Something for club committees to think about.

[Lone Shark]

Just to give ye some background on this piece, this was a column I prepared for the Offaly Independent for the second week while I was away, based on a blinding flash of the obvious that came about when I was talking to George O'Connor down in Wexford during the minor hurling match against them last year. Now the paper chose not to run it since they considered it to be downplaying the importance of women's games - before ye read, please note that to knock ladies football (or camogie) for it's own sake was not my intention in the slightest. I am one of the most firm believers you will find in the merit of participation for the sake of participation, whether that be kids, forty something adults, ladies or anyone else - the more people that play our games, the better off our association will be, and the better for the players involved themselves.

However to apply some real world thinking here, the truth is that club committees would not dedicate time and money to underage games on the scale they do were it not for the perceived benefit to their flagship teams down the line, whether that be a senior championship contending team or a small village side that hopes to finally break out of junior. Ladies games often receive little or no support or encouragement, simply because their contribution to the greater goal of championship success for the club's best adult male team is PERCEIVED to be negligible.

I would love to see clubs working harder at promoting ladies' games for the sake of it, but since that hasn't happened, maybe the following line of thinking might get them thinking instead.

Obviously the same thinking applies to camogie/hurling, however our camogie is a lot stronger right now and that possibly goes some way towards explaining why our senior hurlers are seemingly on the up to - or else it may simply be a coincidence. Either way, the principle remains the same and it's for each club to decide if they think that there is a lesson in this somewhere.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“I’m the fastest guy on the team, but he’s the fastest linesman in Ireland. I dream of lifting trophies – he’s happy, even when we lose. I’ve kicked a hundred points, but she’s made us a hundred sandwiches. I’ve missed a couple of matches, but Jimmy never has. I dream of the roar of the crowd, but I’d settle for a glance from her.”

Now the Irish taxpayer has given more than enough, some would say too much, to our banking community in recent weeks, so this column is not about to compound the situation and throw in a free ad for one of them by way of naming which prominent bank’s advert features a young boy running for a club photo, speaking the above lines. Disregarding the damage the banks have done to the country in recent years however, in this instance the institution in question does appear to have captured the spirit of a GAA club and painted the culture in both an accurate and favourable light.

Certainly the marketing department who inspired this promotion hit on one key aspect of a young boy’s thinking in that ad, an aspect which appears to have escaped the notice of most of the clubs within Offaly. While we all understand the crucial role played by the club stalwarts who line the pitches, wash the jerseys, sell the lotto tickets and the hundred other volunteer tasks that keep a club running, to the teenage boy, it’s all about the last line: “I dream of the roar of the crowd, but I’d settle for a glance from her”.

To listen to the officials at the top level of the GAA and indeed many of the media commentators, one could easily imagine daily flights to Sydney and Melbourne packed with outstanding young footballers heading out to try and make a living playing Australian rules football, or county teams losing three or four key players every year to professional rugby. The truth is that the GAA will never compete with the allure of professional sport and for the sake of the small trickle of players who take up an opportunity to play for pay, neither should they try. Much moaning and gnashing of teeth is done regarding the twenty to thirty players every year who call a premature halt to their hurling and football careers in order to follow other sports, while the two to three thousand players that drift away from the game every year due to pub culture or other less avoidable reasons seems to cause much less angst.

To relate this back to Offaly, one needs only to look at this year’s county under 21 football championship for an example. Thirteen teams took part, with most clubs only able to field due to amalgamations and permission players. That meant that perhaps 250 footballers played under 21 championship, of which maybe 200 were overage for minor, or aged between 19 and 21. National census figures would indicate that there are perhaps 3000 young men aged between 19 and 21 in Offaly, meaning that 2800 did not participate, of which barely a handful could be attributed to players taking part in other codes. This should put the issue of loss of personnel to other sports really into a proper perspective.

Clubs will argue that they do all they can to facilitate teenagers and young adults to take part, but they are correct when they point out that there are huge dropout levels once boys hit their late teens. Now certain things mightn’t be easy to point out at club committees where the local priest is often a long standing member, but passion in the jersey is not a huge factor for lads of this age – but the chance of passion of another variety is very much to the forefront of their thoughts. The elders might want to be part of a roaring crowd cheering on a young player, but he’s more likely to be interested in catching the eye of a particular girl, or perhaps no girl in particular, but any eye will do for now.

