Un Cambio Es Bueno

[Buck Face]

POTH - By heading for a debate on the nutritional value of a sausage would suggest alone that things are not as bad structurally as people are made to believe.

Of course things can be done better but people need to divert their energies through the right channels and stop looking for a magic wand.

[Offalys Future]

No magic wand needed.

The following positive steps could be taken at the next county board meeting.

1. The county chairman/secretary announces that they have met with and offered the admin role to a highly skilled person who will do it for free. This has allowed us to save a vast sum of money that will now be directed towards the following project.
2. The project - we have spoken with an sports management agency and have had a productive meeting with them. If you will be in agreement we would like to setup a sub committee " Offaly GAA Forward Planning" . This committee will work with the sports management company and conduct an extensive review of Offaly GAA at all levels. This committee will consist of 2 county board Officers and 3 delegates that can be voted in tonight. They will meet with the management agency and draw up a detailed plan over the next 4 months. This committee will ensure that anybody that is interested in Offaly GAA and wish to have a say can have the opportunity and they can meet the committee at agreed times. The new administrator that we have employed for free is going to provide all the paper work and scheduling to ensure that a massive burden is not placed on the committee members.
3. in 4 months time the committee will report back to this meeting with proposals as to how Offaly GAA can progress and how the infrastructure and supports can be setup at all levels to give Offaly GAA the best opportunity to once again be competitive.
4. Part of the " Offaly GAA Forward Planning Committee role will be to provide detailed documents on the following:
Offaly GAA 5 Year Strategic Plan
Offaly GAA 10 year Strategic Plan
Offaly Underage Hurling Strategic Plan
Offaly Underage Football Strategic Plan
Offaly Strength and conditioning Strategic Plan
Offaly Primary schools hurling Strategic Plan
Offaly Primary schools football strategic plan
Offaly primary schools Camogie strategic plan
Offaly secondary schools Camogie Strategic Plan
Offaly secondary schools coaching hurling strategic plan
Offaly secondary schools coaching football strategic plan

We understand that this is a massive task. we understand that things aren't great at the moment. But we hope by presenting this to you tonight shows our intent on making Offaly GAA great once again. We now will open this to the floor for discussion.........................

[sam88885a]

great post offalys future
its a long time since i have heard someone point out our current problems and still belive with guidence offaly hurling can be saved .

[Buck Face]

Offalys future - It would require more than a magic wand to give the Chairman or Secretary the powers to offer any position to anyone which is why even the likes of Team Management Proposals have to be put to the floor before ratification. Again, a little reminder, that the management committee is only a sub committee of the county board and fortunately so.

From your posts it would seem the appointment of an Administrator is imminent which is news to me. Even if it is how much money do you expect to save by doing it for free? Do you think the money will come directly form Offaly County Board funding? When or where did you offer your services before and were ignored as you put so eloquently on the other thread?

If there is one thing we have had plenty of and it's reviews. It's people to act fully on the reviews is what we need.

In my opinion your post is simply a few fanciful notions with little, if any, new substance.

And spending money on two Camoige Strategy reviews would certainly be a waste of money as they are a different body.

[Offalys Future]

this guy makes me laugh.
so the chairman or secretary cant propose a motion no? if you read my post clearly i said at the end to put to the floor for discussion.
Can you point we in the direction of " all the reviews" that you are talking about?
what i did mention was a review with action points and documents outlining how each plan will be put into place. again i havent seen any of these over the past 10 years.
also the current coaches that are employed train both boys and girls so it would be vital that Camogie be looked after also.

Its pretty obvious that you are either on the county board or connected closely. A nerve has obviously been hit. Its sad that even now 7 years on and the attitude hasnt changed with some poeple. see the light will ya for crying out loud.

[Buck Face]

The county chairman/secretary announces that they have met with and offered the admin role to a highly skilled person who will do it for free.

I think you are the one that needs to read your post clearly. I'll accept that you didn't mean what you wrote at the start as it did all seem a bit dreamy (were you were seriously writing 'highly skilled person' about yourself here?).

The best place for you to get up to date with the reviews (you misquoted me by the way but no worries) would be through your own club secretary. But to get you started there have been a number of major reviews in the 10 year period that you refer to.

A recent one at the end of 2012 included for 6 weeks of meetings and broad consultation which came about under the GAA's National Strategic Vision and Action Plan. It was wide reaching and included for maximising player potential, participitation from grass roots and was full of your 'newly' suggested action points as to how we should develop from underage right up to adult hurling.

It's a pity you haven't seen any of these reviews but that simply reinforces my point that there is a disconnect between the man/club on the ground and the county board. I'll say it again, herein lies a big part of our problem.

