Just looking at some of the scoreline in the semi finals and Finals of under 13, teams wining by 32pts, 18 pts 13 pts, 23 pts , The old art of getting your team graded into a lower division and then blitzing every other team is a alive and well by the looks of things

Analyst (Meath) - Posts: 1508 - 03/11/2014 12:28:09    1669305

Underage seems a joke at u15 level there was at least 6 walkovers given over the weekend from div 3 downwards, clubs should know if they can field a team before league starts instead of making a farce of it and the other teams going weeks without games

irishgaalover (Louth) - Posts: 14 - 03/11/2014 14:59:42    1669386

No doubt about it but I notice that U15 was the last round so teams probably did not bother if they were out and had no chance of making playoff

noelpconnon (Cavan) - Posts: 219 - 03/11/2014 15:57:31    1669413

Yeap many games not played as teams are out of running. top 4 play semi's, been a long season as U14 start in March followed by U16, back to Summer Leagues for both and finish up with U13 & U15's mid Nov...so I wouldn't be too hard on clubs...(of course there is hurling on top of that for some)

gaeiler (Meath) - Posts: 10 - 03/11/2014 17:11:25    1669433

In division 3 I know there were walkovers from round 1.. I do think there is to many competitions. Can it not start with u12 u14 u16 leagues and then in autumn run a championship competition to at least keep interest going to me it seems these u13 and u15 comps don't mean as much to teams as the earlier competitions.

irishgaalover (Louth) - Posts: 14 - 03/11/2014 17:37:16    1669441

Juvenile grading is particularly difficult. At U12/U13 level typically the larger town based teams fill the D1 slots & it's really not until U14 that you have an understanding of which teams are really at what level when you have U12 & U13 data to support grading of U14 teams.

Unfortunately, as teams reach U15/U16 level some players have dropped off as they may have chosen another sport, have decided to stop sport, are focusing on exams etc… This undermines the grading data built up from U12 to U14 as at club level in underage the presence or absence of 1 or 2 key players can make or break a team.

Add to all that some clubs may actually be working hard at developing coaches and coaching structures and also that players grow & peak a different ages. Lads that where mid-field as U12s could be a corner forward by the time they reach U15/U16 again, changing the team dynamics.

Agree, there were 1 or 2 big scores at the weekend with Seneschalstown U13s and U15s for example suffering big defeats to Walterstown and Skryne but then again Walterstown & Skryne would be similar sized clubs to Seneschalstown so you'd expect them to be in a similar division. There were also a few draws & 1 to 3 point games too & if you look @ the U13 final results over the last few weeks, D1, 1:05 v 03:08 (9pt diff); D3, 02:05 v 02:09 (4pt diff); D4, 01:15 v 04:09 (3pts). D3 & D4 were tighter games than D1. Rathkenny won D3 with a squad of 15 players many of whom are U12 and will move into D2 in 2015 as U14s along side clubs such as Clann, O'Mahonys, Trim, Seneschalstown who all have big catchments & in some cases 2nd teams.

Too simplistic to say that clubs are trophy hunting.

I'd be against doing away with U13s & U15s but I would keep them as 6 team Divisions so that just about everyone is in with a shout until the end. Must be GAA in autumn otherwise the door is left wide open for other sports.

MeathGAAHead (Meath) - Posts: 87 - 05/11/2014 13:18:07    1669835

I wouldn't argue with your points, very well made and it is a very difficult task to take all factors into consideration, the catchment area point is one that really throws the rural clubs who are scraping 13 lads together and as is the spirit of the under 13 downwards they are giving all players a game regardless of ability, you then have amalgamations who only bring their 13 strongest and blitz the group, short term gain but in the long run these clubs have no regards for down the line when adult football arrives and their numbers are poor

Analyst (Meath) - Posts: 1508 - 05/11/2014 13:42:43    1669844

There is a club I know where the managers attitude at u12 - u14 level was that he wanted to win games and he had a big squad but it was not big enough to enter 2 teams, his attitude however was that he would not rotate the team as he wanted to win trophies, I think this is a disgrace that someone should be allowed to manage a team at that level with that kind of attitude, unfortunately he is winning trophies so nothing is being said about it, yet some of the players don't get a chance just so he can boast that he is winning trophies

irishgaalover (Louth) - Posts: 14 - 10/11/2014 15:51:39    1671147