John Morrison once told a group of players at a training session to go over to a skip at the side of the pitch and throw their negative thoughts into it. Way ahead of his time. Lovely man and a great GAA man. RIP. I'm sure everyone has their own story about John..
Ah that's sad. He definitely thought outside the box. RIP.
Very sad - one of the GAA's great personalities. RIP John.
Massive loss for all involved. A great man.
Great coach that was ahead of his time. Pure gent RIP John.
RIP
Very sad news indeed.
RIP John, a great Gael and way ahead of his time.
RIP - he was unique in his methods for sure!
R.I.P. John. Definitely way ahead of his time. Back in late 70's early 80's John was introducing us to strength and conditioning......and yoga.....of course we laughed....little did we realise then that he was spot on. Condolences to all the family.
That's sad to hear. Seemed a larger than life character and a nice man. Definitely liked during his stint with Donegal.
As I mentioned on another thread, John's sudden passing has come as a shock. A larger than life character and a giant of our Club over the last fifty years, having been Chairman in the late seventies and early eighties when we acquired and redeveloped our ground at Abbey Park. He was deservedly inducted into our Hall of Fame in recent years.
The end of John's long Championship career with Armagh Harps coincided with my own Championship debut, when he played full back in front of me, marking Peter Rafferty of the Grange - May 1988 in Ballymacnab - fond memories indeed.
Beefer was one of the few players at our Club who made the ball 'whistle' during shooting practice, such was the force he used to generate with that left peg of his! Not an enjoyable experience trying to stop them. His loss will be felt not just in the Morrison household, but in our Club and in Armagh City generally.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Quote from: Insane Bolt on February 12, 2019, 01:58:13 PM
R.I.P. John. Definitely way ahead of his time. Back in late 70's early 80's John was introducing us to strength and conditioning......and yoga.....of course we laughed....little did we realise then that he was spot on. Condolences to all the family.
Really struggle with this one.
As a person, I thought he was genuine, a man who cared about the squad and was really into the spiritual wellness of the players. Nice guy.
As a coach I thought he was overrated. He seemed to follow a textbook format approach, very organized but don't deviate from his drills. His training didn't feel like it was grounded from a natural football intuition point of view. Also in later years, he would preach about player protection. Something he didn't practice.
Read some of his Gaelic Life columns. One in particular stood out for me.
Basically it was aimed at those coaching, especially young kids. Or even for parents with kids. Basically, nurture kids, let them express themselves, don't be belittling or criticising. Never be afraid to try or fail.I'm sure we all can relate to things said to us about our sporting life, education, behaviour etc, and how some people may have said something that just put us off ever participating in that thing again.
Some kids are good at things, others not. But everyone has their own talents, which should be nurtured and encouraged.
Whatever about his training methods, his columns like that one described, is more valuable.
RIP John
John was really liked by all supporters here in Mayo as well as all the squad. Its a pity they'd such a short stint here in '06, who knows what himself and Micky would have achieved if they'd a longer spell with Mayo. RIP John, condolences to all his family.
Big character, never conformed and you could say he was eccentric but he always thought outside the box. He had a great way with people as he was a very positive person. RIP John.
Sorry to hear this.
RIP John.
Echo mayomick's comment about him being a fans favourite in 06. Didn't know he was unwell. RIP John.
Sad new RIP
Sad news. Enjoyed his articles in Gaelic life. Always thinking outside the box. Seemed like a real character. Condolences to his family and friends.
Loads of comments here
https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2019/0212/1029122-gaa-coach-john-morrison-dies/
Turlough O Brien @TurloughCarlow
Devastated & distraught to hear of John's passing. One of my dearest friends, a father figure to me. He did so much for me as a coach & a person. Brought me into his sessions in Mayo, Leitrim, Cork, shared all he knew. Moulded me & 1000s of others. Ní bheidh a Leithéad ann aris
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/pioneering-gaelic-football-coach-john-morrison-dies-1.3791404
Pioneering Gaelic football coach John Morrison dies
Armagh man's genial personality was always directed at banishing negativity
Seán Moran
The sheer geographical breadth of the tributes being paid to John Morrison, whose death was announced on Tuesday, tells its own tale about his widespread influence as a coach.
