); introduction of extra time at championship fixtures up to provincial semi-final stage; more rigid fixtures structure for inter-county competitions; restrictions on county panel sizes and training regime. While all of these are sound decisions aimed at improvement and should be complemented, I believe that the results of the in-depth survey carried out by Lynette Hughes and the alarming statistics generated by such qualified people as Dr Pat O'Neill and Dr Niall Moyna show there is room for further debate. I have a notion messrs. Brennan and Duffy are not finished yet. It seems quite ironic that we should be discussing player welfare in the very week that the gifted Stephen O'Neill has announced his retirement from county football. All the plaudits afforded Stephen in recent days barely do him justice and only contributes further to the significance of his surprise decision. Having been very fortunate to have shared many dressing rooms and football fields throughout Ireland with Stephen I can readily vouch for the exceptional talent that he is. It is not only his talent but his demeanour, both on and off the field, his discipline, preparation and bravery that make him the ideal role model for any young person embarking on a GAA career. Continuing injury and dedication to his club, Clann na Gael, are the reasons he has cited for this decision. I'm sure the plague of injury has truly frustrated him while at the same time the demand placed on him (understandably) by his adoring fans to lead Tyrone to the promised land once again is continuous. He now has a chance to recuperate without the constant glare of the media. The aforementioned changes to the county scene as well as changes to our own county league structures allows for greater commitment to club. At 27 he has too much to offer. He is one of the best footballers in Ireland at present. Any underlying issues that exist, if any, can surely be sorted. Tyrone football cannot afford to be without a forward of such potency and thrust. Hopefully, after a few months recovery, the fresh smell of newly mown grass in his nostrils, a nice green sod underfoot and the sound of thousands of fanatical Tyrone fans chanting his name - he'll take to the field. The final chapter isn't written yet, Stevie! Congratulations to Rock (or 'The Rock' as they are locally referred to) on their recent All-Ireland JFC semi-final victory over Clann na nGael from Meath. Croke Park here we come! A magnificent achievement by the junior team from Tyrone led by Captain Fantastic, Martin McCreesh, whose massive long range point in injury time of normal time led the Rock lads into extra time. The fact that they dominated the extra time periods is testament to their fitness and commitment. This surely reflects on the coaching abilities of Derry based manager, Niall Conway, who has obviously instilled a great sense of self-belief and discipline throughout this team and has proven he is tactically aware when it comes to how best to deploy his charges. While this is a major achievement for any club it does not surprise me that this particular set of players has earned a day out at headquarters when I consider the calibre of player involved. County star Ciaran Gourley, Martin and James McCreesh, Aidan Girvan, are just some of the leaders in a talented group of players. I can gladly boast this with some confidence since no fewer than 11 of the starting 15 are products of Holy Trinity! I'm really looking forward to seeing them perform in Croke Park Tweet

Most Read Stories