Antrim Football Thread

[Milltown Row2]

I thought that, so with all the medals in the SW surely then Antrim had plenty of representation at College level winning MacRory cups but we're still shit?? You don't make any sense... again can you answer Donegals success at senior intercounty without EVER winning at college level??

[country bumpkin]

I thought that, so with all the medals in the SW surely then Antrim had plenty of representation at College level winning MacRory cups but we're still shit?? You don't make any sense... again can you answer Donegals success at senior intercounty without EVER winning at college level??

Jeez was BS who brought up the nutty professor college wastage thing.......ask him sure Donegal is a long ways from home and like urself I like to stay near home.
Sure the Tir Conail men may well be late developers

[imtommygunn]

I thought that, so with all the medals in the SW surely then Antrim had plenty of representation at College level winning MacRory cups but we're still shit?? You don't make any sense... again can you answer Donegals success at senior intercounty without EVER winning at college level??

Vocational schools

[Milltown Row2]

Can your knowledgeable teacher mate remember when a Belfast college last won a Mc Crory cup  BS......?

[country bumpkin]

Can your knowledgeable teacher mate remember when a B :)elfast college last won a Mc Crory cup  BS......?

And.......

[Milltown Row2]

Sorry I'm confused you said it was BS but it was you 

[Gold]

CB and MR2 what are your solutions to making us successful on the national stage?

There is no doubt if we had schools playing at a consistantly higher level that would improve our lot.

You speak to boys from other counties and you hear them saying from they got to 1st year in secondary school their dream was to make the McCrory team. You hear them saying the McCrory team often trained twice a day including lunchtime...that training was harder than most  did after leaving school. You have our boys pulling on an Antrim minor jersey and then going and trying to compete at that level and intensity. Look at the final last week...it is fitness, intensity, power and skill thats needed. We need to improve our players at underage on all those aspects

I have been told 3 things from i started playing that improved my game...3 things is too little and a sad indictment of the skills coaching in our county. Everything else has just been bluster and shite like get stuck into them, you have to want it boys etc

[Milltown Row2]

We need dedicated coaches following a certain training guidelines, having a foundation coaching course won't cut it, having the abilities to vary coaching, tournaments at all levels with various clubs from inside and outside the county, development of players at divisional level (keeps travel and distance down) at all ages all year... coaches coming into schools and taking the burden away from teachers who are too busy with work and taking the teams (training and games) having a centre of excellence were not just the basics are taught on the pitch but using video analysis and lectures on games and game play plus nutrition and sport life balances.... I could go on and this applies for all ages and both codes...

These are just some views, planning and executing these would prove a lot harder to do currently, as it requires huge funding and commitment, also needs to be monitored and assessed, Antrim has more players more senior clubs than more successful counties, its a mystery why we fail so many times

[bannside]

Indeed CB. My knowledgeable contact played in that Antrim minor team that won the Ulster cship. 82 was the year correct. I stand corrected on the Mc Rory cup stat. St Mary's lost to eventual winners St Pats by a point in the semi final after extra time. Think for some reason that match was in Glenravel.

[Tyrdub]

Indeed CB. My knowledgeable contact played in that Antrim minor team that won the Ulster cship. 82 was the year correct. I stand corrected on the Mc Rory cup stat. St Mary's lost to eventual winners St Pats by a point in the semi final after extra time. Think for some reason that match was in Glenravel.

The last time we won the McRory Cup was 1986, i was on the panel. That team gave to the county numerous minor, u21 and senior players

[Kickham csc]

The plan is for Belfast CB, not for Antrim. The GAA has identified that it is strong in rural areas, but is being hit hard by soccer and increasingly rugby in the cities and large towns.

With Dublin now flourishing Antrim officials moved swiftly to make a case for games development in Irelands second largest city, and that process is going well through the discussion stages.

There's not really a big soccer tradition, of rugby either in Toomebridge, Portglenone, or Loughgiel etc, so that's not their focus. I was going to say unfortunately, but will change that to gladly.

