Antrim Hurling

[imtommygunn]

Lots of questions being asked about commitment of players really. Not great reading though he still reckons he can work with it. Sounds like he's surprised at how big the job is with the main job being mentality between club rivalries and commitments.

[btdtgtt]

The club rivalries preventing county progress not gettin boring anyone?
I mean Kilkenny & Galway clubs are hell for leather more so than our clubs (see earlier thread on southern/northern physicality)
But they can get it going for the county jersey.

Therefore I suggest it's not so much club rivalries as individual personalities?
For instance - can loughgiel & cushendall agree on one common difficulty which prevents players uniting for Antrim? I haven't heard it! Many suggestions & allegations but nothing concrete.

So I think club rivalry is a convenient excuse for weak personalities that don't want to commit to antrim. To be blunt we have too many egos with too high opinions of themselves.

Just a thought. Anyone?

[Last Man]

The club rivalries preventing county progress not gettin boring anyone?
I mean Kilkenny & Galway clubs are hell for leather more so than our clubs (see earlier thread on southern/northern physicality)
But they can get it going for the county jersey.

Therefore I suggest it's not so much club rivalries as individual personalities?
For instance - can loughgiel & cushendall agree on one common difficulty which prevents players uniting for Antrim? I haven't heard it! Many suggestions & allegations but nothing concrete.

So I think club rivalry is a convenient excuse for weak personalities that don't want to commit to antrim. To be blunt we have too many egos with too high opinions of themselves.

Just a thought. Anyone?

Yip agree with all of the above but its still a big ask for an Antrim hurler to give the commitment req'd. As a county we currently don't have the resourses to facillitate it in the same way Kilkenny,Tippetc do.

[NAG1]

The club rivalries preventing county progress not gettin boring anyone?
I mean Kilkenny & Galway clubs are hell for leather more so than our clubs (see earlier thread on southern/northern physicality)
But they can get it going for the county jersey.

Therefore I suggest it's not so much club rivalries as individual personalities?
For instance - can loughgiel & cushendall agree on one common difficulty which prevents players uniting for Antrim? I haven't heard it! Many suggestions & allegations but nothing concrete.

So I think club rivalry is a convenient excuse for weak personalities that don't want to commit to antrim. To be blunt we have too many egos with too high opinions of themselves.

Just a thought. Anyone?

Yip agree with all of the above but its still a big ask for an Antrim hurler to give the commitment req'd. As a county we currently don't have the resourses to facillitate it in the same way Kilkenny,Tippetc do.

Has to be said it is down to the manager to create an atmosphere and environment that the players actually want to be part of. I know in this case it is difficult to gauge this with the low turn out for the meeting and first training sessions.

However as it goes down the line it is the role of the manager to make it a place that players want to be, that they can see is improving them as players and that they they enjoy, that is the only way that you will get anyone to commit to anything.

[theskull1]

Couldnt disagree with you more NAG1. He cannot create a reality in a vacuum.

[Seamroga in exile]

The trials are this Saturday and the following Saturday.  Can't wait for Sambo's column next where he apologises for getting his facts wrong in last Weeks column.

[Sleeping giant]

The club rivalries preventing county progress not gettin boring anyone?
I mean Kilkenny & Galway clubs are hell for leather more so than our clubs (see earlier thread on southern/northern physicality)
But they can get it going for the county jersey.

Therefore I suggest it's not so much club rivalries as individual personalities?
For instance - can loughgiel & cushendall agree on one common difficulty which prevents players uniting for Antrim? I haven't heard it! Many suggestions & allegations but nothing concrete.

So I think club rivalry is a convenient excuse for weak personalities that don't want to commit to antrim. To be blunt we have too many egos with too high opinions of themselves.

Just a thought. Anyone?

Yip agree with all of the above but its still a big ask for an Antrim hurler to give the commitment req'd. As a county we currently don't have the resourses to facillitate it in the same way Kilkenny,Tippetc do.

Has to be said it is down to the manager to create an atmosphere and environment that the players actually want to be part of. I know in this case it is difficult to gauge this with the low turn out for the meeting and first training sessions.

However as it goes down the line it is the role of the manager to make it a place that players want to be, that they can see is improving them as players and that they they enjoy, that is the only way that you will get anyone to commit to anything.

uck lord god would you wise up.  down to the manager my balls!!  its not u 14.   any man thats hurling for the county shouldnt need any special f**king atmosphere,   take there heads out of there own arses would be the best place to start.

[NAG1]

The club rivalries preventing county progress not gettin boring anyone?
I mean Kilkenny & Galway clubs are hell for leather more so than our clubs (see earlier thread on southern/northern physicality)
But they can get it going for the county jersey.

Therefore I suggest it's not so much club rivalries as individual personalities?
For instance - can loughgiel & cushendall agree on one common difficulty which prevents players uniting for Antrim? I haven't heard it! Many suggestions & allegations but nothing concrete.

