John Fogarty
As has been the way since Pat Gilroy’s first season in 2009, Dublin stage early morning press conferences before each league and championship game.
Once a novelty, the 8am calls to their St Clare’s base in Glasnevin are something everyone has got used to. Pat Gilroy has regularly pointed out that, like their 6.30am training sessions, the briefings facilitate the players in ensuring their working or studying day isn’t upset.
But it wasn’t until we heard a story about one Dublin player that we fully realised just how necessary it is for them to be uninterrupted.
The player in question was reprimanded by his employers not for taking a little time out of work not to do a press interview but to fulfil a charity commitment.
The currency of an All-Ireland winning footballer, even a Dublin one at that, isn’t as strong as it used to be to the extent that allowances can be made. Others have been warned by employers that they will be as understanding as they can but the job comes first.
Similar tales emanate from Kerry. The principal, the sergeant, the bank manager sympathise but their stock as heroes in the spare time has dipped.
If you want to realise that, look at the hurling greats who have seen their sports shops closed down in recent months. No, a name only goes so far these days. The stone-cutter’s membership card that was a Celtic Cross has expired.
Few players ever aspired to winning All-Ireland medals for the trappings they bring but they were welcome bonuses.
They made life a little easier. There are All-Irelands winners in the 1970s and 1980s who can thank the GAA for giving them almost lifelong careers.
Those perks don’t exist anymore. And yet players are now expected to work harder, faster and stronger than ever – and that truly means ever – before.
This inverse proportionality is a troublesome issue facing inter-county Gaelic games. To put it bluntly, players are doing more for less.
In his address to the Munster Council’s convention on Friday, provincial chairman Sean Walsh rightly drew attention to just how much inter-county players are putting in.
“I strongly believe that we have reached an unprecedented and perhaps dangerous level of preparation for amateur players who have to combine work, family life and then in their so-called leisure time, training at a level that some players in professional sports would find difficult to endure.
“The fact that it is expected and considered necessary is even worse.”
To further Walsh’s point, inter-county players have reached the point where they can train no more. The pinnacle has been reached.
They can continue to be coached, surely. Especially in football. The skill deficit of some teams and over-reliance on the hand-pass indicates that to be true.
And that’s where teams, from Crossmaglen to Dublin, are recognising advantages can be attained. The greatest form of transferring the ball is and will always be an accurate kick-pass. But so many are at saturation now in terms of strength and conditioning that their progress will be minimal and frustration is inevitable.
Evolution may dictate they change course but before that there might have to be a breaking point where players no longer realise what they’re doing is coming at a cost they can’t pay and is no longer fun.
Let’s be honest, that is what it’s supposed to be about: enjoyment. The enjoyment of striving to attain victory.
Listen to how the Tipperary hurlers waxed lyrically about Eamonn O’Shea’s training methods. Hear Kerry footballers speak of actually looking forward to each training session. The common thread in winning teams is pleasure.
Mickey Harte has always spoken about the journey in winning All-Ireland titles. It’s that sense of togetherness which sustained Tyrone sides and he hopes will do so again with the new team he’s forging.
That wholesomeness isn’t so apparent among other counties who have designs on following suit. Sure, there is that sense of team and strenuous effort but the delight isn’t apparent.
Everything just seems a bit forced, a little arbitrary. There’s a sense of over-compensation. Why do one training session when will three will do? The siege mentalities built up are founded on clay.
The managers are responsible for such cultures, of course. Some of them come across like Sensei John Kreese in Karate Kid, the heartless mentor who builds up a sense of fear that inevitably comes undone.
Like his students in the movie, players are loath to question the will of their manager. As Walsh said in his speech: “I have never known a player who would not to do what is asked of him in the pursuit of excellence and in the hope of success.
“But when is enough considered too much, for the player still operating in the amateur game.”
More and more players will begin to realise they have a choice, that they can shout stop because the game has stopped being worthwhile to them. And others will follow.
There’s a lot to be said for playing top level Gaelic football with a smile on your face. Sadly, so few players do at the minute.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/GtlZfXqnO8c/post.aspx
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