Let's say Belfast gets funding for 10 coaches for schools etc..Id say brilliant. But others will say "what about the South West." It really all depends on your outlook. Belfast has slipped way back and as a county we need it strong.

Oh and yes. The trickle down effect will see extra coaching in SW and NA. So while you mightnt see that written down maybe some good faith could do the trick.

|Disappointed to hear that this is a Belfast centric approach. Dublin didn't go for a North Dublin / South Dublin approach, they went with a Dublin approach which also included the country Dublin clubs.

As CB stated over the last 60 years, 1 club form the SW has won titles, over the past 120 years only 5 county clubs won titles, so in football approx. 15 titles in 120 years, so were in the 12 / 15% range of titles won, and Antrim is only focusing on the city. That's disappointing.

It would be the like creating a hurling proposal for Antrim and only focusing on N. Antrim.

It's this type of narrow thinking that worries me, and doesn't give me much confidence that Antrim have the correct blueprint

[Hectic]

The reality is if Belfast maxed out then the country clubs would probably not get a look in at all.  Yes you might have a few exceptional teams from time to time but sheer weight of numbers exploited fully should ensure that the are half a dozen extremely strong clubs from the city.  I do not know the participation rates of kids in the city compared to kids in the country but I would not be surprised to learn that it is as much as 10 fold in favour of the country and as such is ensuring that we have as many Div 1 country clubs as city.  In reality it is not going to be a max out job anyway but there is certainly more potential for growth in Belfast than elsewhere in the county.

[country bumpkin]

Had the leakage fixed//confirmed.....Lenny is the man.

[Milltown Row2]

Had the leakage fixed//confirmed.....Lenny is the man.

Kevin will be back on the team

[Milltown Row2]

Harbinson appointed as Antrim Senior Manager
 
Former Antrim inter-county player and All-Ireland winning St Gall's manager, Lenny Harbinson, has been appointed Antrim Senior Football Manager following the ratification of the recommendation made by the Antrim Senior Football Review Group at tonight's County Committee meeting in the Dunsilly Hotel. 
 
Chair of the Review Group, Alec McQuillan said: 
 
"Starting with an analysis of last year's performance, the Review Group has carried out its work over the summer culminating in our report and recommendation this evening. We have ensured that the processes we have followed were both robust and even-handed in their delivery. And we have been very impressed by the standards set in the process. Lenny gave an excellent presentation of his wide-ranging and detailed approach and we felt that he was best suited for the job at this time. The standard was very high and we are very grateful to the other candidates for their interest and commitment throughout the process
 
"Now that our recommendation has been ratified, the work starts on all fronts to prepare the senior footballers for next season. The Review Group is committed to maintaining a role in the monitoring of the squad and the manager and we will meet with Lenny and his team at various times over the course of the season."
 
Antrim Chairman, Collie Donnelly added: 
 
"We are very grateful to Alec, Ciaran and Paul for the very thorough and diligent job they have done over these last months, they have followed a very professional process and made an excellent recommendation. Lenny is a manager of the highest calibre and we are looking forward to the new season. We are also very grateful to Gearoid Adams and Frank Fitzsimons, two very committed Antrim men, for their work with the team over the last three years. Thanks to them, a number of excellent young players is coming through and we believe there is real potential for the future."
 
Notes
 
The Review Group is made up of Alec McQuillan, Paul McErlean and Ciaran Hamill, all ex-Antrim senior footballers.
 
The term is for 3 years with a review each year. 
 
Lenny Harbinson is the current Manager of Ballymacnab Round Towers with whom he won promotion last year to Division 1A and who play in the semi-final of the Armagh Championship this weekend. He was manager of St Gall's when they won the All-Ireland Club Championship and he was a distinguished player also, playing for Antrim for 12 years, also winning 5 Antrim titles and an Ulster Club title with St Gall's.