Antrim Football Thread

[ck]

This group have definitely had their share of hammerings over the years, and that being the case we are all to blame. Let's not put this at the door of the management or even the players, they're out there doing their best.

Here's the ironic thing...and it's only my opinion....we could get 4 or 5 county seniors from this squad. I've seen some year groups we get a lot less than that.

Potentially Manus McCrossan and Niall Hynds would be midfield (in this team) and two Cargin seniors Conan and Conchuir Johnston were also missing yesterday.Cargins Big Charley McCann will turn into a baller before hes finished.

Tiernan McCormick has a massive future in Saffron if he can develop a bit more end product to match the flying runs.

I'm not deliberately cherry picking here, yesterday was hard to watch, but there's a batch here that need our support  not our derision.

Wise words Bannside.
The McRory Cup debate is a nonsense. Plenty of counties have very few players if any playing McRory Cup yet they compete at the top level. The issue starts and finishes with the clubs. Not enough quality players being produced. The easy answer doesn't exist. Its a numbers game along with old fashioned graft and hard work by good coaches who are in it for the long game.

[Saffrongael]

This group have definitely had their share of hammerings over the years, and that being the case we are all to blame. Let's not put this at the door of the management or even the players, they're out there doing their best.

Here's the ironic thing...and it's only my opinion....we could get 4 or 5 county seniors from this squad. I've seen some year groups we get a lot less than that.

Potentially Manus McCrossan and Niall Hynds would be midfield (in this team) and two Cargin seniors Conan and Conchuir Johnston were also missing yesterday.Cargins Big Charley McCann will turn into a baller before hes finished.

Tiernan McCormick has a massive future in Saffron if he can develop a bit more end product to match the flying runs.

I'm not deliberately cherry picking here, yesterday was hard to watch, but there's a batch here that need our support  not our derision.

Wise words Bannside.
The McRory Cup debate is a nonsense. Plenty of counties have very few players if any playing McRory Cup yet they compete at the top level. The issue starts and finishes with the clubs. Not enough quality players being produced. The easy answer doesn't exist. Its a numbers game along with old fashioned graft and hard work by good coaches who are in it for the long game.

It's just not straight forward as you say, but even with the coaching - if you are a dual club for example you will have one hour a week probably to train that team. And this is applicable to hurling as well, it's the other 6 days of the week that will make or break a kid when they are developing - if they don't do anything the rest of the week you are beat. No matter how good the coach is for that one hour a week.

As you say with big numbers and a strong culture in a club you have a chance, but not every club is like Dunloy or Cargin, where GAA is first and last. Especially in urban areas.   

[Duine Inteacht Eile]

Yeah, it's apathy. Gaelic football just isn't that big a deal.

Who can change that?

[InnocentByStander]

This group have definitely had their share of hammerings over the years, and that being the case we are all to blame. Let's not put this at the door of the management or even the players, they're out there doing their best.

Here's the ironic thing...and it's only my opinion....we could get 4 or 5 county seniors from this squad. I've seen some year groups we get a lot less than that.

Potentially Manus McCrossan and Niall Hynds would be midfield (in this team) and two Cargin seniors Conan and Conchuir Johnston were also missing yesterday.Cargins Big Charley McCann will turn into a baller before hes finished.

Tiernan McCormick has a massive future in Saffron if he can develop a bit more end product to match the flying runs.

I'm not deliberately cherry picking here, yesterday was hard to watch, but there's a batch here that need our support  not our derision.

Wise words Bannside.
The McRory Cup debate is a nonsense. Plenty of counties have very few players if any playing McRory Cup yet they compete at the top level. The issue starts and finishes with the clubs. Not enough quality players being produced. The easy answer doesn't exist. Its a numbers game along with old fashioned graft and hard work by good coaches who are in it for the long game.

Macrory football is the highest standard of football you can play at that age. Its not the be all and end all but Antrim is the county in Ulster with no school in macory football. Its not the be all and end all but certainly is a factor. But are the clubs not doing enough to make football enjoyable enough that when kids get to school they want to play? The sad factor is kids in schools in Belfast would rather play in a soccer schools cup final than a macrory.

Few eyebrow rising results yesterday. Big one being Ballymena beating johnnies in Corrigan. 

[SaffronSports]

The MacRory debate is a pointless one. People seem to be thinking Antrim's issues are because we don't have players playing MacRory but the root of the problem is long before that. Our players don't play MacRory because the schools aren't good enough and the problems have started long before our lads get to that age.

[AllStar15]

Schools! Schools! Schools! That is why we are behind in development, any other answer is a by-product. We need a strong school in Belfast and a strong school in the SW. We need schools going out and bringing our best P7s to that school and developing them from there based on ability and promise, not club.

SW clubs are leading the way in Antrim at the minute and that's from exposure to that level, but we need a school where we aren't competing with Derry players and Antrim reaps all the benefit of players being developed. I was told 25 years ago by a prominent Armagh man this was our issue - and it still is today.

[Duine Inteacht Eile]

It's lost long before they even get there.
It's in the homes.
Gaelic football is not valued in Antrim. There is a take it or leave it attitude and when the sacrifices & commitment levels required reach a certain point then most opt to leave it. Is there a real desire among that many to play for Antrim?

Someone mentioned soccer a couple of posts back. It's no surprise that young lads like it much more than football. Relatively little training and loads of regular matches. That's fun.

