Antrim Football Thread

[Belfast GAA man]

Why do our gaa men in schools not push gaa? I'm baffled! La salle barely fielded as last number of seasons in gaa though flat out at soccer yet staff full of gaa lads

i think that really is a big problem in belfast . Dont seem to be teachers willing to put the hours in no more - no one replacing mctoal,mcgettigan, mcgourty, buchanan and the like

[Milltown Row2]

So it's the teachers fault?

[Belfast GAA man]

So it's the teachers fault?

no the refs! just saying   chill out  - maybe we were just lucky with those lads

[Saffsof82]

So it's the teachers fault?

No ones fault MR, but there are lots of contributing factors. Just the same way as it's not the Director of footballs fault we have no Antrim players in the qub sigerson starting 15!

[JimStynes]

So it's the teachers fault?

Not all their fault but the culture of the school has a big say in it all. There's no real big GAA schools in Antrim.

[paddyjohn]

So it's the teachers fault?

Not all their fault but the culture of the school has a big say in it all. There's no real big GAA schools in Antrim.

Cross & Passion, St Louis?

[JimStynes]

So it's the teachers fault?

Not all their fault but the culture of the school has a big say in it all. There's no real big GAA schools in Antrim.

Cross & Passion, St Louis?

Not really familiar with Cross and Passion with regards to football and I definitely wouldn't describe St. Louis as a GAA school. They play GAA of course but students don't specifically go there to play football like they do in the other schools in Ulster. GAA just isn't as important in Antrim. Obviously the likes of us in here are all GAA men but the vast majority of people don't have the interest like they do in the likes of Tyrone.

[Milltown Row2]

There are schools in Antrim that take sport very seriously, Inst Methody BRA, Ballymena Academy, Ballyclare High, and Belfast High. They employ a director of rugby who looks after the running of the school rugby teams.

Are there GAA schools that have an employed person who's sole job is the running of the schools football team or hurling teams?

[Dreen]

There has been a big shift in GAA in Saint Louis over the last 20 years.  In the late 90's there was probably 3 or 4 teachers pushing Gaelic games now it's part of the ethos of the school.

Hurling is still the king in terms of competing at A Grade and with the talent in the school from the local hurling clubs that will continue.

It would be great to see our schools win more B Grade titles at all ages to start with

[bannside]

There are plenty of schools across Ulster who take their GAA aspirations very seriously, and have no shortage of teachers doubling up as coaches to their school football teams.

Take Holy Trinity in Cookstown for example. They are making proper strides in the A grade competitions, and are involved now in the play off stages of the Mc Rory Cup for the first time. And who is in their staff, involved in that process, the whole way up the conveyor belt from year 8.

John Mc Keever as head of PE, Peter Canavan, Kieran Mc Geary, Kobo, Mark Bradley and God knows who else.

As JS says, Tyrone make it happen. We make excuses. That's why it's all down to clubs from now on to step up, you can't rely on anything else as far as I can see, maybe the odd good yield in a yeargroup or something.

[country bumpkin]

So it's the teachers fault?

Not all their fault but the culture of the school has a big say in it all. There's no real big GAA schools in Antrim.

In start contrast to Antrim scools/colleges are South Derry based St Pats, St Mary's and St Pius x, where Gaelic games feature prominently.
Pats and St Mary's contest the Mc Crory semis tonight and both include players from Cargin and Moneyglass, and possibly more from other neighbours....

With very few exceptions youngsters in the Cargin/Creggan area and more than a few from PG1 attend those schools/colleges in South Derry and not coincidental that all of the above are constant contenders in our competitions.

[bannside]

CB the reason the players from Cargin and Creggan get their place on the St Pats or St Mary's team/panel is because they are going in their at year 8 with a good skill base already developed at the club.

You go into those schools and don't get into that conveyor belt early you Probably won't get on at all

That's where it all starts. Club under age especially 6 -14. You don't have this foundation in place, forget it. And most Antrim clubs don't. That's the challenge and I'm saying this for quite a while now.

[Milltown Row2]

I prefer to blame the lazy teachers in Antrim who come into to teach but don't do anything else! Lazy B'astids

[Saffsof82]

I'd love to know what St Louis are doing to promote football. I don't see any evidence of it anywhere. Gearoid Adams was appointed to oversee this project but that didn't work out very well before he departed for a job closer to home.

I know that the school principal was disappointed that this project fell through and from what I see no one else has revived it since. I wouldn't be holding St Louis up as any kind of shining example Dreen, you are clutching at straws here and you know that. In my book NO Antrim school is punching anywhere near its weight in football terms. For hurling there is always the Antrim Hurling Page where people can wax lyrical if they want!

Building a new 4g GAA pitch, bringing in a non staff member to work on s&c with players, actively recruiting teachers with a gaa background so they can help with teams....but as you say Bannside no evidence of the school supporting GAA!!

[imtommygunn]

They are also a split school with hurling and football too. You look at Dunloy and Loughgiel senior teams and a load of them will have come through St Louis.

There's also a reasonable amount of soccer in there I think.

On the note of St Louis they have just released a slick video on their sports departments and facilities.