On top of the major reviews there are regular sectional reviews in different areas and also the likes of the Regional Meetings that were called at the end of last year that were open to anyone involved in any way to have their say in developmental and structural areas of the game in Offaly. Basically there are plenty of avenues for anyone to get involved and get their points across.

We don't need another review gathering dust on a shelf. We need to bridge the gap between the county board and the clubs and get everyone pulling in the right direction.

And I know the current coaches train both boys and girls (and rightly so) but it is not the job of Offaly county board to come up with strategic plans for the Camoige Board or vice versa no matter how you try to dress it up.

What is obvious is that you are disconnected from the county board when you are unaware of any of the reviews or open participation that is available and taking place.

Feel free to answer the questions I asked you in my previous thread.

[Offalys Future]

I was a contributor to the GAA's National Strategic Vision and Action Plan in fact.

The aim of the GAA strategic plan was to ensure the game would develop over the a seven year period 2009 -2015.


Can you point me in the direction of the following documents? Surely our county board have at the very least a strategic plan?

My club secretary was not aware if any of the following documents or similar existed.

And again where are all the reviews you mentioned?


Offaly GAA 5 Year Strategic Plan

Offaly GAA 10 year Strategic Plan

Offaly Underage Hurling Strategic Plan

Offaly Underage Football Strategic Plan

Offaly Strength and conditioning Strategic Plan

Offaly Primary schools hurling Strategic Plan

Offaly Primary schools football strategic plan

Offaly primary schools Camogie strategic plan

Offaly secondary schools Camogie Strategic Plan

Offaly secondary schools coaching hurling strategic plan

Offaly secondary schools coaching football strategic plan

[Buck Face]

You said you were not aware of any plans in the last 10 years.

I've informed you that there were a number of major reviews and gave you a recent example.

Any one of the single major reviews in that period would have covered most of your very repetitive list. And yes there was an Offaly Strategic Plan brought in during this period also.

Again you seem to have missed it. What is even more alarming is that your secretary also missed it and the numerous other reviews. This just further reinforces my point on the disconnect that exists between clubs and the county board.

Any chance of you answering any of the questions that I asked you?

[Offalys Future]

Any plans in Offaly yes and I'm still not aware of them and there does not seem to be any documentation about them either.
Surely the joke of an Offaly website should have these plans available for all to see?

There was a strategic plan or there is a strategic plan, two completely different things.

Numerous other reviews?
Basically all you have told us is the GAA conducted a strategic plan that we are all aware of. Looking forward to seeing the Offaly strategic plan.

[jimbob17]

seriously buckface.....if there is a plan for Offaly what is it.....seems like Christy Ring Hurling and div 4 football for me......Offaly are an absolute shambles and their GAA teams are a bit of an embarassment to the gaels we are at the moment....... Can you think of 1 positive re Offaly Gaa in last 5 years? nothing but infighting, players unhappy, struggling for basics, managements disillusioned.....ive a book of stories that would shock you!!! we are the laughing stock and the likes of this rubbish you are on about with plans etc is rubbish..... The GAA have laid template and Offaly county board have done everything bar follow it!!!

[Buck Face]

Offalys Future -As I said there was a Strategic Plan brought in and to clarify, it is still in place but unfortunately gathering dust (which is my point all along).

I didn’t tell you the GAA carried out a review at the end of 2012. The review was carried out by the Offaly county board following on from the GAA’s National Strategic Vision and Action Plan. (Apologies, I tried to give you some detail but confused you instead).

You seemed to come on here thinking you were putting forward some earth shuddering novel idea when in fact several reviews have taken place and continue to take place in the period you are talking about.

An example of the reviews includes the wide reaching one referred to above, we have the Offaly Strategic Plan, I recall a major review headed by Joe O’Brien and a further example is only recently we had the Regional Meetings organised by the county board that included, as only a part of the meeting, a full Club Self Evaluation Health Check which was designed to assist clubs to review themselves and identify strengths and areas that needed to be worked on in order to develop our clubs and players into the future (for the county board to collate and present a full list of all the reviews in the last 10 years Offaly would need a full time administrator!).

And you tell me that you aren’t aware of any of these and that, worse still, your secretary is not aware of any of these???

So, for one last time, you are just reinforcing my point the further you dig. There is a disconnect between the clubs and the county board that needs to be bridged but the avenues and structures are there to reach the people on the ground.

You haven’t hit any nerve but you are happily giving me the opportunity to dispel the myth that Offaly county board have no structures in place and are not doing anything about trying to solve our current crisis. There is very good work going on on the ground including blitzes, workshops, strength and conditioning sessions, go games, organised coaching in schools, youth development, indoor games, development academies etc. etc.