So I think club rivalry is a convenient excuse for weak personalities that don't want to commit to antrim. To be blunt we have too many egos with too high opinions of themselves.

Just a thought. Anyone?

Yip agree with all of the above but its still a big ask for an Antrim hurler to give the commitment req'd. As a county we currently don't have the resourses to facillitate it in the same way Kilkenny,Tippetc do.

Has to be said it is down to the manager to create an atmosphere and environment that the players actually want to be part of. I know in this case it is difficult to gauge this with the low turn out for the meeting and first training sessions.

However as it goes down the line it is the role of the manager to make it a place that players want to be, that they can see is improving them as players and that they they enjoy, that is the only way that you will get anyone to commit to anything.

**k lord god would you wise up.  down to the manager my balls!!  its not u 14.   any man thats hurling for the county shouldnt need any special f**king atmosphere,   take there heads out of there own arses would be the best place to start.

What a well thought out response SG, just keep doing what we've always done and we will always get what we have always got.

Unless a player thinks that the set up is good and that it is going places and worthwhile being part of then none of them are going to commit the time and effort necessary to be even competitive at this level. So yes it is up to the manager to get a set up that is valued and that the players actually want to be a part of. I think you will find it is the complete opposite to what you say, any man that is going to give up his time away from family and friends deserves to have a special atmosphere around the county team, it should be special its the pinnacle of what we as a county can offer out best hurlers. Yes I take on board skulls point that maybe this cant be created in a vacuum but then again we get into a chicken and egg situation. 

[imtommygunn]

How does a man create this before he starts NAG??

Fair play to him for coming out and being open and honest about it.

[johnneycool]

How does a man create this before he starts NAG??

Fair play to him for coming out and being open and honest about it.

An outside manager can come in with a clean slate, no club prejudices to deal with and all that and all he can do is create an environment where the players feel valued and treated equal.

The manager would need to also get them to buy into his methods in terms of fitness, coaching and tactics, but as the man is only just in the job he hasn't been given a fair chance and possibly if players have been shoddily treated by the county board then Ryan will have an uphill battle as much with the county board as the players.


The players if they've agreed to commit should be giving Ryan a fighting chance, so hopefully attendances will improve, but old habits die hard and if players are used to turning up to training once in a while and still getting handed a starting jersey then Ryan will need to make a statement of intent with his first selections if he wants to break this mould.

[NAG1]

ITG

I guess it cant be created before he starts and as Skull says it is difficult to do it currently because it will be a bit in isolation.

IMO it starts from the first meeting (not great as we know) as to his vision, goals and ethics around where he sees the squad going and most of all how he intends to get them there.
In Antrim we dont have the resources that others have so we have to be innovative and creative in the way we do things and he should try to do this.

But if he gets it right and the players buy in then the word will soon spread that it is a quality place to be part of and then the momentum shifts.

I know this is a bit idealistic but IMHO this is the managers role. Not to be picking up cones and bibs.

[imtommygunn]

Yeah well a manager needs to manage relationships and all that business and a coaching strategy but at the end of the day the coaches will do the coaching.

There is part of the issue though - it starts at the first meeting. What chance does the guy have if no-one turns up!

I don't think our problem lies with resources at all. We are currently in a halfway house. We are far too good for the christy ring and not good enough for the liam mccarthy. Yes we are better than some teams in it but there is a sizeable gap to the teams above us. To close that gap to the teams above would involve a massive commitment and I'm not sure a lot of guys are prepared to put that in irrespective of the manager. We won't win the all ireland but  it would be great to see us challenging dublins, offalys, wexfords, clares etc. If the commitment were there then I see no reason why we shouldn't be. We won't get near KK, Cork, Waterford, Galway and a few others but we can close the gap. The commitment required to do that would be massive though and I don't think a lot of guys are prepared to put that in.

I think Ryan has addressed things correctly going to the paper and I think he advanced Carlow massively in his time there and would be a good one if players buy in. Unfortunately seems like a big if though.

[theskull1]

To close the gap you need a good youth development structure AND younsters/parents prepared to put in the effort to commit properly to that structure.

[NAG1]

To close the gap you need a good youth development structure AND younsters/parents prepared to put in the effort to commit properly to that structure.

Skull agreed, but then if we hand these better developed kids to people at the top end who dont have a clue how to mould them then it is never going to happen.

[johnneycool]

To close the gap you need a good youth development structure AND younsters/parents prepared to put in the effort to commit properly to that structure.

Skull agreed, but then if we hand these better developed kids to people at the top end who dont have a clue how to mould them then it is never going to happen.

The counties on the rise such as Clare and Dublin developed the youth, winning and competing for minor and U-21 championships on a regular basis now. With that structure in place they can then concentrate on their senior set ups.

It's how Kilkenny developed into the beast it is now, with domination of underage hurling for most of a decade feeding into a senior set up and that was before Cody took the helm.

Good development structures will also instill into players the type of effort that will be required of them, so its no real shock to them when they make the step up to full intercounty senior panels.