This, somewhat indirectly, leads us to one of Offaly GAA’s biggest issues, both now and in the future: the relative lack of female participation. Factoring in the relatively small “hurling heartland” area of the county, camogie is faring reasonably well, though no doubt many clubs would like to see more girls involved and that’s as it should be. However ladies football in Offaly is really struggling to gain a foothold and for those who wish for greater fortunes for our male teams, this should be a matter of high priority, certainly a higher priority than it appears to be at the moment.

Increased participation in ladies games is a highly desirable goal for a wide variety of reasons. Ireland’s young girls and women have been proven to partake in exercise much less than their male counterparts and the benefits of regular exercise, team sports and involvement in a community activity and hobby are just the same irrespective of gender. However these reasons have unfortunately not inspired enough Offaly clubs to really throw their weight behind ladies’ football, so this column is hoping to point out the possible knock on benefits that may not have been considered up to now by those in positions of influence.

The simple truth is this – at fifteen years of age and beyond, young men want to be where the young women are. It’s not for no reason that nightclubs have been running “ladies get in free” promotions for donkey’s years. If the local girls spend their time the pub, then that’s where the boys will want to be. If the girls are down on the field training for their own games, then the lads will stay involved in the club, if only for the social events. Indeed if the local girls are into their football, then the lads will find themselves all the more inclined to improve their game, since it becomes all the more of a “shop window”. A girl with no interest in football is not going to care about which guy who scored four points at the weekend, while a girl who was at the match most certainly will.

Going on a step further, if the women of a community have taken an interest in football all their lives, they’re also likely to be a lot more supportive for generations to come, happily getting their own kids involved and encouraging their husbands to help out with the local club rather than bemoaning their time away from the home. Essentially, from a club’s point of view, a woman who takes an interest in their success is the gift that keeps on giving.

It’s no coincidence that within Offaly, the most successful women’s club of the past decade – Rhode – is also the most successful men’s club of that time. Indeed it's remarkable to note that when Ladies Gaelic was first played at a national level, Offaly were a leading county, with two All Irelands won in 1979 and 1981 - a time when our male footballers were also punching way above their weight on the intercounty stage. However despite this clear indicator, this year the only clubs who are certain to take part in full adult ladies championships, at any level, are Rhode, Edenderry, Shamrocks, Killeigh, Tullamore, Ferbane and the combination of Doon/Shannonbridge. St. Rynagh’s and St. Vincent’s are probable participants while Clara may yet take part but still look to be a year or two away from being ready. Outside of these clubs, only St. Broughan’s are putting in any groundwork and hopefully have set the trend for coming years by entering an under 12 team for this year.

Obviously girls who wish to take part from other clubs will be accommodated within the existing structure; however that misses the point entirely, from the clubs’ perspective. It is no good to any club to be sending their girls elsewhere to take part when what they need is to have a thriving girl’s scene of their own. Comparisons with our peers also do not paint Offaly in a good light – Laois have 16 clubs who take part, while in Westmeath there are 18 clubs registered to play ladies games with fully 15 of these playing at adult level.

It would be great if ladies played for their own fitness, health and wellbeing, just as it would be great if the local lads kept involved and kept up their commitment for the sake of the parish and the jersey. However the truth is that neither of these things are happening to a sufficient level, and after spending generations concentrating their efforts on the latter, perhaps it’s time for clubs to take a second look at keeping the ladies involved for longer, if only for the most pragmatic of reasons. The side effects could be a real eye opener.

[GreatDayForTheParish]

Very, very interesting Shark.

Although I'm sure it was never your intention, one could easily construe from the article that ladies games should be promoted purely for the sake of improving the mens games. Therefore, it is not difficult to see why the paper turned it down.

As usual it is an extremely well written article, laden with logic and blunt in its various conclusions. Your deductions as to why young men cease playing gaelic games are for the most part correct. I would personally place a greater emphasis on alcohol, Ireland's pub culture and pure laziness but that's just a minor difference of opinion.

Without becoming too cerebral about it, I believe what you are really calling for is for the GAA to become far more inclusive for all members of society, women included, than it is already. Many would argue that the GAA is already a social phenomenon, so to ask for it to expand its already wide reaches would seem like an unfair request. Nonetheless, I agree with you on the issue that the level of participation among women in GAA sports is very low. Where it gets difficult is to say who fault exactly this is. Is it the GAA as a whole? Men? Women?