But I’m not saying for a second we cannot bring in major improvements and for sure there have been major blunders and gaping holes along the way (bigger than sausage gate – sorry POTH) but the best way to solve this is to get involved and go through proper channels and not some dreamy scenarios.

You still haven’t answered any of my questions.

Jimbob – you’re missing my point. Plans alone won’t get us anywhere. There are plans and reviews in place and they alone won’t solve anything.

In what way have the county board not followed the template? This is the detail we need. Not more reviews.

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

I am tending to agree with Buckface on this.
First of all Jimbob, you were the very person on here not too long ago highlighting the great success of Offaly U16s last year, the great evening in OCP where Offaly U14 & U15 squads received awards for achievements in some of the blitz competitions.
There is a lot of work going on out there but that is being ignored or perhaps diluted by a large degree of apathy from the clubs.
Alan Mul & Liam Reilly on the football have put on numerous workshops and training courses that would have helped to kickstart a change of atitude to fitness, and S&C, without sacrificing use of the ball during training, All very poorly attended.
They ran the club evaluation course which I looked at, and from asking around it has been poorly responded too.

So as Buckface says, there are things being done, are they to a perfect template, probably not. As Offalys Future is asking, can these plans or reviews be put into a public area where we can see them?
People are giving up their time to keep Offaly GAA afloat, but is there enough help? Are the clubs just doing things the same old way as they always did, with the same old coaches. I heard a story recently of a lad involved with a football team who felt that every lad should get 20 touches of the ball at least during the training session!

Its a cross between the 2 that needs to be done, (Between whats currently there and what OF says, use whats there and identify gaps that need to be addressed), after that I really think the clubs need to evaluate where they are with regard to coach qualifications, and real player development. Do they link up with their national & secondary schools.

Fund raising plans are a key area to be addressed too in the county.

[Don Hurley]

I'm a Dub living in Offaly for a few years now. Used to be very involved in Dublin hurling and watch what is happening here.
It's sad to see Offaly hurling in a difficult position. I agree with the sentiment that there is a need for an overall Offaly GAA strategy, covering the sort of areas listed above. Such a plan must honestly recognise the existing work being done.

Its harder to do this work when things are not going well at county level. Its difficult to motivate people at all levels when you are losing and even harder when the frustration and disappointment turns into harsh words and blame.

What is needed is not just a strategic plan that embraces a realistic appraisal of where we are and where we can get to, but one that includes consideration of the whole issue of motivation. There are various elements already in place but the fact that people on-line here don't seem to know that is revealing. The strategic plan needs active and vocal leadership and must be something the hurling community can grasp and lend constructive energy to.

I was at the Wexford - Dublin game last weekend and had heard and read quite a bit about hurling in Wexford in recent times. I think their current senior team probably has less talented players than Offaly, yet they have built a good dynamic and spirit despite losing more or less as much as Offaly in recent times. The match programme had a write-up about their 365 hurling promotion programme involving support to primary schools. Nothing extraordinary in the idea, but at half time despite a Cumann na Bunscoil game between the 20m lines there were about 400 u-12's pucking about on the pitch. Somehow, despite the actual performances of their senior team, they seem to have focused constructive energy on hurling and the kids are responding. I heard no Wexford voices of anger focused on their team management/CB.

[Offalys Future]

Any business or organisation worth their dust would have a mission statement and a strategic plan.
The reason there is a disconnect is that it seems that nobody in Offaly GAA knows what the plan is for Offaly GAA.
This is where the disconnect is.

All I am looking for is to see Offaly GAA's current strategic plan?
If it exists then it needs to be reviewed.
Even the fact that I have to ask whether there is a strategic plan or mission statement for Offaly GAA is a joke.

[Buck Face]

I would agree that the fact that people on the ground are not familiar with the reviews, the strategic plan, the regional meetings or any of the structures etc shows that there are flaws from both sides and I'm not one bit surprised here.

But at least we are making progress here as you have gone from complaining that no reviews took place in the last 10 years to now complaining that you have not been made aware of them.

So go back to your secretary or county board reps and ask for the recent reviews/strategic plan etc, get a feel for whats in them and also enquire as to what interest was shown by the clubs/people on the ground in return (any secretary worth there salt will at least have access to them even if they are not as familiar with them as they should be). Air your grievances and make sure they are brought up by your reps at the next county board meeting and actually get the wheels in motion.

And, seeing as you won't answer the questions I put to you, make sure your offer with regard to administration is put forward at the next meeting also and make it a concrete proposal and find out if your offer will save the county board vast amounts of money. I expect you will be disappointed with the bottom line. Due process will have to take place of course but who knows where it could lead. At least go through the right channels.

Time for action. Good luck.