Antrim Football Thread

Started by theskull1, November 09, 2006, 11:48:40 PM

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rogercasement

I'm prepared to hope for the rising tide lifts all boats approach. A successful senior team leads to more competitive clubs with players trying to get on panel or is this too simplistic?

Calm Down

Well RC will McKeever be lining out next week?

Belfast GAA man

Schools playing at high levels e.g mcrory is a massive boost to a lads development. Going to training after school is much easier than making a development panel and travelling round the counTy to train.
Back in the day Eddie McToal and Hugh Mcgettigan would be driven st marys on to competing in mcrory and the age groups below. maybe the current bunch of teachers don't have the same passion? they are volunteers like the other 99% of us in the Gaa so cant be too hard on them but i think committed teachers is what is missing in the schools not the talent

bannside

It may be quite a while until an Antrim school is playing Mc Rory. We all agree hypothetically it would be great, but until then it would be good to have 25 persons technically and physically developed in this age group across the county, never mind in one school. Let's win a few Mc Larnons first before talking about McRory.

Mc Rory is for schools who adopt Gaelic Football as their absolute main event outside of getting academic grades. As I said previously it would take a dozen dedicated teachers to deliver this standard, across 7 year groups.

That level of interest simply does not exist in Antrim schools....but for some reason it's as strong as ever in other Colleges across Ulster.

Feel free to disagree, especially if you're a teacher in this space with more of a finger on the pulse......I would absolutely love to be wrong on the matter!

JimStynes

Has Antrim ever really been any different this past 50 years? People talk about the similarities between Dublin and Belfast but Dublin have always had a culture of winning All Ireland's. Antrim have always been crap. Maybe the interest is just not there. Even the hurlers have been crap. The odd big win but they've certainly not been a powerhouse hurling county. Maybe we should just shut up shop and focus on the soccer. Massive amounts of money and coaches being sent into schools and clubs from early on would be needed. That's not going to happen though, I can't see Croke Park giving that sort of money.

bannside

Exactly 50 years since a great St Mary's team won Hogan Cup.

What's not impossible is to get half a dozen good men in any club to get together and start a movement that centres around providing the optimum in juvenile development. That is in your own hands. What happens elsewhere is outside your control.

If every club committed to doing this the default position would be schools and county development squads would consist of a much better standard of player than what they currently expect. Clubs need to lead the way.

Once again I refer you to the St Galls model. Ok not all...but a majority started in the Bog Meadows at under 8 under the direction of a handful of dedicated mentors.  Somebody started a "movement" there that went all the way to being the best club in the country.

They didn't just build good players, they built a mindset. That's equally important.

rogercasement

Spoke to a secondary school teacher about this recently. He said the problem with schools in Antrim is they are too academic in their selection of teachers! Schools in Tyrone, Down, Derry unashamedly appoint County footballers to jobs as their status is high amongst young players, same in the South. Maghera had McNicholl and Lockhart to name a few, not the same appointments being made in Antrim.

bannside

St Louis had a principal half a dozen years ago who was very keen to promote the GAA ethos and development a pathway to better things. He made an appointment based on a strong verbal committment to try to take GAA in the school to the next level. That didn't work out quite as expected.....

Flanker

Quote from: rogercasement on October 15, 2021, 01:24:19 PM
Spoke to a secondary school teacher about this recently. He said the problem with schools in Antrim is they are too academic in their selection of teachers! Schools in Tyrone, Down, Derry unashamedly appoint County footballers to jobs as their status is high amongst young players, same in the South. Maghera had McNicholl and Lockhart to name a few, not the same appointments being made in Antrim.
RC did we not have the Director of Football in a school close to you and a prominent coach from Down who I'm sure I saw on the sidelines with a St Colmans team in a McCrory final a few years back

I'm with BS on this one

Clubs sort themselves out and everything else flows.

St Galls are an example

Dunloy are another 30 years ago they didn't have a SHC now they have 15.

Started with a small group of guys getting together and deciding to do something progressive and proactive. The key thing is that they kept at it and when they dipped and had done there stint they had the drive and culture to take it to another level. The fruits of decisions made 10 - 15 years ago were there for all to see at the weekend. They have set a standard and on the hurling side there are a number of clubs who are taking up the challenge to compete

Not every club can be a Dunloy but there are some steps there that could be followed.
It has taken 40 odd years for them to get where they are from that initial group starting
They didn't look for schools, development squads etc. Of course they helped but they did it themselves

rogercasement

I agree it is down to the clubs, what I'm saying about teachers and schools is if you employ suitable candidates you have a better chance of success. If I recall correctly Gerald's period in Ballymena coincided with a degree of relative success.

Flanker

Quote from: bannside on October 15, 2021, 01:51:15 PM
St Louis had a principal half a dozen years ago who was very keen to promote the GAA ethos and development a pathway to better things. He made an appointment based on a strong verbal committment to try to take GAA in the school to the next level. That didn't work out quite as expected.....
+1 would this explain the change from the most optimistic man on the board

bannside

#21656
Dunloy hurling the perfect example Flanker. 15 out of 30 SHC's. Amazing statistic.

From small acorns....

Flanker

Quote from: rogercasement on October 15, 2021, 01:58:28 PM
I agree it is down to the clubs, what I'm saying about teachers and schools is if you employ suitable candidates you have a better chance of success. If I recall correctly Gerald's period in Ballymena coincided with a degree of relative success.

??? on the football side. Must have missed that.... depends on your definition of "relative success" I guess
Would like to hear about it....

Flanker

Quote from: bannside on October 15, 2021, 01:59:43 PM
Dunloy hurling the perfect example Flanker. 15 out of 30 SHC's. Amazing statistic.

From small acorns....

You skipped the optimistic man question

Heard a bit about some of the inputs you are getting for the acorns down in PG1..... Patience and time but the only way to go

rogercasement

Quote from: Flanker on October 15, 2021, 02:07:25 PM
Quote from: rogercasement on October 15, 2021, 01:58:28 PM

On a wider GAA scale I would say relative success yes. In terms of participation and interest within the school. BTW this is information I've got from talking to others! What I do know is it has moved slowly away from a predominantly soccer school that it used to be!
I agree it is down to the clubs, what I'm saying about teachers and schools is if you employ suitable candidates you have a better chance of success. If I recall correctly Gerald's period in Ballymena coincided with a degree of relative success.

??? on the football side. Must have missed that.... depends on your definition of "relative success" I guess
Would like to hear about it....