Thurs. 12.25 am. I had hoped, from the beginning, that this 'Blog' would have a good deal of other input i.e. from the broad Boyle GAA community. I've been told that this is because it is 'difficult' because of the 'blog' methodology. I heard at a seminar recently the equation; 'I didn't have time = it wasn't important enough'. Anway it is hoped to have a facebook link here shortly so perhaps that will be more input friendly.
Today I did get a considered input from a former distinguished Boyle player and I give it its due airing here.
I do not know if the treadmill can be adapted in an overall GAA context but I believe that it and other issues pose significant challenges for the organisation's future wellbeing. These include the money issues, competition from other games, the rise in popularity of disperate- almost individual- sports, the decline in supporter interest as we witness at say League games this season et al.
The GAA has faced challenges before but are today's more viral and intractable? Time of course will tell.
Here is today's post.
"Well T hope all is well,
I saw you made a comment recently about the increased frequency of training that GAA teams have being participating in, in recent years, and I came across the quote [at the bottom] below by Dr Niall Moyna, [now of D.C.U.], who has always leaned on the side of ‘less is more’ philosophy. Personally this is something I wholly agree with (for what that's worth!!). The difference with Moyna is that he is basing his methods on science as opposed to the hearsay comment of “well the Dubs won an All- Ireland from training at 6am twice a week so lads that's what we will do.....” It’s never the games that really injure players but the training . Lads may break down on the match day but it’s the final culmination of training overload (an opinion).
I remember word filtered through after Clare won the hurling in ’95 (I think) that Ger Loughnane had the squad running up a mountain..... and [other counties followed the rumoured tactics]. From there every club in the country latched onto the legend and so a cycle begins.
And it is a cycle that hasn’t being broken and I don’t think it will. The only thing that gets broken is the desire and hunger of players to play. I always compare player participation to a triangle. The base at U-12 is wide deep and long and the manager can hardly keep up with the numbers but as it moves towards the tip and passes narrowly along the way through U-16 and minor the numbers drop sharply off to a situation where it’s a struggle to field teams regularly during the season. The situation is never helped by league games beginning in Feb/March and the classic end of season game in December with the usual block drought in June/July because the county manager doesn’t want to get one of his lads injured.
So a shorter season plus a time table of club games organised by the county board with the direct emphasis placed on the welfare of the club player would be a massive step in the right direction.
Finally.....in Tyrone Mickey Harte allows county players to play a club championship game up to 1 week before major inter-county games and he also allows lads to train in small groups, close to where they live, in order to reduce travel times!!! Simple measures but hugely effective and look at how long most of those lads have stuck playing.
That really is far too much of a rant but maybe there is something in being able to vent thoughts and emotions through the keyboard!!!!!
Anyway chat soon".
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0227/1224312438602.html
I saw you made a comment recently about the increased frequency of training that GAA teams have being participating in, in recent years, and I came across the quote [at the bottom] below by Dr Niall Moyna, [now of D.C.U.], who has always leaned on the side of ‘less is more’ philosophy. Personally this is something I wholly agree with (for what that's worth!!). The difference with Moyna is that he is basing his methods on science as opposed to the hearsay comment of “well the Dubs won an All- Ireland from training at 6am twice a week so lads that's what we will do.....” It’s never the games that really injure players but the training . Lads may break down on the match day but it’s the final culmination of training overload (an opinion).
I remember word filtered through after Clare won the hurling in ’95 (I think) that Ger Loughnane had the squad running up a mountain..... and [other counties followed the rumoured tactics]. From there every club in the country latched onto the legend and so a cycle begins.
And it is a cycle that hasn’t being broken and I don’t think it will. The only thing that gets broken is the desire and hunger of players to play. I always compare player participation to a triangle. The base at U-12 is wide deep and long and the manager can hardly keep up with the numbers but as it moves towards the tip and passes narrowly along the way through U-16 and minor the numbers drop sharply off to a situation where it’s a struggle to field teams regularly during the season. The situation is never helped by league games beginning in Feb/March and the classic end of season game in December with the usual block drought in June/July because the county manager doesn’t want to get one of his lads injured.
So a shorter season plus a time table of club games organised by the county board with the direct emphasis placed on the welfare of the club player would be a massive step in the right direction.
Finally.....in Tyrone Mickey Harte allows county players to play a club championship game up to 1 week before major inter-county games and he also allows lads to train in small groups, close to where they live, in order to reduce travel times!!! Simple measures but hugely effective and look at how long most of those lads have stuck playing.
That really is far too much of a rant but maybe there is something in being able to vent thoughts and emotions through the keyboard!!!!!
Anyway chat soon".
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0227/1224312438602.html
