Messages

the quality at the bottom of the league is bad enough without taking away the threat of relegation.

Scrap these play offs.   Bottom placed goes down, top of the league the winner.

ideally id like to see the league reduced down to 10 or 12 at a push.  At no stage in a proper Div 1 Senior county league should anyone be getting beaten by 44 points.  The fact that it happened along with other hammerings should have began a review of the structures.

Is it the premise to forming Superclubs that a club is only worth existing if it is winning senior championships?

there are loads of clubs in Belfast that have come and gone.  If winning is the only currency then we have all joined the wrong sport.
 

The shortcut to this of course is bringing in 5 or 6 Derry players to complete your senior team in a season which would have taken 20 years previously. 

If St Brigids get their timings correct they could have artificially bridged a gap they would never have been able to do so before.  Now they have a proper Senior team with underage talent to ease into it at their leisure. 

Obviously if the Derry boys go home this all goes up in smoke.

Why not- rather than talk about teams under age coming together to field and play- address the real issue?

West Belfast has far too many GAA clubs?

Remove at at least 6 clubs need combined and reduced to 3

I don't think there is, if anything there is not enough and in particular a chronic shortage of facilities putting a cap on playing numbers. Lot of house building going on and guts of 20,000 kids under age of 16.

West of Sarsfields  I think it's an underserved playing population where soccer is currently dominant. Colin Gaels are doing some good work but haven't made the leap to a senior team.

Different if you are talking about players competing at highest level and for that the Kerry divisional model beckons.

Agree.    its the game promotion that is lacking.

Over the years ive attended a lot of u6 to u14 Blitz / matches and the Belfast clubs are always coming with good numbers. Usually they have good representation and lots of coaches and helpers.  i am not at every single one so but i am at a good amount and thats what i see.  It definitely starts to thin out after 14 years old particularly at clubs not winning.

But the amount of games called off or cancelled or postponed indefinitely against Belfast opposition is sizeable.  This is a rarity in the SW where the vast majority of matches are played.  What can be done about this to make sure kids have guaranteed matches? 

whether it be parents, coaches or club admins gambling their kid's sporting career on the medals they pick up a lot of people have a lot to answer for.

The grading system that we have in our leagues was introduced to make sure so called weaker teams or clubs who had a dip in numbers or a less athletic group had somewhere to play competitive sport at the correct level.  The option to play 13 a side and to a lesser degree concede a league game points but fulfil the fixture anyway with 11 or 12 has been taken many a time.  This depends a lot of the ego of the those people mentioned previously.

entering teams into lower leagues to pick up a handy medal or needlessly amalgamating just so you can feel better about the standard your kid is playing at is completely anti-gaa. this is soccer territory.  should david and paudie clifford's parents upped sticks and took them to Dr Crokes for underage medals? No

chat about an amalgamated team fielding 2 or 3 teams is crazy and defeating the purpose of such teams forming in the first place.

Again its short-termism and a quick fix option.  Ahoghill aside and their experimental symbiotic relationship with Ballymena and Moneyglass, what are the true amalgamations required?

St Galls is a great and sizeable club, amalgamating with another large club in St Brigids just to play higher grade hurling doesnt sound right.

If you can field 15 kids most weeks you shouldn't be in an amalgamation.  You're teaching kids that if their local team isn't good then just amalgamate / transfer to be part of a decent team. 

Sounds like a lot of Amalgamations taking place at the moment.  This is worrying. It's not a great indicator of GAA health in a club.


Should only be used as a last resort not to massage the ego of a coach or 2 and certainly not with 1 club who is able to field on their own.

ive a perception there is a bigger problem of coaches purposely entering leagues and championships that are beneath their level

Why is there 14 teams in under 16 D2 but only 7 in D1?

The likes of Creggan,  Cargin, Ballymena,,  LD, ODonovan Rossa, Aghagallon,  Dunloy all playing D2??

certainly needs evened up as some teams playing in Div 2 that are too good for it, Dunloy being one of 3 or 4.  some coaches or club admins need an ego check.

Gallagher has to be an option? 

we're desperate but not that desperate

what is going on at Ahoghill this season?   shipped two of the worst scorelines in the league this year to Creggan and last night to Dunloy yet still just about hanging in there, and staying in the hunt for the Div 2 hurling league?   

is their squad wafer thin or are they holding fast until this Moneyglass amalgamation produces some results?

