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Away with work and that result cheered me up a bit! Great news and well done to team and management!

[The County Hurling management team would like to request that our County players do not play on Sunday 23rd in the All County League fixtures. All players can resume playing for their club the following Sunday 30th April. We feel that the two games on Saturday 22nd and 29th April are of the utmost importance to the progression of the County team in our All Ireland championship campaign. We feel that preparation for these two games needs to be fully in our hands. As we hopefully progress we can then assess the needs of the clubs and the County. Hope this meets with your approval]

Sent to clubs today...

The County Hurling management team would like to request that our County players do not play on Sunday 23rd in the All County League fixtures. All players can resume playing for their club the following Sunday 30th April. We feel that the two games on Saturday 22nd and 29th April are of the utmost importance to the progression of the County team in our All Ireland championship campaign. We feel that preparation for these two games needs to be fully in our hands. As we hopefully progress we can then assess the needs of the clubs and the County.

Hope this meets with your approval

And with that all the promise of a new start grinds to a depressingly familiar halt.

[Probably not but county team/manager need to waken up and realise that they cant hold the club game to ransom all the time.]

Playing CR games on either Saturdays or Sundays should have no impact on club games IMO. We need to put the 99% of our playing population ahead of the elite few. Club league games must go ahead regardless of county team action.

I noticed young Dillon played for Armoy on Sunday at midfield after playing for county last Saturday. Fair play to him. Lets just get on with it and if the county lads don't want to play two days in the row that's also alright and their clubs have to respect that.

What happens if the young lad doesn't want to play two games in a row and decides to pull out of the county squad, would the county management respect that?

Probably not but county team/manager need to waken up and realise that they cant hold the club game to ransom all the time.

Totally agree - but the reality is they can and do.
Hopefully we buck the trend this year.

As problems go it's not a bad one to have!

Let's hope we qualify and keep a vibrant club scene going - bumper summer hurling could set us up for few years to come.
Imagine the county team going well and loads of club games where guys suddenly want to get noticed by the county management.

Small acorns and all that!

Away with work at the moment how did the game go - not much media reports other than scores!
I agree credit deserved for the win and securing promotion - it's a box ticked and a much more attractive fixture list next year. A job well done when could have easily let it go.

Our 1st official minor fixture tonight cancelled due to County fixtures over the weekend.

Say no more.
Turns out those folks during the week were not making things up after all.
Who would have thought.

So based on those few comments above, if we have the money to spend we'll yield a better hurling county?

No. But I'd be willing to say the lack of money is symptomatic of the lack of passionate interest in enough people and if we had more of them we'd yield a better hurling county. Those who have the passion for the game are as passionate as any other counties gaels but we run out of numbers sadly.

And what if that fails to make us competitive, who do we blame then?
  Who's apportioning blame?     We're just shootin' the breeze are we not?

+1 agree on both.

[per juvenile team]

Dev squad players sell tickets that move than cover the poor standard gear that they get. The majority of any spend is on buses to get down south (2 or 3 trips a year) and a meal on the way home. Theres no food after training. Players make their way to training. I'd say Antrims spend per juvenile team is a fraction of other counties.

Certainly is - but so is our budget.

The Saffron vision ain't happy with the cost/benefit.

Shouldn't need to say it - but I don't for one minute question the time put in by players of coaches at either club or county levels affected!

[give the initiative it's run and if tweaks here and there need applied then do it.]

So continuing to do what we've been doing will continue to give us the same results, there's no blindly following here, give the initiative it's run and if tweaks here and there need applied then do it... the coaches that btdtgtt was talking to probably only interested in their own interests, which is understandable as I've managed at all levels within my club and questioned a lot of things the county did, relating mainly to fixture conjestion....

But it seems again that being negative on here is the norm.... he has said himself he's not coached but happy enough to voice opinion on it without actually having experience of it!

Between actual club players & sanctioned players we've 8 or 9 players involved in U17/18 teams. Theres been plenty of activity at county level for the past few weeks without any break and AFAICS no notification of the full schedule that could have been passed to all club coaches. We've had to cancel 2 challenge games at short notice (not enough players) because the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing....theres one improvement that can be made right there...better information sharing of all fixtures on the horizon.
Serious (from the POV of being really interested in all their players) club mentors may see the positives (if they exist in relation to this Celtic Challenge and I'm sure they do...I have no clue about it as I haven't spoken to anyone/enough closely involved .... I'm not prepared to accept the PR machine uber positive spin just yet though) but those same coaches also 'currently' have a justified right to be a bit narked at all the weekends being hoovered up with no consideration for what clubs are meant to be doing at this time of year i.e. Prepping all their players and getting them ready for the year ahead. They all need that valuable game time to make them better players

Thanks Skull.
That's precisely the sentiment that was expressed to me at the game.
So much so that some of our county executive are also now questioning the developments squads from the rationale that they've been heavily invested in terms of money and time - and aren't yielding very much if anything in return.
Credit due the whole thing is being looked at and consulted with other counties.