In truth there are many reasons for it and blame can be ascribed to many demographics but one must remember it is a problem that blights not only the GAA but nearly every sporting organisation in the world. This is an important point to make. It is not the problem of any one sporting organisation, rather it is a problem that exists in society. As such it is very difficult to solve. One can skirt the issue all one wants but from a very young age many girls unfortunately show very little interest in sport not only in Ireland but around the world. This includes both men and ladies sports. Ask any English girl/woman aged 13-40 who won the 2008 Ladies FA Cup and 99% will not know the answer. Until this apathy to sport in general desists, it will be difficult to dramatically increase the participation of ladies sports. Consider another simple fact: Most men would be viewed as semi-psychotic if they declared to have no interest at all in sport. On the other hand many many women gladly proclaim their complete and total ignorance of the sporting world and few (men and women) see any problem with it. Sport is perceived as being a male dominated arena and once girls hit their teenage years many regrettably loose interest.

To have a more inclusive GAA would be brilliant. How do we achieve that? I haven't a clue.
And if anybody does think of a solution would they please tell the GAA, FAI, IRFU, RFU, FA, IOC, NFL, NBA, NHL..............

Edit: Correction of spelling and gramatical errors.

[Lone Shark]

Although I'm sure it was never your intention, one could easily construe from the article that ladies games should be promoted purely for the sake of improving the mens games. Therefore, it is not difficult to see why the paper turned it down.

I know that's how it would read to some people, but it's extremely tricky to avoid that. Essentially what I'm going for is the idea that it would be nioce to promote ladies games because it's the right thing to do, it's good for the community and it's good for the club, but that particular carrot isn't working - so instead I'm going to use a pitch that might work - it'll keep a lot more lads playing. In an ideal world clubs wouldn't think like that, but I'm guessing that they do so let's work within the parameters that exist rather than shooting ourselves in the foot in an attempt to be politically correct.

It was funny how for all the lauding (rightfully) of the work that George O'Connor is doing, according to him the first thing he tells any club to do is to get camogie going and thriving. Simple as - all the other stuff is secondary as far as he's concerned, the first and foremost is to keep lads at the club.


Regarding the "inclusivity", I see what you mean, but essentially I've no beef with the GAA on that score. They take all sorts as members, most committees have a healthy share of women performing the various roles that are required, and basically no person is precluded from becoming a member and getting involved in whatever capacity that they can.

My point is simply regarding playing - as a county, we have very low participation rates in ladies gaelic and I know that this is in no small part because a lot of clubs do nothing but pay lip service to it. More women on committees, helping out with teams and so on is all very good and welcome and not to be forgotten about, but if a GAA club is to really thrive as the social heartbeat of the community as well as the sporting one, then it has to get the ladies out on the field, playing ball. If that happens, then my fairly strong hunch is that drop off rates in the late teens will plummet and clubs will be infinitely better off.

[club125]

Interesting article and subsequent comments, just a few points of note based solely on observation and no hard facts

1. The drop off in participation in Offaly could be attributed to the Brain Drain that affects this County. Lads and Lassies head off to College and most never return on a permanent basis. Usually they are lost to the club completely or at best become bit players for a number of years before falling off completely.
2. I get the concept that more ladies involved may help to keep the interest of the wandering eye of the young footballer; however in practice it’s not as simple as that. I know Tullamore and Edenderry recently had Awards Nights that included the Ladies Teams and they were a great success. However on the ground, as it is nationally, the Camoige or Ladies Teams/Clubs still act quite independently of the Main Club. They only come in and use the facilities and they are gone again. More work is probably required to fully integrate at both a national and local level.

[TheManFromFerbane]

Is there an argument that says you don't want these type of lads in and around your club in the first place? I mean weak willed fella's with no commitment aren't going to win you anything or even improve the club. (I'm obviously talking about lads who are slaves to drink or to the women here, not lads who have to leave because of work or important life reasons).

Not saying it's entirely my opinion but it's an argument none the less.

[Lone Shark]

Is there an argument that says you don't want these type of lads in and around your club in the first place? I mean weak willed fella's with no commitment aren't going to win you anything or even improve the club. (I'm obviously talking about lads who are slaves to drink or to the women here, not lads who have to leave because of work or important life reasons).

Not saying it's entirely my opinion but it's an argument none the less.

