The future of laois hurling

[clonadmad]

I emailed Conor Shannon yesterday and it bounced straight back to say he had finished his role with Laois GAA on January 27th.

So he's gone anyway whatever about the rest of them.

Conor Gone

1 more about to finish up

and another also on the way out

[Laois man]

Whatsthe story here lads why are they leaving?

[Ogie]

Games Manager with notice given in

Jason Coffey gone, taking up a new role
Conor Shannon gone, taking up a new role

Dispute with the County board and new head of S&C I believe,

We are left with one County GDA ( Football)

No new club GDA's being rolled out this year

A disaster , instead of getting better or trying to improve things we've hit the self destruct button,
I've said it before here, look across the border at what Offaly are doing with their coaching and games department, another huge victory for them today with the Offaly School Team project,

While our academy squads being run by lads that can't get a job in their clubs with no interest, oversight , planning or forward thinking from County Board and little from the coaching office.

[Laois man]

6 or 7 offaly schools together beat one Kkenny school by 2 points.

[SpeculativeEffort]

6 or 7 offaly schools together beat one Kkenny school by 2 points.

What an attitude! Kierans normally have the pick of a huge number of KK clubs. Those offaly players have just had the experience of beating a high quality Kk team in their own back yard. No amount of training can top that. I suppose the lads in Laois schools were better served today sitting at home watching Ireland vs Wales?!

[Laois man]

Schools hurling is for schools team not for County teams.

[clonadmad]

6 or 7 offaly schools together beat one Kkenny school by 2 points.

What an attitude! Kierans normally have the pick of a huge number of KK clubs. Those offaly players have just had the experience of beating a high quality Kk team in their own back yard. No amount of training can top that. I suppose the lads in Laois schools were better served today sitting at home watching Ireland vs Wales?!

Spot on

2 Laois Schools made a B Senior Schools Quarter Final this Year and no further

Thats where Laois schools Hurling is at

God Forbid anyone try and raise standards

Offaly had 3 schools in B Quarter Finals

2 in the semi finals

and if Kilcormac beat Naas next Weds night

An all Offaly B Schools Final

to go with A schools Title

[clonadmad]

Schools hurling is for schools team not for County teams.

Offaly also loaded up and brought 93 lads from their development squads today to that final, more joined up thinking

Kierans most years is a county team or as near as makes no difference

after tonights absolute shambles v Tipperary and whats going on with games development and GDA's currently

Im open to all and everything that shifts the dial even a little in this county.

[Spiritof1915]

I couldn't agree more with the last 2 posts. Off the back of their best minor team in 20 years the Offaly county board had the vision to try and develop that group of players standard even more. playing at the very top level gives those players the confidence to go and try and develop at senior inter county level.
Where is that vision in this county. Secondary school hurling is absolutely VITAL in any player/club/county's development.
if you break down the standard of hurling in our secondary schools it makes for horrific reading
(All levels and open to correction)

All Portlaoise schools, C level. Primary concern - Football and soccer
Portarlington, No competitive hurling that aware of. Primary concern - Football and rugby
Mountmellick, No competitive hurling that aware of. Primary concern - football
Clonaslee, C level. Make the best of small numbers available.
Heywood, Poor B level efforts. Primary concern - Football and Basketball
Rathdowney, C Level. Doing a great job with numbers available.
Mountrath, B level. The standard bearers for 2nd level hurling in this county.

The only slight sliver lining is The Harps lads going to Johnstown. Many have Leinster B medals over the last number of years. Playing in the A junior and Senior Championships this year.

There's no easy fix obviously but if the county board were serious about hurling they would employ GDAS and pay them well.
Address the player pathways. Primary/secondary/third level in tandem with the development squads.
A GDA specifically assigned to primary and secondary schools development. One goal being the development of a Laois Schools team in A grade at 14, 16 and 18s for league and championship.

[Zooming around]

I couldn't agree more with the last 2 posts. Off the back of their best minor team in 20 years the Offaly county board had the vision to try and develop that group of players standard even more. playing at the very top level gives those players the confidence to go and try and develop at senior inter county level.
Where is that vision in this county. Secondary school hurling is absolutely VITAL in any player/club/county's development.
if you break down the standard of hurling in our secondary schools it makes for horrific reading
(All levels and open to correction)

All Portlaoise schools, C level. Primary concern - Football and soccer
Portarlington, No competitive hurling that aware of. Primary concern - Football and rugby
Mountmellick, No competitive hurling that aware of. Primary concern - football
Clonaslee, C level. Make the best of small numbers available.
Heywood, Poor B level efforts. Primary concern - Football and Basketball
Rathdowney, C Level. Doing a great job with numbers available.
Mountrath, B level. The standard bearers for 2nd level hurling in this county.

The only slight sliver lining is The Harps lads going to Johnstown. Many have Leinster B medals over the last number of years. Playing in the A junior and Senior Championships this year.

