Tyrone Club Fixtures 2014 - Lets try and help them sort it out

Started by WeeDonns, October 25, 2013, 03:22:18 PM

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LeoMc

Quote from: blewuporstuffed on February 13, 2014, 09:34:19 AM
A bit of forward planning at least.
This may not be perfect, but its what players have been crying out for, a bit of notice of what the plans are.
+1
At least an effort is being made.
They must've heard WeeDonns was coming after their job.

ballymac

Quote from: WeeDonns on October 30, 2013, 10:25:08 AM
Quote from: blewuporstuffed on October 30, 2013, 09:31:31 AM
I think every club should have the opportunity to field their strongest side on championship day, so that should be taken into account, but certainly for the league, games need to continue on regardless of county minor football. If that means the lads are unable to play for their clubs, then so be it.

Yeah, I would think so. Our Club are rarely in this situation so would be keen to hear the opinions of others.

My thinking would be these lads are involved in; County Minors, Club Minors, Club U21s, Schools football, Senior Club Championship & whatever Senior league games they're available for when there are no conflicts.
With player burnout in mind, and the hope that they'll have 15+ years adult club league football ahead of them, I wouldn't be expecting them to complete a full season of adult league football alongside the rest of their commitments.

A smaller club with 1 star minor player might disagree...
Did Brendan Harpur quit his role with the Tyrone board over this very thing. We expect too much from our star players especially the young ones. And to achieve 15yrs of football without serious injury there needs to be a change in expectations. Players welfare needs looked at especially when our insurance scheme is in the state it is in. aND IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE

From Gaelic Life
It was disappointing to see Tyrone receiving more negative press in recent days over the stepping down by Brendan Harpur from his role as coaching officer on child protection and player welfare grounds, and his concerns over the number of games young players are expected to play.

He did great work during his time in a similar role in Dublin, and it was seen as a bit of a coup for Tyrone to get him back up here again. There have been major question marks over how young players have been developed in Tyrone over the past few years, and I think Brendan was trying to sort that out. He felt though that for people to stand up and take notice, he had to take the action of stepping down.

I'm involved with our minors this year, and I can see where Brendan is coming from. Our players recently had a situation where they had to play four games in a week. They played for the seniors/reserves on the Sunday, u-21s on the Tuesday, minors on the Thursday, and back to the seniors/reserves on the Sunday. In three of those games, those boys were going out against physically bigger and stronger and more developed players.

Teams will always play their best players. And players will always want to play in games. Therefore, the onus has to be on fixture-makers to try to ease the workload.

This year, with the minor league and Championship in full flow, and the reserve Championship going full tilt, Tyrone decided to start playing an u-21 competition, and on a group of six basis instead of a straight knock-out.

There doesn't seem to be any common sense involved when it comes to setting fixtures. Change has to come from the top down, it's up to the GAA centrally to set the agenda, because until there is a set rota of games, and proper guidelines issued as to what players can or can't play in which codes, then we'll carry on talking about this year on year, and our best young players are going to be wrecked by the time they reach 21 years of age.

- See more at: http://gaeliclife.com/2014/07/brian-mcguigan-harpur-issue-a-huge-own-goal/#sthash.jfs5klOL.dpuf

WeeDonns

Yeah, I think this is pretty much why he felt he had to step down. Everyone will have different opinions on this depending on their own clubs personal circumstances.

QuoteTeams will always play their best players. And players will always want to play in games. Therefore, the onus has to be on fixture-makers to try to ease the workload.

That’s an interesting article from McGuigan; He acknowledges there’s a problem and too much is being asked of young players, but there’s no suggestion of the best youth players focusing on youth competitions, instead the blame is being laid at the feet of the fixture-makers.

But if the fixture-makers rearrange competitions so that the best young players can take part in them all with minimal or no overlaps, what about the silent majority – the shite, average & just not good enough young players? How much of the year would they be sitting with no football at all? They’ll drift away, Granted they might never be the guys to lead the club to the O’Neill Cup, but if a club is to be successful, it needs to keep these people on board. These people need catered for too. This is why it’s nearly impossible for the fixture-makers to keep everyone happy.

IMO, clubs & managers need to take responsibility. It’s easy to blame fixtures, although its often justified, but how about letting youth players focus on youth competitions while they can, there’s plenty of time to focus on Senior & Reserves when they’re the only competitions you’re eligible for…


Although fixturing Minors & U21s in the same week, with adult games at either end is just plain stupid