manfromdelmonte wrote:A properly structured gym program over a 3 or 4 month period should get a player to the training field in January in great condition
1 Overall body strength
2 Aerobically
3 core strength and joint mobility
4 and probably most importantly, flexibility
5 skills
Unfortunately, a lot of the people planning these gym programs place too much emphasis on the first one. and players themselves concentrate on that, neglecting the others
A proper weights program can get you in great shape aerobically, if it is approached the correct way. Same with core strength.
running isn't exactly the best tool for a base level of fitness due to the injuries caused by the impact of running - cycling, swimming, cross training, rowing are all good.
And then when players get to the training field there is too much focus on #2
GAA teams often do some core work (most of them think that means sit ups!), but they nearly always neglect the mobility and flexibilty side of things. Two things that need to be worked on at every training and that players have to be educated on to carry out at home or work everyday. eg how many players know what a foam roller is? I'd say sweet feck all
how many club or county players are given a list of skills they are deficient in and that they have to improve eg weaker foot, weaker hand handpassing, soloing (yes!)
Fellas, there are many factors that one needs to address with regards to fitness at the top level, but the biggest differentator between a club and county player is pace/ agility and decision making capabilities. One may be very flexible, strong or aerobically fit without having the necessary natural pace for county level. yes there is a dearth of physical strength among senior players in Offaly but this is because they are generally coming from a poor base with little or none done at minor and 21 level until very recently. other counties (Armagh, Dublin and Kildare for definite) have these strength developmental programmes implemented from co u16 level.
With all due respect, what has a foam roller got to do with gaelic football?? this is another gimmick toy that people think is crucial to success, along with all the other gimmiks that have come out previously with "core" and "SAQ" being previous fads. Core strength is just simple body strength that we all had one time from working a shovel, there is no major science to it. both Aerobic and anaerobic fitness can easily be developed with a football with a trainer who has a bit of cop on and feel for the game while flexibility is a very simple concept also and just involoves warming up and cooling down properly. The problem is that not many trainers actually get or understand the intricacies of the game who also have the requisite knowledge from a scientific analytical viewpoint of the game.
It is not about focusing on one or any specific aspect at any given time but operating a coherent game specific fitness programme that develops all of the relevant areas in a progressive fashion. people on this site are upsessed with fitness which is quite a simple issue to fix if gone about correctly. There are plenty of people in the county who have university degrees in the area of physical fitness (Sport science and physical education), yet as far as i can see, they are not fully utilised in the county as they are in other counties. unfortunately, Many of the people who are given jobs training county teams, be it senior, minor or underage teams have very little qualification in training teams by comparison of the calibre of trainers in other counties who would all have a university degree at least if not a PHD or masters in the area of physical fitness. We are expecting Offaly to get to the top in both hurling and football by bringing in people who know how to "run the sh*t" out of fellas" based on a one year course in exercise or fitness without understanding the key underlying principles, movements of the game and other relevant issues. Army people have been brought in in the past to train county teams and brought us nowhere fast. Yet, the co board will go ahead again in time and bring them in again! You wouldnt ask a fella with a first aid course to do an operation on your torn cruciate would you, same with a fitness coach! Money down the drain!!
Do you think the dublin senior teams employ second rate people, ditto Meath, Kildare or even Longford for that matter who were streets ahead of us in the league game a few weeks ago. Even Westmeath are streets ahead of us in this regard with their attitude to proper support teams to their county squads. Yet OY will do it without haste for the sake of saving a few quid, while leaving the team with little or no chance of success. I would argue that a good triner would make the co board money in that the team would be properly prepared and give supporters something to shout about and put bums on seats in the league games. In fact, these other counties would laugh at the thought of bringing someone on board who isnt fully sure of what they are at. Unfortunately, there is a perception out there that physical training and skills training are two different things, therefore leaving the coach to do the football and the trainer to do the running and the gym work as two separate entities. any physical trainer who is worth his or her salt should be incorporating skill training, coaching and physical development into the fitness preparation as that is what you are asked to do in a game. A tennis player does not train without the ball, a golfer doesnt train without a golf ball!! So why is it that we have to train footballers without the football.
There is a clear lack of quality coaching across the county in OY too. From watching some club games at senior level, you could see how many teams were coached, with so many players doing the wrong thing with the ball making bad decisions. We never hear premiership managers blame lack of fitness for losing games. They look at errors, bad play, poor decision making etc and try and fix them to improve. However, when Offaly dont win it is always because they werent as fit as the other team, they werent properly "conditioned" or some other physical attribute or lack thereof. It is never due to poor decision making, lack of tactical awareness, poor support running or bad option taking etc. These are the key factors that decide between a good player and a bad player, yet we always bring it back to fitness. Kildare are a super fit team right now, as are Cork and many more. However, I would argue that Monaghan, Derry meath, down and even Meath or longford are as fit, yet they dont win as much as kildare or cork because they arent as well drilled as them, make more mistakes and are poorer on the ball. Yes fitness is important, but there is a much bigger picture there that is totally neglected. Offaly need good coaches who are aware of what they want to achieve and how to get there while preparing the team physically at the same time.
there is some serious talent at underage in OY right now that needs to be looked after. I know of a group at 16 level this year who were unbeaten in the last two years boding well for a minor in two years. The present minors are also quite good on past results and should be looking to win leinster this year, and signs on with good performances from a lot of these players for Moate and edenderry in the A schools competitions to date while some won the all ireland voc schools with ferbane last year. However, the follow through from this age is the big bone of contention and is the reason OY is where it is, with the co board not putting the correct structures in place for the talent to prosper from minor onwards!! The talent is there alright, its what is done with it is the problem!!!