Although he was involved with management in a number of counties, often with Derry-based manager Mickey Moran, the Armagh man's most abiding legacy will be as a pioneering coach of football players.
There's hardly a county where he didn't spread his gospel in tutorials and at games development conferences.
As manager of Antrim, he put them through their paces to the accompaniment of house music. He also famously used balloons to train centrefielders and the force of his genial personality was always directed at banishing negativity in individual players and teams.
His high point as an intercounty coach was helping Moran guide Mayo to the 2006 All-Ireland final, beating Dublin in the semi-final, where they were outplayed by a Kerry team that was simply better. He also worked with Derry, Donegal, Leitrim, Cavan and Armagh.
Yet there are so many stories of how he helped individuals to improve their game through personal tuition. One of those was Armagh's Paul McGrane, All-Ireland winner and All Star.
Speaking to Keith Duggan in these pages in 2005, John Morrison explained his advice.
"The two things that needed changing were the position of his feet when he jumped into the catch and the trajectory of his arms when he met the ball. It used to be that his feet trailed, whereas now he jumps knee raised and his hands are in front of his face instead of straining behind his head.
"The reason for the balloons was that they just hang up there and they gave him a chance to get his radar right. With anything like that, you have to be really willing in order to break down your game and reconstruct it. Paul wanted to know what he could do. I told him I would have him hanging up in the air. And he worked at it. Then one evening after a club game, I think it was, he rang me delighted and said, 'John, I was hanging tonight'."
He influenced many readers with his coaching books and manuals as well as up until recently a column in Gaelic Life.
More than 10 years ago, he was telling anyone who would listen that Dublin were now taking games development so seriously that it would be only a matter of time before the county again became successful.
He was a lifelong member of Armagh Harps.
Mickey and John gave us an a crazy wonderful year in '06. Great Summer. Thanks John, RIP.
John was part of a triumphiate that included Philip Kerr and Terence Mc Williams who were knocking out coaching manuals to those fledgling coaches across Ulster and beyond in the early to mid nineties. One I recall was "games for better team play" and it was a mile ahead of its time.
He invited me to a Derry training session he was taking along with Mickey Moran around 2004, and again, that session was like nothing else I had seen.
A true gentleman, RIP Big Man.
I was reminded yesterday that John came over to Manchester to do a coaching course probably over 15 years ago, can't remember much apart from what a character John was.
John managed our club for a season in the early 90s. I think it was probably one of his first club roles outside of his own club, the Harps (could be wrong). He took a bit of a rabble of a squad and won the league and junior championship with them that year. It got him noticed and the county job came calling at the end of that season. At one of the first training sessions the usual suspects were messing about and questioning things. John used his superior wit and intelligence to quell the ejeets among them. At the first session too he told them they needed to learn how to run properly! Puzzled looks all around. He was right though, and as others have said here, he liked to deconstruct things. He was a huge figure in Armagh football over many years and will be badly missed. RIP.
A few funny stories about him but he was always thinking differently! He was a teacher in school for my last year in the Abbey and he was a jovial character. He had us doing flexibility stuff I recall and it was excellent....not that I was ever flexible but it helped! He also insisted on doing goals in the teachers/pupils game and milled anyone who came in round him ;D
Think he washed the feet of the Armagh players with Holy Water once before a game which they went on to lose...I'm sure I recall Benny Tierney relaying this story once.
The big thing about him was that he was so absolutely genuine in everything he did. No matter how outlandish it may seem you believed in him and he believed in you and that stood out in any conversation about him.
RIP John
Desperate sad news. Had a few coaching sessions with John and I will always remember his positively, encouragement and definitely his eccentricity which was a breath of fresh air. Rest in peace.
Brought an original and eccentric approach underpinned with genuine love and understanding of the game. My sympathies to his family club and friends.
RIP.
At one stage he had the Antrim lads warming up to dance music! A great character in the GAA.
I thought the minute silence before the match in Castlebar last night was a nice touch