Yes and no. A twenty three year old who hasn't moved on past looking towards when he'll next get to hit the town is not going to be a senior footballer or hurler, however there's many the senior player who had a different agenda towards the latter end of his teenage years.

Secondly, a club simply can't be all about the main team - though perversely, the main team can suffer if it is. By creating a living breathing social entity that engages all parts of the community, you increase the chances of young lads staying involved and you also increase the chances of people staying involved in order to help out with underage teams etc. Mammy becomes just as likely as Daddy to try and encourage their kids to take part and the whole thing gains more energy. The five or six extra guys that stay involved over the course of a couple of years allows the club to field an extra Junior B or Junior C team, giving a bit more football to lads who are maybe knocking around the fringes of the first team.

[TheManFromFerbane]

Secondly, a club simply can't be all about the main team - though perversely, the main team can suffer if it is. By creating a living breathing social entity that engages all parts of the community, you increase the chances of young lads staying involved and you also increase the chances of people staying involved in order to help out with underage teams etc.

Oh jesus ya I totally agree with you on that. The club is never about the main team, that may be it's biggest advertiser and draw but it's always about the club as a whole.

[backofthenet]

Is there an argument that says you don't want these type of lads in and around your club in the first place? I mean weak willed fella's with no commitment aren't going to win you anything or even improve the club. (I'm obviously talking about lads who are slaves to drink or to the women here, not lads who have to leave because of work or important life reasons).

Not saying it's entirely my opinion but it's an argument none the less.

Yes and no. A twenty three year old who hasn't moved on past looking towards when he'll next get to hit the town is not going to be a senior footballer or hurler, however there's many the senior player who had a different agenda towards the latter end of his teenage years.

Secondly, a club simply can't be all about the main team - though perversely, the main team can suffer if it is. By creating a living breathing social entity that engages all parts of the community, you increase the chances of young lads staying involved and you also increase the chances of people staying involved in order to help out with underage teams etc. Mammy becomes just as likely as Daddy to try and encourage their kids to take part and the whole thing gains more energy. The five or six extra guys that stay involved over the course of a couple of years allows the club to field an extra Junior B or Junior C team, giving a bit more football to lads who are maybe knocking around the fringes of the first team.

A top GAA club cannot survive without a second team and possibly even a third team, my own club Coolderry were playing in the leinster league last wednesday, and due to injuries and senior and minor county players not being allowed to play we were missing 15 off last years senior panel and about 5 off the team. Essentially without our second and third team we would have been unable to field a team. This is repeated constantly throughout the early part of the year. Most clubs dont see their county players from one end of the month to the other and its their second team that makes up the shortfall.

Also second and third teams are extremely important for training purposes, being able to play a 15 aside game in training is a good advantage to have, also it will add to the competitiveness, if you have a lad thats coming out of minor but is yet too light, or not good enough for the senior team, the junior and intermediate grades are excellent places to blood young players.

In Coolderry we have senior, intermediate and junior b, our junior b team also included a lot of our minor team and i think it really brought them on and helped them win the minor a last year.

[RhodeRunner]

What?

[bazza]

I agree with your theory 100% here LS. I think its very easy for "ould lads" in clubs to just say well we're after losing 7 or 8 again lads to the drink and the pubs. I think you're right when you say lots pf young fellas naturally become more interested in women than Sunday morning training. I mean it is hard for young lads. For exmaple we had the May bank holiday just gone by. On Sunday night were all young hurlers of Offaly going to stay in and mind themselves for next weekend's hurling or were they going to go out on the prowl for women.. without doubt some lads are juat heading our for the love of of porter and they're no loss. In my opinion it's tough for lads to stay in the whole time when they hear that the lads who gave up Gaa years ago are out pulling all the women.. Lets face it must young ones dont give a shite if you've got a physical sunday mornin training session or a challenge match in the backarse of Longford. So i believe you're spot on when you suggest more girls start playing Gaa and get the buzz in tha Gaa field rather than the Bridge House. I notice it in my own club that when the fellas and camogies are training around the same time that theres a feel good factor around the place and lads are willing to go that bit further in trainings to show off! How to implement your plan and put it before the powers that be without sounding like a sexist pig is another thing.. I agree with you totally LS but i'l leave it to you to put this one before the likes of Pat Teehan and Andy Gallagher and the other men and woemn with power!