There's no easy fix obviously but if the county board were serious about hurling they would employ GDAS and pay them well.
Address the player pathways. Primary/secondary/third level in tandem with the development squads.
A GDA specifically assigned to primary and secondary schools development. One goal being the development of a Laois Schools team in A grade at 14, 16 and 18s for league and championship.

We had a Laois Combined Colleges team at Juvenile age group hurling in A and it was gotten rid of.

[clonadmad]

I couldn't agree more with the last 2 posts. Off the back of their best minor team in 20 years the Offaly county board had the vision to try and develop that group of players standard even more. playing at the very top level gives those players the confidence to go and try and develop at senior inter county level.
Where is that vision in this county. Secondary school hurling is absolutely VITAL in any player/club/county's development.
if you break down the standard of hurling in our secondary schools it makes for horrific reading
(All levels and open to correction)

All Portlaoise schools, C level. Primary concern - Football and soccer
Portarlington, No competitive hurling that aware of. Primary concern - Football and rugby
Mountmellick, No competitive hurling that aware of. Primary concern - football
Clonaslee, C level. Make the best of small numbers available.
Heywood, Poor B level efforts. Primary concern - Football and Basketball
Rathdowney, C Level. Doing a great job with numbers available.
Mountrath, B level. The standard bearers for 2nd level hurling in this county.

The only slight sliver lining is The Harps lads going to Johnstown. Many have Leinster B medals over the last number of years. Playing in the A junior and Senior Championships this year.

There's no easy fix obviously but if the county board were serious about hurling they would employ GDAS and pay them well.
Address the player pathways. Primary/secondary/third level in tandem with the development squads.
A GDA specifically assigned to primary and secondary schools development. One goal being the development of a Laois Schools team in A grade at 14, 16 and 18s for league and championship.

Schools Football isn't in much better of a state

[mcwregor]

The combined schools team would be a good idea but its really only one cog in a wheel that has fallen off the wagon. Before we even talk about secondary schools we need to get the club structures in place with full time GPOs. We need to develop and grow the setanta programme into something special for kids. We need to get hurling going properly in every primary school in laois. The development squads need major focus and attention and then the secondary schools too.
We actually need to start with 5 and 6 year olds and put in the work for 15 years time.
I'm sick and tired of hearing laois senior managers over the past 20 years talking about taking 'the learnings' from heavy defeats and trying to work on them. The same shite for years we are hearing. Bringing Dan Shanahan and the likes of Shane O Sullivan (performance coach) from waterford and paying them. Performance coach...for that last night, give me a break.
Its time for leadership in this county. Wake up and smell the coffee and stop making the same mistakes over and over. We need to start from scratch and we need to do it now!!

[Ogie]

But lads, the footballlers have won two games in a row all is ok and rosey in the world!!

[Tier2]

The combined schools team would be a good idea but its really only one cog in a wheel that has fallen off the wagon. Before we even talk about secondary schools we need to get the club structures in place with full time GPOs. We need to develop and grow the setanta programme into something special for kids. We need to get hurling going properly in every primary school in laois. The development squads need major focus and attention and then the secondary schools too.
We actually need to start with 5 and 6 year olds and put in the work for 15 years time.
I'm sick and tired of hearing laois senior managers over the past 20 years talking about taking 'the learnings' from heavy defeats and trying to work on them. The same shite for years we are hearing. Bringing Dan Shanahan and the likes of Shane O Sullivan (performance coach) from waterford and paying them. Performance coach...for that last night, give me a break.
Its time for leadership in this county. Wake up and smell the coffee and stop making the same mistakes over and over. We need to start from scratch and we need to do it now!!

Completely agree more funding has to be put into the development panels along with support's for training the home grown coaches so we can Begin a succession plan for future Manager's to take roles
The setanta program also which has to be replicated on the football end.

[blueandwhite1]

The combined schools team would be a good idea but its really only one cog in a wheel that has fallen off the wagon. Before we even talk about secondary schools we need to get the club structures in place with full time GPOs. We need to develop and grow the setanta programme into something special for kids. We need to get hurling going properly in every primary school in laois. The development squads need major focus and attention and then the secondary schools too.
We actually need to start with 5 and 6 year olds and put in the work for 15 years time.
I'm sick and tired of hearing laois senior managers over the past 20 years talking about taking 'the learnings' from heavy defeats and trying to work on them. The same shite for years we are hearing. Bringing Dan Shanahan and the likes of Shane O Sullivan (performance coach) from waterford and paying them. Performance coach...for that last night, give me a break.
Its time for leadership in this county. Wake up and smell the coffee and stop making the same mistakes over and over. We need to start from scratch and we need to do it now!!

Completely agree. It is all about the clubs and the coaching. There was never a hurler or footballer in Laois 'created' by a school or the county board. The county board have a role for sure but should all clubs not be able to pay a decent wage to a 'pro' to coach their underage teams for a few years the same way as they pay expenses to senior coaches and managers? Perhaps with financial assistance from the county board. The county board coaches never did much good IMO. Many of our young hurlers and footballers are being coached by parents who are doing their best but not at the right level to get lads to the standard needed.