The future of laois hurling

Started by Tobias, October 27, 2015, 08:08:58 PM

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Jd

Absolutely agree but if you talk to an Errill or Rathdowney man and ask them why they play football separately they'll tell you Ah it's just to keep our club going to have our own identity. Fair enough if two clubs want to fully join up and create a big unit but that's not the way for all small clubs and if they want to amalgamate at underage and play separately at adult then in my opinion they should be allowed to. What matter if you have two intermediate clubs with two junior second teams rather than a senior club and two or three other teams. But I am looking at it from a football perspective so maybe there's slight differences that I'm missing too.

blueandwhite1

Quote from: Jd on October 25, 2019, 11:22:07 AM
What matter if you have two intermediate clubs with two junior second teams rather than a senior club and two or three other teams.

Matters hugely. It means the best players get to play at minor A or Senior level. Doing well at those levels brings huge energy and excitement to an area. Winning intermediates and juniors are grand but nothing compares to the lift an area gets from having some of their lads or lassies play in a senior county final. Also matters hugely to the county. Imagine a Laois senior football and hurling championship with 8 seriously competitive teams and what that does to our player pipelines in both codes. Underage development standards are strongly linked to senior prospects. Great examples are Castletown in hurling and indeed Rosenallis (Tinnahinch). Previously competitive senior teams who are hungry to get back to the top table and putting huge effort into developing players to get back there with some success. If your identity is competing at the highest level, then the culture in the area adapts to it.

burdizzo

Tom Clear paints a fairly rosy picture of Laois hurling in The Irish Times this morning. Hope his optimism is right!

clonadmad

Quote from: burdizzo on November 15, 2019, 09:08:33 AM
Tom Clear paints a fairly rosy picture of Laois hurling in The Irish Times this morning. Hope his optimism is right!

You don't have a link to it

The PRO

Quote from: clonadmad on November 15, 2019, 02:53:06 PM
Quote from: burdizzo on November 15, 2019, 09:08:33 AM
Tom Clear paints a fairly rosy picture of Laois hurling in The Irish Times this morning. Hope his optimism is right!

You don't have a link to it

With the recent focus on St Mullins's big win, defeating twice All-Ireland champions Cuala from Dublin, the Carlow club have attracted a lot of attention. As a result their opponents in Sunday's Leinster club semi-final, Rathdowney-Errill, are flying a bit beneath the radar despite having visited an 18-point beating on Offaly's St Rynagh's in the quarter-final.

This is also despite a brilliant year to date for Laois hurling. McDonagh Cup winners and the first to defeat a MacCarthy Cup county when they eliminated Dublin in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final, the county now looks forward to a shot at reaching its first provincial club final in 18 years.

Tom Clear combines the roles of vice-chair of the Laois county board with chairing the hurling development committee, Coiste Iomána. He recalls the impact of the county team's success under Eddie Brennan.

"You couldn't buy a Laois jersey in the county coming up the Tipp quarter-final.

"It's been going great for a couple of reasons. First of all, the success of the seniors this summer and their two trips to Croke Park – winning the McDonagh Cup and the performances against Dublin and Tipperary, which were super, but now you have Rathdowney-Errill going to a Leinster semi-final."

Development

High-profile former Waterford manager and RTÉ Sunday Game pundit Derek McGrath has also come on board to help with the development of the Laois minors.

"We've also attracted a lot of people, the likes of Derek, who's coming in to work with our minors in an advisory and coaching role, and he has a serious pathway laid out for them to bring along the conveyor belt. Really, at the moment the hurling is very, very healthy.

"We've had the best part of 80 young lads in for trials for the minor panel over the last couple of months, so more and more want to come in and play because of the success and also the calibre of manager and trainer that we're bringing in – it's an exciting time for us."

Most of the country is probably thinking that Laois are going straight back down next year, but we're thinking differently

Clear is conscious that the challenge for a county like Laois is to survive contact with hurling's glass ceiling. Carlow had a commendably competitive summer in the MacCarthy Cup even though they lost all four matches, but they had to go down again to the McDonagh Cup.