Maybe they just should have asked MR2 tho?

[The point being made is that it has had it's run for a number of years now. And I'm questioning if it has produced any results?]

MR we all im sure want Antrim hurling at all levels to rise. Theres nothing wrong IMO with anyone whos questioning new initiatives and for us all to have a perspective rather than blindly think the upper echelons have every players interest in mind. There could be negatives that aren't being spotted.

So continuing to do what we've been doing will continue to give us the same results, there's no blindly following here, give the initiative it's run

The point being made is that it has had it's run for a number of years now. And I'm questioning if it has produced any results?

and if tweaks here and there need applied then do it... the coaches that btdtgtt was talking to probably only interested in their own interests,

You don't know that - after all they were in attendance at the game supporting Antrim

which is understandable as I've managed at all levels within my club and questioned a lot of things the county did, relating mainly to fixture conjestion....

But it seems again that being negative on here is the norm.... he has said himself he's not coached

I said no such thing - I said I wasn't currently coaching.


but happy enough to voice opinion on it without actually having experience of it!

Well I didn't voice an opinion - I asked a question. But that's said I might be missing the point of this board - which is to share opinions.

[everyone]

Add in stag weekends and Christenings marragies and the other heap of excuses used by players/clubs during the season never mind before the season starts!! Honestly btdgtt i think you are on the wind up!

Jeeezus.
The point was made to me by club coaches that they can't get their teams properly prepared due to so many away so much of them with development squads.
There was also a question as to what is actually coming from these squads.
Not being an underage coach I asked on here what the general feeling was.
Maybe the Boyos were just making it up then.

It's about striking a balance with progressing lads within your own club and developing them further within a county set up, which will be working at a higher level with a greater need to improve hurling all round.... these things can only bring on players which in turn can improve a club team... or am I missing something ??

No your not missing anything.
If that's what's happening then we'd all be delighted.
But judging my the conversations I had at the game that not what everyone believes is the case.
Questions:
Are our underage/development squads improving in relative to other comparative counties?
AND
Are our club hurling leagues at underage level improving in standard?

I don't know or profess to know the answers - hence my post asking!

Add in stag weekends and Christenings marragies and the other heap of excuses used by players/clubs during the season never mind before the season starts!! Honestly btdgtt i think you are on the wind up!

Jeeezus.
The point was made to me by club coaches that they can't get their teams properly prepared due to so many away so much of them with development squads.
There was also a question as to what is actually coming from these squads.
Not being an underage coach I asked on here what the general feeling was.
Maybe the Boyos were just making it up then.

but would it not be the same throughout development squads, if not then only a certain maximum number should be allowed from one club, this really shouldnt impact club training to the extent it needs cancelled.

i know in our club, age groups need to join up for training anyway due to the overlap of players.

Yes I'd agree with the maximum number from any club - I don't know if such a rule exists.
That's why I was asking about it.
I also think they county development squads maybe could have a set number from lower achieving clubs.

Players removed from their clubs to play it in or train for development squads.

It's left several Club guys I spoke to last night having to cancel sessions - or merge U14/16/minor teams to get enough lads for sessions - which caused knock on issues itself.

What stuck me was that exactly the same predicament was being repeated by a range of clubs.

Was at the game myself.  As far as I know the maximum any club had represented was 4 and that "impacted" 2 clubs.  Most clubs had 1 or 2 players on the panel which looked like had c 30 players in total with 15 clubs represented.  So the facts don't seem to back up your anecdotal/hearsay comments.  "Several clubs needing to merge u14/u16/minor" for training when they have 1 or 2 players (max of 4 - again only impacted 2 clubs) getting exposure to a level of hurling which is a step up from the normal club game/session.  If these clubs are having difficulties with numbers for sessions its a tad disingenuous to pin the blame on the u17 development squad, thats what the facts tell me!
[/quote]

Oh dear.
The original point was broader than the game lasts night - it was about development squads in general.
Also I didn't provide any anecdotal or hearsay evidence - I commented on conversations I had with club men involved in underage setups - and asked if others agreed.


It wasn't a bad game at all but was one too sided to be competitive from the early stages - but a good evening out for a walk!

dont know much about this tournament so dont agree or disagree with you.

How does this tourney halt club action.?

Players removed from their clubs to play it in or train for development squads.

It's left several Club guys I spoke to last night having to cancel sessions - or merge U14/16/minor teams to get enough lads for sessions - which caused knock on issues itself.

What stuck me was that exactly the same predicament was being repeated by a range of clubs.