Antrim Football Thread

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

Previous topic - Next topic

Milltown Row2

Quote from: paddyjohn on September 12, 2017, 11:15:45 AM
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on September 12, 2017, 10:52:53 AM
Not good at all, or good enough, we didn't play all county until they brought it in at minor but i'm sure we played more games than that, and that was in the 80's!! Sarsfields st Johns (and their sister teams  ;) ), Rossa, Davitts, Gorts, st Paul's, ourselves, Lamhs, Ardoyne, and sometimes St Teresa's and  Eire og would have had regular teams right through...

But I must admit the work done by parents, mentors and clubmen was great in those dark days of the troubles, minibus taking us everywhere and good support from all members at games, maybe I'm wearing rose tinted glasses but I really believe there was more games, I wonder is there a record of these games

Do you think that maybe the South Antrim Board have taken their eye off the ball so to speak. During the troubles it was a good way to keep our youth out of trouble and off the streets and that is why the effort went in? I'm to young to remember the troubles  ;) so I could be talking rubbish. Maybe now in a peaceful environment, they think they don't have to and that the players will come.

Nope, I can only give you my view on what I see coming through my club, cant really talk about other clubs to be fair, I was involved with juveniles on a Sat morning for many a year and it was a busy day, still is.. what happens once they meet the upper grades U12, U14 U16 and minor I don't know.. But again I still think there are more kids playing GAA in Belfast but we only needed 20 to play both codes, there were lads tat once they finished minor they never lifted a hurl or kicked a ball and stayed with one code!
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Ea

paddyjohn

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on September 12, 2017, 11:38:45 AM
Quote from: paddyjohn on September 12, 2017, 11:15:45 AM
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on September 12, 2017, 10:52:53 AM
Not good at all, or good enough, we didn't play all county until they brought it in at minor but i'm sure we played more games than that, and that was in the 80's!! Sarsfields st Johns (and their sister teams  ;) ), Rossa, Davitts, Gorts, st Paul's, ourselves, Lamhs, Ardoyne, and sometimes St Teresa's and  Eire og would have had regular teams right through...

But I must admit the work done by parents, mentors and clubmen was great in those dark days of the troubles, minibus taking us everywhere and good support from all members at games, maybe I'm wearing rose tinted glasses but I really believe there was more games, I wonder is there a record of these games

Do you think that maybe the South Antrim Board have taken their eye off the ball so to speak. During the troubles it was a good way to keep our youth out of trouble and off the streets and that is why the effort went in? I'm to young to remember the troubles  ;) so I could be talking rubbish. Maybe now in a peaceful environment, they think they don't have to and that the players will come.

Nope, I can only give you my view on what I see coming through my club, cant really talk about other clubs to be fair, I was involved with juveniles on a Sat morning for many a year and it was a busy day, still is.. what happens once they meet the upper grades U12, U14 U16 and minor I don't know.. But again I still think there are more kids playing GAA in Belfast but we only needed 20 to play both codes, there were lads tat once they finished minor they never lifted a hurl or kicked a ball and stayed with one code!

St Endas have fairly flourished since they became NA & SW clubs and played in those leagues that have been organised. Those figures posted by Brendan are damning to say the least and its not good enough at Div2 level or in fact any level. Clubs have to start taking responsibility as do the South Antrim board. I don't think an All County un16 league will help nor is it the answer.

There seems to be generation lost in Belfast. As I said a few posts back, we need to start targeting the schools and parents. Going by social media there is good work being done at Un8 to un12 but after that, like most clubs, other distractions will come into play and that is when the bother starts.

I always disagreed with you when you said that Belfast had to many clubs but maybe for once I'll agree with you.

BrendanAntrim

Maybe too many clubs / not enough players are two sides of the same coin. When clubs amalgamate at various age grades to field teams thats a sign that the player base is self evidently spread too thinly.

To be fair to all concerned, taking a team, sitting on a club committee, indeed organising leagues / competitions as SA do, none of it is easy.

Milltown Row2

Before St Endas were in SW at juvenile they were a div one senior football team... and I remember playing them at div 2 hurling before they played in the NA
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Ea

country bumpkin

I would seriously doubt if there would be any enthusiasm for all county under-16 league competition......and would suggest that South West clubs would jump at the chance if they were asked to revert to the old system as employed a few years back when minor leagues were on a divisional board basis.

Jeez back in those days when the South West had their own minor league 'failure to field' was never a factor, and the competition proceeded without any such hindrances in a well structured manner of expedience which remains evident in the 12, 14, and 16 leagues which is in stark contrast to what we see now on the all county under-18 affair........was talking to a Moneyglass mentor lately and he tells me prior to last week's league decider with Dunloy they had no fixture in the competition in eight weeks.




Belfast GAA man

What about a club survey of divisional board performance with the results reviewed by the County Board?
The survey would be along the lines of
- what has the Div board done poorly?
- where could it improve?
- what could it do more of
- etc
This is type of feedback is needed in all walks of life and could only be beneficial in understanding the issues better.....

Pjoe

The question remains - why do we need 3 divisional boards and and all county (i.e. 4 separate) organisations managing and running fixtures? We don't one central structure to manage and organise is more than sufficient.  Having a central management structure does not prohibit the playing of fixtures on a regional (aka divisional basis) at certain times of the year (dark nights when travelling can cause issues with getting fixtures played).

I'm not saying this will cure the issues with FTF and the level of apathy within Belfast, but fixing the problems require solving many interlocking issues. 

I agree with many previous posters it all starts (and in the case of Belfast, ends) in the schools. 