"Probably the big thing for us in the coming year is to survive in Leinster, having showed this year that we can compete with the bigger teams. That's a big step."

Promotion

He argues that although the format won't change immediately, there would be merit in making promotion harder but affording a longer stay in the top flight for the teams that do rise.

"The way we're looking at it, an extra team should definitely be put into the top tier, and the team that comes up should be given a two-year window because in year one you're only getting to grips with it. The level of hurling goes up dramatically; it's faster and more skilful. It takes a year to get to grips with it and then the second year to stand up and be counted.

"Most of the country is probably thinking that Laois are going straight back down next year, but we're thinking differently.

"You can't just bring a team up and leave them there for two years, regardless of the top teams beating them. One way of doing it is like in some counties where you have to win it two years on the trot to go up to the top flight. Then you get two years to see if you can stay there. If you can't after two years, then you deserve to come back down."

Delivering

Laois will also be in the new, expanded Division One of the league next season – with two non-hierarchical groups – which will be a help for the county when the summer comes. Clear also points out that the development systems are delivering for the county, which he believes will be improved next year.

"We're confident with young lads coming through and there's definitely going to be maybe four or five add-ons to our senior panel from players who have come through minor and under-20 ranks in the past year or two."

In the meantime, there is one more target for 2019: Rathdowney-Errill, after their big win over Rynagh's (which was only the second win by a Laois club in Leinster in 14 years ), to reach the final.

 This hasn't been done by a club in the county since Castletown took eventual All-Ireland winners Birr to a replay in the 2001 Leinster final. Ideally, they would also bridge the 23-year gap since Camross became the most recent Laois club to win the provincial title.

 But take each fence as it comes.


clonadmad

Quote from: The PRO on November 15, 2019, 03:44:04 PM
Quote from: clonadmad on November 15, 2019, 02:53:06 PM
Quote from: burdizzo on November 15, 2019, 09:08:33 AM
Tom Clear paints a fairly rosy picture of Laois hurling in The Irish Times this morning. Hope his optimism is right!

You don't have a link to it

With the recent focus on St Mullins's big win, defeating twice All-Ireland champions Cuala from Dublin, the Carlow club have attracted a lot of attention. As a result their opponents in Sunday's Leinster club semi-final, Rathdowney-Errill, are flying a bit beneath the radar despite having visited an 18-point beating on Offaly's St Rynagh's in the quarter-final.

This is also despite a brilliant year to date for Laois hurling. McDonagh Cup winners and the first to defeat a MacCarthy Cup county when they eliminated Dublin in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final, the county now looks forward to a shot at reaching its first provincial club final in 18 years.

Tom Clear combines the roles of vice-chair of the Laois county board with chairing the hurling development committee, Coiste Iomána. He recalls the impact of the county team's success under Eddie Brennan.

"You couldn't buy a Laois jersey in the county coming up the Tipp quarter-final.

"It's been going great for a couple of reasons. First of all, the success of the seniors this summer and their two trips to Croke Park – winning the McDonagh Cup and the performances against Dublin and Tipperary, which were super, but now you have Rathdowney-Errill going to a Leinster semi-final."

Development

High-profile former Waterford manager and RTÉ Sunday Game pundit Derek McGrath has also come on board to help with the development of the Laois minors.

"We've also attracted a lot of people, the likes of Derek, who's coming in to work with our minors in an advisory and coaching role, and he has a serious pathway laid out for them to bring along the conveyor belt. Really, at the moment the hurling is very, very healthy.

"We've had the best part of 80 young lads in for trials for the minor panel over the last couple of months, so more and more want to come in and play because of the success and also the calibre of manager and trainer that we're bringing in – it's an exciting time for us."

Most of the country is probably thinking that Laois are going straight back down next year, but we're thinking differently

Clear is conscious that the challenge for a county like Laois is to survive contact with hurling's glass ceiling. Carlow had a commendably competitive summer in the MacCarthy Cup even though they lost all four matches, but they had to go down again to the McDonagh Cup.