[Rawhide]

Schools! Schools! Schools! That is why we are behind in development, any other answer is a by-product. We need a strong school in Belfast and a strong school in the SW. We need schools going out and bringing our best P7s to that school and developing them from there based on ability and promise, not club.

SW clubs are leading the way in Antrim at the minute and that's from exposure to that level, but we need a school where we aren't competing with Derry players and Antrim reaps all the benefit of players being developed. I was told 25 years ago by a prominent Armagh man this was our issue - and it still is today.

I must say this complete rubbish. The quality of coaching at club level in your youth, on the whole is not at the level required. No strategy to improve it. Nor will it improve in the absence of one, it rinse and repeat for years upon years.

[Brendan]

Looking at it from a North Derry perspective the schools defnitly has a big impact, the only clubs in North Derry who are senior/strong intermediate, Dungiven and Banagher have kids going over the Glenshane to St. Pats, then steelstown would have kids at st columbs college who have been relly pushing the GAA the last few years. Places like Faughanvale, Drumsurn, Ballerin don't have soccer or hurling distractions but are going nowhere fast because the children aren't going to strong football schools

[AllStar15]

Schools! Schools! Schools! That is why we are behind in development, any other answer is a by-product. We need a strong school in Belfast and a strong school in the SW. We need schools going out and bringing our best P7s to that school and developing them from there based on ability and promise, not club.

SW clubs are leading the way in Antrim at the minute and that's from exposure to that level, but we need a school where we aren't competing with Derry players and Antrim reaps all the benefit of players being developed. I was told 25 years ago by a prominent Armagh man this was our issue - and it still is today.

I must say this complete rubbish. The quality of coaching at club level in your youth, on the whole is not at the level required. No strategy to improve it. Nor will it improve in the absence of one, it rinse and repeat for years upon years.

You are deluded. It's the same Ulster coaching clinics that everyone goes to, and the Antrim contingent is always strong at them, as I have been to plenty over the years. So why is it all other counties come away better coaches but Antrim's don't? Every county in Ulster has at least one strong GAA school, except Antrim.

Aghagallon and the Derry side of Antrim have all come on leaps and bounds these past 5/10 years - if you dont think the proximity to strong schools has anything to do with then I've a bridge to Scotland to sell you.

[bannside]

The great thing about schools that take their GAA ethos really seriously is that the programme starts the first week in the gate at year eight.

A school that offers 8 hours a week across a mixture of training/matches/S&C/pilates/yoga/ diet and nutritional advice will produce a much better individual...than say a school that offers x2 hours a week across the same spectrum of activity.

It's basic maths.

Across 40 weeks and 7 years it's 2240 man hours versus 560 man hours.

Obviously not an exact science, but a blind man should see the difference a full on school can make to player development versus a school going through the motions.

Then do the same exercise across a progressive club versus a club taking short cuts.

It's all about the work, and as Duine says, the level of apathy in some Antrim schools and clubs is appalling.

[Duine Inteacht Eile]

The great thing about schools that take their GAA ethos really seriously is that the programme starts the first week in the gate at year eight.

A school that offers 8 hours a week across a mixture of training/matches/S&C/pilates/yoga/ diet and nutritional advice will produce a much better individual...than say a school that offers x2 hours a week across the same spectrum of activity.

It's basic maths.

Across 40 weeks and 7 years it's 2240 man hours versus 560 man hours.

Obviously not an exact science, but a blind man should see the difference a full on school can make to player development versus a school going through the motions.

Then do the same exercise across a progressive club versus a club taking short cuts.

It's all about the work, and as Duine says, the level of apathy in some Antrim schools and clubs is appalling.

I didn't say that.

The issue is the apathy in our communities. Gaelic football isn't a big deal in a lot of them. Kids don't really care and their parents don't value it and if that school programme was available to them they simply wouldn't go.
They struggle to buy into the couple of hours a week. They don't value it that highly.

[BelSaft]

Cahair O'Kane impressed with Cargin at the weekend anyway

[Would ye whist]

Completely agree Duine, the problem is Antrim is not the hotbed for GAA we would all like to believe, a lot of parents do not give a dam and this feeds through to their kids............I hear my son giving off that parents use the underage training as a babysitting service and they cannot barely get a parent to help to set out/gather in cones as the drop the kid off, drive away and come back an hour later to collect. If the parents are showing they don't care about the kid training how will the kid?

The great thing about schools that take their GAA ethos really seriously is that the programme starts the first week in the gate at year eight.

A school that offers 8 hours a week across a mixture of training/matches/S&C/pilates/yoga/ diet and nutritional advice will produce a much better individual...than say a school that offers x2 hours a week across the same spectrum of activity.

It's basic maths.

Across 40 weeks and 7 years it's 2240 man hours versus 560 man hours.

Obviously not an exact science, but a blind man should see the difference a full on school can make to player development versus a school going through the motions.

Then do the same exercise across a progressive club versus a club taking short cuts.

It's all about the work, and as Duine says, the level of apathy in some Antrim schools and clubs is appalling.

I didn't say that.

The issue is the apathy in our communities. Gaelic football isn't a big deal in a lot of them. Kids don't really care and their parents don't value it and if that school programme was available to them they simply wouldn't go.
They struggle to buy into the couple of hours a week. They don't value it that highly.

[bannside]

While some Antrim schools and clubs try to put their best foot forward, I think it's fair to say many are simply going through the motions. Pretty much falls into the apathy department in my book. Not trying to be critical of the dedicated coaches out there doing their utmost, but if the support structure isn't there it's an uphill task!