Excuses

[charlie stubbs]

"i cant play tonight" "why?" "i was working allday and im tired " hungup.  "we are really stuck you can do nets!" "naw i havent had my dinner yet!"

cant play tonight its my ma's birthday!(wednesday night)

[EagleLord]

Are blisters an acceptable excuse? On your feet like, agony when ye put the boots on..

[Onion Bag]

I would want to see the blisters so i could make better judgement

[Brick Tamlin]

Blisters are definitely a valid excuse i think. Not nice, especially this time of year with hard ground.
Blisters are no laughin matter.
(Cue Laughter)

[muppet]

Tuesday an All Ireland Final weekend, 3 of us showed up, with very sore heads, to training with no gear to an extremely pissed off coach (we had played the Kilmacud Crokes 7s and disgraced ourselves).

"Well where the f*** is it!?"

'We left it in X's car after the 7s and X hasn't been seen since. We heard he is on a serious bender.'

"Can any of you drive?"

"I can".

*set of keys hit me forcefully on the head*

"Well f***ing find him and bring him to training as well!".

[crossfire]

Depends where you're from.

DERRY:
Can't play tonight cos the sister's in heat.

ANTRIM
Can't play tonight cos my dealer says he'll break me knees/50% off shellsuits in Asda.

ARMAGH:
Can't play tonight cos the apples won't pick themselves/pished myself.

TYRONE
Cant play tonight as i'm having diving lessons.

[moysider]

The lad that shows up with just one boot.

I remember a few years ago 3 players could not make a league match because they were selling bulls at a pedigree sale. What can you do? I was at the same sale  but had cover for myself.

Rural clubs are a nightmare when it comes to silage season and the young lads make a few bob driving for the contractors. That work doesn't stop for a game of football and there is f**k all you can do about it. And the young fellas need the money for college and stuff.

As a manager the most annoying cause of absenteeism is the stag party. I was bemused that it was considered kosher as an excuse.

[BallyhaiseMan]

Yes, a good stag party would be playing a match on a Saturday evening and then having a few pints in the club after. Meeting up again after 12 mass on the Sunday. A sneaky pint in the local before heading home for Mammy's dinner. Watch the football on the TV. Out again to watch the u16s match. Three pints after and home to bed. Work on the Monday.

more like Game, Friday Night
Session Friday Night
Session all day Saturday
Training Sunday,
Session all day Sunday after training.
No work until Tuesday/wednesday.

[thewobbler]

My experience of running a reserve team for years is that if you give the real club men a game, then more club men will want to play for your team, and you'll end up with a better pick.

Club men don't have to be dyed in the wool, but just fellas who have either put the hours in, are putting the hours in, or will put the hours in over the next few years. Basically, proper GAA folk.

It's when you start trying to placate those lost souls who turn up for 60 minutes a week and expect to play, but wouldn't even buy a lotto ticket, that you run into problems. Nobody who has ever trained for senior football should watch those fellas playing. I'm not anti-soccer in any way, but Saturday afternoon soccer is perfect for their disloyalties.

When you don't bother with them, team spirit improves dramatically. You might lose games, but you lose them as a group rather than as bunch of individuals, and it does hurt more.

[lynchbhoy]

we run a B team completely seperate from our senior team with 1 trainin a week and a match! nowhere near the commitment of the senior team and its a good laugh!! we'v had at least 20 out for trainin every session this year! its a lot tougher for those who dont train and just turn up for matches as senior boys will be looking games

this is just it !!!

Football training should be fun. Its not about making lads puke, its about playing football, having a bit of craic and enjoying it !

Start of season there should be a lot of drills to keep lads running, and its easier when a ball is involved and fitness improves and players dont notice the running as the ball is being used.
Then its a bit of skills based stuff at the start of each session as no matter what you do  (in football at least) you will always need to pick the ball off the ground properly, give hand passes, give foot passes and catch the ball. The basics. then there shoul dbe games.

Bogball - explain to me how I would have 24 and 21 lads training during the week then have 13 or 14 show up at a match the following sunday?

The season went bad from there and a losing run ended up with lads turning up for training numbering from 14 down to 5.

A few years ago in college I trained and picked the team. the keeper - an offaly u21 - decided he was too good to train. So I dropped him for the championship (after several warnings) - he was shellshocked. The replacement keeper made a mistake in the game that cost us the win, but even now I am happy with the decision I made and said so to the offaly lad after the game.
If I had the numbers, I would always go with players that traned. This is what they deserve for putting the effort in.  If it means a depleted team, thats the cost, it should only be short term once a precedent has been set !

[blanketattack]

Someone on the intercounty U21 team could be on up to 6 different teams (College, Club U21, Club Senior, Divisional U21, Divisional Senior, Intercounty U21) so I think they'd have an excuse for not making it to club training.
Someone on the senior team would only have 2 or 3 different teams so they should make a lot of club training sessions.
I know one Kerry senior who went 2 successive years without making a single club training session and he was injury free for that duration as well.

[RedandGreenSniper]

Someone that comes up with an excuse is one thing. Someone that blithely texts you 'can't make it tonight' is another altogether. At least the lads with the excuses care enough to try to think of something! Oh, and yes, this is Junior B I'm talking about!

At minor level a few years ago one of our players couldn't play one game because he hurt himself golfing! He's played for Mayo since!