"Probably the big thing for us in the coming year is to survive in Leinster, having showed this year that we can compete with the bigger teams. That's a big step."

Promotion

He argues that although the format won't change immediately, there would be merit in making promotion harder but affording a longer stay in the top flight for the teams that do rise.

"The way we're looking at it, an extra team should definitely be put into the top tier, and the team that comes up should be given a two-year window because in year one you're only getting to grips with it. The level of hurling goes up dramatically; it's faster and more skilful. It takes a year to get to grips with it and then the second year to stand up and be counted.

"Most of the country is probably thinking that Laois are going straight back down next year, but we're thinking differently.

"You can't just bring a team up and leave them there for two years, regardless of the top teams beating them. One way of doing it is like in some counties where you have to win it two years on the trot to go up to the top flight. Then you get two years to see if you can stay there. If you can't after two years, then you deserve to come back down."

Delivering

Laois will also be in the new, expanded Division One of the league next season – with two non-hierarchical groups – which will be a help for the county when the summer comes. Clear also points out that the development systems are delivering for the county, which he believes will be improved next year.

"We're confident with young lads coming through and there's definitely going to be maybe four or five add-ons to our senior panel from players who have come through minor and under-20 ranks in the past year or two."

In the meantime, there is one more target for 2019: Rathdowney-Errill, after their big win over Rynagh's (which was only the second win by a Laois club in Leinster in 14 years ), to reach the final.

This hasn't been done by a club in the county since Castletown took eventual All-Ireland winners Birr to a replay in the 2001 Leinster final. Ideally, they would also bridge the 23-year gap since Camross became the most recent Laois club to win the provincial title.

But take each fence as it comes.

Thanks for that

Keyser Söze

Very rosy indeed!
80 minor players?!
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled.......

clonadmad

Quote from: Keyser Söze on November 15, 2019, 08:38:53 PM
Very rosy indeed!
80 minor players?!

I heard low 60's

The first night they ran the trial in Borris in Ossary,it was on at the same time as the Minor B final and 31 turned up

Blow-in

Anyone know how often the Hurling Development committee meet or what have they done?

Mad Mentor

Leinster GAA are running a coaching seminar for 12-17 year olds in Football and Hurling in the National Indoor Arena in Blanchardstown next Saturday. The 4-11 one last week was excellent but poorly attended. There seem to be places available still. Details at https://leinstergaa.ie/coaching/turas/turas-seminars/. I would recommend anyone involved in coaching to attend. It's in the NIA by the way, not the GAA centre.

merman

Quote from: Batman!!! on November 16, 2019, 08:01:17 AM
Anyone know how often the Hurling Development committee meet or what have they done?

I don't believe there is a hurling development committee.

blueandwhite1

Quote from: merman on November 25, 2019, 07:28:48 PM
Quote from: Batman!!! on November 16, 2019, 08:01:17 AM
Anyone know how often the Hurling Development committee meet or what have they done?

I don't believe there is a hurling development committee.

Sorry to sound naive but there has to be no? I would be shocked beyond belief if this were true. 

Zooming around

Quote from: blueandwhite1 on November 26, 2019, 08:24:45 AM
Quote from: merman on November 25, 2019, 07:28:48 PM
Quote from: Batman!!! on November 16, 2019, 08:01:17 AM
Anyone know how often the Hurling Development committee meet or what have they done?

I don't believe there is a hurling development committee.

Sorry to sound naive but there has to be no? I would be shocked beyond belief if this were true.

I don't think i ever heard tell of a hurling development committee meeting

clonadmad

There's a coaching committee chaired by Fergal Byron which is tasked with games development in the county.


merman

There was a hurling committee up until a couple of years but I don't think there has been one for a while now. I could be wrong but I'm from a predominantly huring club and know of no delegate from my club involved.

I'd be more worried by the lack of a Coaching and Games Committee. I appreciate there is a Games Manager now but I still think a committee of volunteers from outside the County Board/GDA side would be a real positive.