Offaly Hurlers 2022

A forum to air your views on Offaly GAA matters and beyond.
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Bord na Mona man
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Re: Offaly Hurlers 2022

Post by Bord na Mona man »

bracknaghboy wrote: Mon Oct 10, 2022 5:10 pm
Bord na Mona man wrote: Mon Oct 10, 2022 10:09 am In any sport, technical ability alone doesn't necessarily deliver results. There is the mental aspect to it. Skills and decision making need to stand up under pressure.
The people who dismiss this part of preparation are quite often the ones who brand certain teams/players as being soft or flaky. Without a hint of irony.
OK, so say you had 50,000 Euro to spend. I'll give you 2 options.

Option 1
2 x intercounty High Performance coach for the season (1 for football and 1 for hurling)
2 x intercounty Psychologist for the season (1 for football and 1 for hurling)
They'll gobble up your 50k fairly quickly I can tell you.


Option 2
According to the 2016 census there are 600 boys aged 6 and 600 aged 7 in county Offaly.
Go into each school and offer each 6 and 7 year old a free hurl, free helmet and 3 free balls.

Cost of hurl 20 euro. Cost of helmet 40 euro. Cost of 3 balls is 15 euro = 75 euro per head.
So our 50k would allow us purchase a hurl, helmet and 3 balls for just over 650 school kids.
A lot of the 6/7 years olds would avail of the free offer.

I've been in Kilkenny recently and again nearly every young lad I seen walking through the town down there with his school bag was carrying a hurl. It's ingrained in them.
We need to have something similar up here, giving out free equipment will sow the seeds for the future.
The county board could have a program whereby they hand the stuff out to every primary school child at the start of say 3rd class.

Look I'm trying to think outside the box here.
Using valuable resources on the intercounty backroom vultures is a complete waste of time......theres nothing to be shown for it.
Fella's chancing their arm with Zoom calls and phone calls to players for a few bob and a line for the CV.....rubbish is all it is.

Right I'm backing option 2 as the best use of our hypothetical 50k every year. I'd be interested in hearing which option ye'd all go for out there and maybe a couple of lines explanation to go with it.
Remember you only have 50k and it's either option 1 or 2 before the "lets do both" lads start!
Ideally it's not either/or. Developing the game is vital.
I don't think giving away free stuff is a necessarily the winning strategy though. Cost is rarely the biggest barrier in my experience. Lack of interest (parents and child), poor coaching, poor organisation, lack of matches are bigger factors.

Back to Maher, the people closer to the panel will have a better insight than us on where the improvement can be found.
Looking across the 2022 Joe McDonagh campaign; a one-point loss to Antrim, not running up a cricket score against Meath and getting pistol whipped by Carlow. Perhaps the conclusion was that there are improvements to be made outside of the confines training field which could push Offaly to promotion.

kingscounty
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Re: Offaly Hurlers 2022

Post by kingscounty »

Option 2: Option two would be my choice, at least the child can have a feel for the game without the parent looking and going I can’t afford to spend x amount on the gear.
I can see the short term benefit of a sports psychologist in the fact that it might do a certain team good at any given season like a senior team but i think we need to be holding off on things like that until we have our underage structure going strong for at least 5-6 seasons where then you have a large group in their 20’s that might benefit from a psychologist.
Take Limerick, their underage over the past 10-15 years are reaping the rewards now at senior, you now have a top manager aided by Caroline Currid who’s record speaks for itself.
Personally from playing when you are younger I didn’t have much fear or doubt playing but when you get that bit older into the 20’s , the fear of losing or letting lads down was greater. But again if Maher is not on the side line at least twice a week it’s wasted money for me.
Question: at present do we have any school initiatives, even like discounted hurls and helmets? Surely the county board would have enough pull by where they could get a discount on gear for the kids? Also when I was playing back in the late 80,90’s underage we would play the season and when it finished we spent the winter playing indoor hurling, while it can’t compare it kept the touch going and the interest.

private joker
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Re: Offaly Hurlers 2022

Post by private joker »

Obviously a football woukd have to be bought for every child in the county also!!

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Bord na Mona man
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Re: Offaly Hurlers 2022

Post by Bord na Mona man »

private joker wrote: Tue Oct 11, 2022 11:53 am Obviously a football woukd have to be bought for every child in the county also!!
Every house in the county would have a football or two.
Surely if just having the equipment was key, then all parts of the county would be equally strong at football?

SearingDrive
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Re: Offaly Hurlers 2022

Post by SearingDrive »

pigeon house biffo wrote: Mon Oct 10, 2022 12:30 pm Good to see that this topic is gaining some traction. I think its important that issues surrounding our counties finances and player development are clarified and aired dutifully, or as much as they can be done via this forum.

Maher is an operator at the highest level, as was Fennelly. To this end, i would ponder what exactly we are hoping to garner from giving a highly decorated former player his first shot in an intercounty setup. I probably would have been inclined to give Fennelly another year in light of the covid situation. But we decided that he wasn’t the right one, before bringing someone with the exact same profile in, in the shape of Maher. I like the man, was one of my favourite players when he was operating for tipp. But some of the language around his recent interview was bizarre to say the least. He’s more or less come out and said that hurling club was his first priority. This is absolutely his right, but you’d wonder how this went down with Duignan and the wider player management group. You’re either in or your out. I’ve highlighted this before that while its great that Lowry has got involved, I have no doubt that there’s individuals around the country who will look at us now as a cash cow for milking. And sure if they come in and don’t succeed then the excuses are ready made ‘sure the players arent there’ , ‘not enough going on in the clubs’. For me, the maher appointment is like installing a jacuzzi when you’ve leaks in your roof. Yes, it will look good to those on the outside, but there are far bigger issues that should be prioritised. The overall quality of the hurling in this year’s championship was very poor, and i dont think anyone believes that brendan having a quite word in a lads ear is going to bring them up significantly.

Maybe I’m just a cynic. But in recent months we’ve had links to davey fitz, liam sheedy and eamon o shea, and now maher is in. Would any of these had interest was there not the recently found riches? For the record, I’m a fan of the johnny kelly appointment. Would have liked to have seen a similar appointment for the footballers ie someone who has delivered at a high club level as opposed to a bit of a journey man.

Just my thoughts, happy to be taken to task.
You make some valid points phb. For all our new found sponsorship, we are in the Div3 Football, and the Tailteann Cup. In hurling we are not in the top ranking counties. It will take time and effort to ascend the ranks, plus the best efforts of players and management to succeed.
I am not stuck in the past, but if players need to be psyched up to give their best for the team, then you may question their commitment. There is a trend for counties to appoint a slew of advisers/ coaches, whatever, they all come at a price. Do we really question if they justify the expense involved?

uibhfhaili72
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Offaly Hurlers 2022

Post by uibhfhaili72 »

Is there any news on the Minor management team for 2023 in either course?

private joker
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Re: Offaly Hurlers 2022

Post by private joker »

Very slow to appoint for the hurling. Most other counties already working towards 2023.

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