Kickham csc

Quote from: Pjoe on September 13, 2017, 08:35:58 PM
The question remains - why do we need 3 divisional boards and and all county (i.e. 4 separate) organisations managing and running fixtures? We don't one central structure to manage and organise is more than sufficient.  Having a central management structure does not prohibit the playing of fixtures on a regional (aka divisional basis) at certain times of the year (dark nights when travelling can cause issues with getting fixtures played).

I'm not saying this will cure the issues with FTF and the level of apathy within Belfast, but fixing the problems require solving many interlocking issues. 

I agree with many previous posters it all starts (and in the case of Belfast, ends) in the schools.

I think that we do need 3 divisional boards, because we have 3 unique areas that have different unique concerns to manage. In effect we have: 1 Rural Hurling Board, 1 Rural Football Board, 1 Urban dual sport Board
The issue is with standard approaches on how to govern, run initiatives and leagues so that each board is consistent on the service that they provide.

A little historical example of the problems we face. When I was with the county minors many moons ago, the minor management changed the days that we were to train as it didn't suit the city clubs. The new proposal didn't suit the SW clubs. How hard would it have be to have the two boards agree on which days of the week certain age groups play, but they never talked to each other. This may be an insignificant issue, but it does highlight how disjoined we were as a county.

bogieman

Quote from: Kickham csc on September 15, 2017, 01:53:47 PM
Quote from: Pjoe on September 13, 2017, 08:35:58 PM
The question remains - why do we need 3 divisional boards and and all county (i.e. 4 separate) organisations managing and running fixtures? We don't one central structure to manage and organise is more than sufficient.  Having a central management structure does not prohibit the playing of fixtures on a regional (aka divisional basis) at certain times of the year (dark nights when travelling can cause issues with getting fixtures played).

I'm not saying this will cure the issues with FTF and the level of apathy within Belfast, but fixing the problems require solving many interlocking issues. 

I agree with many previous posters it all starts (and in the case of Belfast, ends) in the schools.

I think that we do need 3 divisional boards, because we have 3 unique areas that have different unique concerns to manage. In effect we have: 1 Rural Hurling Board, 1 Rural Football Board, 1 Urban dual sport Board
The issue is with standard approaches on how to govern, run initiatives and leagues so that each board is consistent on the service that they provide.

A little historical example of the problems we face. When I was with the county minors many moons ago, the minor management changed the days that we were to train as it didn't suit the city clubs. The new proposal didn't suit the SW clubs. How hard would it have be to have the two boards agree on which days of the week certain age groups play, but they never talked to each other. This may be an insignificant issue, but it does highlight how disjoined we were as a county.

I heard this topic before !


The question is not the 'need' for divisional boards – but whether they work better than a single central organisation.
The answer is well proven; small teams working on small tasks, managed by competent committees with local management, who in turn share experiences and work objectives at central level for consistency, with one boss making sure things are operating properly, usually along with a secretary. The job of the boss is to make sure the remit of the stakeholders is carried out.
The fact that most involved in the teams are volunteers immediately dictate the sensible number of hierarchy levels in the organisation.

I would understand that Antrim has a divisional board that manages hurling along with a little football, one that manages football with a little hurling, and one that manages both, so all 3 are doing the same tasks. If they are not operating effectively and efficiently, then the management should be sorting the interlocking out.

It would be useful to have 'Personal Rating' survey carried out on the aforementioned volunteers, I would say most of the quiet not so well known ones would score sky high, and a lot of the noisy ones could learn a lot on how to improve their performance from the statistics.

It always seems to be the belfast gaels that want 'someone' to fix the problems in Antrim...
Still waiting for 'someone' to come up from croke.

PS I agree schools are the place to start, but who assumes the responsibility; the divisional boards, the county board, the boss, ulster, or will we wait for the 'someone' from Croke ?
This is not Irish dancing. -RH

imtommygunn

For basic logistical reasons divisional boards work better. Time travelling to matches is less when games localised - this makes more time for kids to get home from school and dare i say it but do homework as well as the obvious cheaper factor. Less time commited will also mean more likely to commit. I played all through underage in south west leagues and they worked brilliantly. You knew every week you had a game on a set night and that was that. In 5 or 6 years i remember about 2 games called off.(there wasn't u12 leagues in my day - or there were and we weren't entered).

being from the country i really only know about south west and north antrim boards but imo, and in most people's, they work brilliantly. The city is a tougher beast to manage mind you.

The Gs Man

Quote from: imtommygunn on September 19, 2017, 07:59:50 PM
For basic logistical reasons divisional boards work better. Time travelling to matches is less when games localised

Unless you're from lovely Aghagallon and have to travel 1+ hour for a 6.45pm throw-in having only arrived in from work at 6pm!    :)

Sure it's all part of the fun!
Keep 'er lit

Belfast GAA man

anyone know for definite is club minor u17 or u18 next year ? a lot of confusion out there.......

toby47

Quote from: Belfast GAA man on September 20, 2017, 03:58:00 PM
anyone know for definite is club minor u17 or u18 next year ? a lot of confusion out there.......

u18

delgany

That is to be decided at next county meeting ?

imtommygunn

Quote from: The Gs Man on September 20, 2017, 09:17:44 AM
Quote from: imtommygunn on September 19, 2017, 07:59:50 PM
For basic logistical reasons divisional boards work better. Time travelling to matches is less when games localised

Unless you're from lovely Aghagallon and have to travel 1+ hour for a 6.45pm throw-in having only arrived in from work at 6pm!    :)

Sure it's all part of the fun!


Lol. Yeah you boys are the exception!!