offaly minor footballers

[Ballyduff]

Jimbob will you please explain how Clara, Edenderry and Ferbane are the three best minor teams.

[jimbob17]

because they are. Who are better than them consistently. Edenderry won the minor league beating Clara and Ferbane are probably the team to beat given their domination from underage in the last few years. Broughans and Na Fianna would be reasonably strong but i could put my house on one of the three i mentioned winning the championship this year.

Can you give me a reason why there is a stronger minor club team out there that are better than those 3 mentioned.

And Tullamore don't really count if they are joined with Ballinamere Durrow like last year as that is a combo of 3 clubs!!!!! which is absolutely ridiculous given the pick of the area..... Should never have been allowed to happen.....

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

Number of Ferbane players were asked in but would not commit due to schools football, then after Meath game a few of them looked to come on board. A couple were played in a trial game and from what I was told (by a Ferbane man!), after they were asked to come onto the panel for the Kildare game.....wait for it Eureka....it suddenly dawned on the players, "eh sorry, but we are away on a school trip to Barcelona, no can do!". Ya couldnt make it up, could ya.
Edenderry had 2 on the panel, and I dont know how close to the team they were, (plus R McNamee would have been part of the school team).
Not sure what the story is with Clara?

I would guess from some of what I have heard, that the committment by the players who were probably the best players was questionable, and mgt went with the most committed that they had at their disposal.

[Ballyduff]

Very Minor Team with the exception of Clara are made up of a number of Clubs so why not Tullamore. I think Tullamore Óg won Minor League and Championship in 2012

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

I dont know what you mean in your last statement? There were 3 from Tullamore on the team at least not including Oisin Cusack?

Lone Shark, did that, or did it not happen like I said re Ferbane minors, (Darragh Keenaghan was a sub).

[Ballyduff]

Sorry my last post was in reply to Jimbob 17. You are correct that 3 Tullamore players started against Kildare. K. Hogan, D McDonagh and A Shelly and K Byrne came on as a sub. In addition O Cusack and A Geoghegan also started and both of them played minor with Tullamore last year.

[Lone Shark]

There were some Ferbane minors who were asked to join the panel in the winter and refused to do so, for their own reasons. Some of these guys rejoined the panel after the Meath game, though I didn't hear anything about the school trip thing you've mentioned there. I also heard that they were asked to come back in as opposed to having asked themselves, however that's not something I'm sure of. Obviously when it comes to the motivation of the players involved, I don't know and I'm certainly not going to speculate here.

Certainly my understanding was that the players that were named on the squad put their shoulder to the wheel and for that reason alone, I'd personally have said that the right team took the field against Kildare. Perhaps we need to go into greater depth about why so many players refused to join the squad (and there were several who did this, not just in Ferbane) but that wasn't really an issue for Padraig Farrell in the sense that he was hardly going to go and drag lads to training against their will.

BTW if lads want to re-open the debate about Ballinamere/Durrow and Tullamore, I believe the relevant thread would be here - viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6498 - we all have our thoughts on that one.

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

Either way, the argument being made was that that should be more on the team for Ferbane/Clara/Edenderry. Edenderry had 2 on panel, Ferbane players ruled themselves out, Clara as I said I dont know. But yours is a key point, why now are our best players not available to play for the county? This is what needs to be investigated, and a plan put in place if possible.

[Fargo Boyle]

Every lad on this forum is mad for setting up commitees and drawing up 5 year plans. You can have all the paperwork and commitees ya like but if we dont have the talent we wont succeed. Plain and simple we have a small playing base to work with. We will have the odd success but that can only be occassional. Putting massive pressure on young lads and then critising them on the internet is hardly constructive. There are many alternatives for young lads including other sports and activities. The GAA should not feel entitled to first call on young people just because they are in their parish. Young people need to feel safe, looked after, encouraged and able to express themselves and enjoy playing the game. Simple changes like that at club level would mean alot rather than drafting reams of strategy documents.

[Ballyduff]

Why should there be more from Clara, Edenderry, and Ferbane or from any club in fact. What players this year should have been on the minor team and was not ????????????.

Just because your from a particular area in the county doesn’t give you a god given right to play with you county or because there was a few good lads one year doesn’t mean there will always be good lads from that club.

Were there not players Clara Edenderry and Ferbane on the 2012 Offaly minor team and we all know what happened them in Tullamore in QF.

[Truth as i see it]

Every lad on this forum is mad for setting up commitees and drawing up 5 year plans. You can have all the paperwork and commitees ya like but if we dont have the talent we wont succeed. Plain and simple we have a small playing base to work with. We will have the odd success but that can only be occassional. Putting massive pressure on young lads and then critising them on the internet is hardly constructive. There are many alternatives for young lads including other sports and activities. The GAA should not feel entitled to first call on young people just because they are in their parish. Young people need to feel safe, looked after, encouraged and able to express themselves and enjoy playing the game. Simple changes like that at club level would mean alot rather than drafting reams of strategy documents.

You've done something incredible here, you've made a baseless observation (lack of Talent, there's plenty if people are willing to put in the work to get the best out of it but currently the system in place is not designed to do so so please no more weak cop out excuses i've heard this for years from the old codger club to which i have consistently proved them wrong) and the other is actually spot on

Its the old Cliche of first impressions lasting, Kids as in 8 to 12 year olds and young adults have an automatic bluff detector on when they are being led down the garden path and when things are not done right they know dam well that their time is being wasted and i suspect that they are seeing properly organized programs for kids of their own age in other sports who are getting proper development programs on nutrition, weights and have better facilities in other sports such as rugby and soccer

Thankfully the county board is beginning to wise up to this fact and i believe you will see an improvement in these areas over the next few years but sadly until then we will have to get through the lost generations first

[jimbob17]

Why should there be more from Clara, Edenderry, and Ferbane or from any club in fact. What players this year should have been on the minor team and was not ????????????.

Just because your from a particular area in the county doesn’t give you a god given right to play with you county or because there was a few good lads one year doesn’t mean there will always be good lads from that club.

Were there not players Clara Edenderry and Ferbane on the 2012 Offaly minor team and we all know what happened them in Tullamore in QF.

My point was not that players from these clubs should have been on instead of others, simply that these clubs should have had a bigger representation than they had as they are the strongest 3 clubs at minor this year in my opinion. Clara would have the stewart boys and young Scanlon. Ferbane would have had Jack Egan, michael Butler and possibly Dean Hogan & Colin Kenny good enough and Mahon from Edenderry is one of the best in the county at this age and none of these lads were involved. There are other examples too of lads not involved incl Jack McNamara from Shamrocks and maybe one or two from St Vincents and Na Fianna area aswell.

I dont know why you are so defensive about the point. The team was picked based on lads that were committed and that is fair enough, but why is it that so many lads with the appropriate skill-set for county minor football are disengaging from the opportunity to play county minor football.......

[Ballyduff]

Very year we hear of all the players that should be on both the Offaly hurling and football teams. (Minor, U21 and Senior). A player that wont committ is as usefull as an ashtray on a motorbike no matter how good he thinks he is. If you get an opportunity to play for your county one should grasp it with both hands with no ands, ifs or buts.

[Ballyduff]

Every year I mean sorry

[townman]

whats the point they are gone from the championship they can call who the like now.