They'll be joined with M'Glass the whole way through the club soon enough.

The hurling will keep them afloat you would think but on the football scene Moneyglass are the first date after the Sean Stinsons divorce.

what is going on at Ahoghill this season?   shipped two of the worst scorelines in the league this year to Creggan and last night to Dunloy yet still just about hanging in there, and staying in the hunt for the Div 2 hurling league?   

is their squad wafer thin or are they holding fast until this Moneyglass amalgamation produces some results?

[Dont know about schools but the Sean Stinsons amalgamation appeared to achieve the result of both Portglenone and Ahoghill achieving Div 1 Status. Someone more knowledgeable could say how the Creggan/Tir na nog hurling experiment is going, the All Saints/Ahoghill hurling or the Ahoghill/Moneyglass current underage teams are working out? As you say they cant go on forever and first impressions they are not a sign of stable clubs but happy to be educated on this]

We are talking about Belfast schools combining for the purposes of team training and preparation for Ulster College fixtures.

What they do to sustain that after the competition is over I haven't a clue. Go back to their clubs and county development squads I assume..

What do you propose?

My starting point is it's good to see something new being tried and if it exposes schools as to what is needed (and begins to build the culture needed)at a higher standard that is great.

two things, what evidence is there from elsewhere that amalgamations at schools long term lift standards? Down hurling, Derry City, Donegal? Amalgamations can't run forever so when they end how are higher standards delivered and embedded. Dont know about schools but the Sean Stinsons amalgamation appeared to achieve the result of both Portglenone and Ahoghill achieving Div 1 Status. Someone more knowledgeable could say how the Creggan/Tir na nog hurling experiment is going, the All Saints/Ahoghill hurling or the Ahoghill/Moneyglass current underage teams are working out? As you say they cant go on forever and first impressions they are not a sign of stable clubs but happy to be educated on this

if this is a 3 or 4 school amalgamation then that means a panel of 25(?),  best 6 or 7 from each school. That leaves 3 or 4 schools with the rest of their panel at a lower level again. for the lads in the amalgamation they get to play at a higher standard but for the 75 lads not in it they end up playing at a lower standard. will a rising tide not left all boats?

It's worth a go however a plan continues to be needed for raising collective standards in order that the ground is fertile for when the amalgamation ends.

If we believe county coaching is better than club then to me this involves significant expansion of development squad programme both on skills and S&C. Building the culture of self improvement.

I also think schools should be open to and be given (by Croke:Ulster Gaa) an annual review in the quality and quantity of in school training and coaching and S&C (doesn't have to be disclosed). Direct Gaa resources to this schools willing to get better. The same should apply to clubs and if clubs don't get their house in order then players should be free to transfer away. Surely you cant be serious about that last sentence? these arent soccer clubs.    schools are all ticking the right boxes to get past any assessor but over and above is needed to correct the problem

That is a different environment and perhaps a step away from everyone doing their best.

it would be surprising to see him go without another gig lined up.

maybe he is conducting some self reflection to see what went wrong?  backroom team, squad quality, fitness, lack of tactical flexibility, injury prone squad being assessed?  Dermot stepping away will be a blow (and perhaps more as suggested above) to Andy. 

if he stays after 3 years at the helm it would be unusual not to see a clear out of the backroom team and a freshening up occur

There ya go Lads, Gaelfast invitation to help sort out our ills:

Invitation to all Antrim Club Coaching Officers, Club Coaches (u14 - Minor, Football & Hurling) and Referees for a Teams call to discuss the following areas:

👉Player Recommendations Project
👉Talent Academy Schedule
👉Coach Education Programme

📅 Monday 23rd June
🕚 8pm
💻 Via Teams (link emailed)

✍️ Register via forms link https://forms.office.com/e/Yv2d48Ep97

This is a great opportunity for club coaches & coaching officers to engage with each other and have an insight into Gaelfast's/Antrim GAA's ongoing programmes.

I look forward to speaking with you.
 
Go raibh maith agat.

Pól de Lá | Paul Law

Ceannaire Cluichí agus Talún / Talent & Games Development Lead
CLG Aontroma | Antrim GAA

As long as you're the one challenging my nuggets will read like gospels 

And have a good evening