The medias relentless push towards professionalism in the GAA....

[johnneycool]

Food for thought from a reasonably comparible sport in another country!!

http://www.irishpost.co.uk/index.php/component/content/article/27-comment-a-analysis/236-a-lesson-from-otago-why-the-gaa-must-never-go-professional

[Bingo]

Thats the great piece that sums up the basic points which alot of people don't seem to see - to them they only see the full houses in Croke Park and forget about the rest.

It would never be able to sustain itself.

[Etienne Lantier]

The media want professionalism so they can start writing lurid stories about the private lives of gAA players.

You mightn't be a million miles off the mark.

[Bord na Mona man]

The article hits the nail on the head, but obviously rare outbursts of common sense like that won't stop elements of the media here from slyly trying to stir the pot.

[orangeman]

Food for thought from a reasonably comparible sport in another country!!

http://www.irishpost.co.uk/index.php/component/content/article/27-comment-a-analysis/236-a-lesson-from-otago-why-the-gaa-must-never-go-professional

Fantastic article. Time we all took a few deep breaths when it comes to talk about full time semi professionalism or even full time professionalism.

[Jinxy]

Another cautionary tale for the GAA perhaps?

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/24m-debt-crisis-irfu-report-reveals-clubs-are-now-fighting-for-their-survival-3066584.html

While some continued to chase success by paying their best players, the report reveals that the lack of loyalty at the top of the club game has resulted in ordinary members being turned off.

One Ulster club saw the number of adult teams they were able to field fall from seven to four in three years after they commenced paying players.

Another senior club told the union: "We had aspirations of being a senior club and the strategy was to pay players for the first few years to get there; the problem was, once we reached our goal, the rot had set in."

[Billys Boots]

Food for thought from a reasonably comparible sport in another country!!

http://www.irishpost.co.uk/index.php/component/content/article/27-comment-a-analysis/236-a-lesson-from-otago-why-the-gaa-must-never-go-professional

Good piece - and the Larries get a mention.

[Zulu]

Interesting to note also that clubs can't cope with the amount of kids wanting to play. Is there a lesson for us there?

[neilthemac]

Interesting to note also that clubs can't cope with the amount of kids wanting to play. Is there a lesson for us there?

I know of a lot of GAA clubs who cannot cater for the number of children coming in the gate due to lack of suitable coaches for underage teams and people not willing to volunteer
yet the same clubs are perfectly prepared to pay big expenses to managers of senior teams etc

money needs to be invested in the underage firstly.

pay for people from the club to attend coaching courses
pay good quality coaches to attend the club occasionally and demonstrate new ideas and ways of coaching for all underage coaches
ensure coaches have all the equipment needed.
have a reward for the volunteer coaches - a night out, meal, club top or whatever.

[Zulu]

Agree entirely. We have it assways as investment in underage will pay for itself in time. I'm helping to set up an underage team in Britain and I'm more than a bit concerned that the great work done so far may not bear as much fruit as it should through lack of volunteers.

[Jinxy]

Interesting to note also that clubs can't cope with the amount of kids wanting to play. Is there a lesson for us there?

There are two ways of looking at that Zulu.
If I live in a small house and 6 cousins come to visit I've no place to put them all.
If I live in a big house and 6 cousins come to visit they all get a nice comfy bed of their own.
The lesson here is, it's good to live in a big house.

[Zulu]

Again, I agree entirely. What concerns me though is that we (the GAA) have become too comfortable and some people may still think kids will naturally choose the GAA over alternative sports. Rugby has grown from a very small base to a genuine competitor for young players and I see and read things that seem to me to be entirely at odds with promoting our gamnes. I'm not suggesting we panic or anything like that but I would like to a bit more urgency and imaginative thinking on games development and promotion (both underage and adult level). Outside of Ulster I see little evidence of that, now maybe it's going on but if it is we should be shouting it from the rooftops.