The drop off of youngsters playing Gaelic Football

[AnGaelGearmanach]

its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning

[bigarsedkeeper]

its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning

Probably should have explained that better - the way games are set up leaves things very competitive for the age of the players involved. If coaches are getting sent off for slabbering at refs at U11s or starting rows with other coaches etc you're not doing it right.

[trailer]

its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning

Probably should have explained that better - the way games are set up leaves things very competitive for the age of the players involved. If coaches are getting sent off for slabbering at refs at U11s or starting rows with other coaches etc you're not doing it right.

Anyone taking U11 football seriously needs to see a Doctor. They're a danger to society unless they get medical help.

[trailer]

Like do coaches of U9 or U11 teams go around telling their mates about the great wins the team had? Are they down the pub talking about the sweeper system they've implemented? I wouldn't want to be in the same building with these eejits. 

[bigarsedkeeper]

Like do coaches of U9 or U11 teams go around telling their mates about the great wins the team had? Are they down the pub talking about the sweeper system they've implemented? I wouldn't want to be in the same building with these eejits.

Some of them must think it's a way into senior management or something. I'd be disappointed for the lads themselves if they have a bad game but that's it. I've seen some coaches, including some of our own, go off at lads after the game. That won't help anyone. You can't expect U11s to be consistent every week.
Refs can't do right for doing wrong either at that level, they get abuse for being too strict and then the same ones give them stick for being too lenient.

[Fear Bun Na Sceilpe]

Never worried about results but would be worried if fundamentals were not there-that comes down to the coach

[Rudi]

Never worried about results but would be worried if fundamentals were not there-that comes down to the coach

No it doesn't some kids are clean useless. No athletic ability, no balance etc. Then then chose when & when not to come to training. Coach can do nothing with those kids.

[AnGaelGearmanach]

Never worried about results but would be worried if fundamentals were not there-that comes down to the coach

No it doesn't some kids are clean useless. No athletic ability, no balance etc. Then then chose when & when not to come to training. Coach can do nothing with those kids.

Seen that a few times myself more of a babysitting match

[Milltown Row2]

Like do coaches of U9 or U11 teams go around telling their mates about the great wins the team had? Are they down the pub talking about the sweeper system they've implemented? I wouldn't want to be in the same building with these eejits.

Some of them must think it's a way into senior management or something. I'd be disappointed for the lads themselves if they have a bad game but that's it. I've seen some coaches, including some of our own, go off at lads after the game. That won't help anyone. You can't expect U11s to be consistent every week.
Refs can't do right for doing wrong either at that level, they get abuse for being too strict and then the same ones give them stick for being too lenient.

Some of those managers do go on to take senior teams within their club, there's only two levels I haven't been involved with over the years, for a lot of the years it's always been the same volunteers looking after teams, it's only when a 'golden' team comes along that people are really interested in getting involved,  use the word involved, loosely...

Shouting at kids is wrong, I've spoken to managers during juvenile games I'm refereeing at, telling them that they can't do it. The competitive side of things will always kick in at some point and as long as it's measured there's nothing wrong with teaching that.

All clubs need to have a juvenile chairman and committee with a clear plan to work with, I feel managers should take a team right through to minor and then go back to the start, continuity with kids I feel is important, it can be stressful and takes up a lot of your time outside of work, but it's enjoyable to see them turn into lovely young men or women if you're involved with the ladies games.

[trailer]

Never worried about results but would be worried if fundamentals were not there-that comes down to the coach

Bullshit. Some kids never have a ball or a hurley out of their hands some don't pick it up from one week to the next. That's the reality. If you think some coach is gonna turn a kid into David Clifford then you need your head looked at. The job of the coach is to demonstrate and encourage. The child needs to practice if he/she wants to get better. And you know what if? If they do they do and if not, then nobody should be too worried. We've kids who come for the craic and the fun and others want to win All Irelands. There needs to be room for all at underage and all get equal playing time.

[AnGaelGearmanach]

Never worried about results but would be worried if fundamentals were not there-that comes down to the coach

Bullshit. Some kids never have a ball or a hurley out of their hands some don't pick it up from one week to the next. That's the reality. If you think some coach is gonna turn a kid into David Clifford then you need your head looked at. The job of the coach is to demonstrate and encourage. The child needs to practice if he/she wants to get better. And you know what if? If they do they do and if not, then nobody should be too worried. We've kids who come for the craic and the fun and others want to win All Irelands. There needs to be room for all at underage and all get equal playing time.

Do you think Clifford picked up the ball once every other week? Did he fck he was brought up with it. Football is his bread and butter and the kingdom youth system was the knife.

[Taylor]

The key thing with kids is participation.

If we give kids as much game time as possible they will have a huge affinity with the club - when they get older some realise that playing isnt for them and they move into different roles within a club.

If you look at your own club there will be plenty of volunteers currently in positions of power that played little or no senior football/hurling.

This 'win at all costs' mentality is bad in the long run for a club.

I read about a model a club have in place for underage (could be Nemo) and that should be the model most clubs adopt and run with

[lfdown2]

Like do coaches of U9 or U11 teams go around telling their mates about the great wins the team had? Are they down the pub talking about the sweeper system they've implemented? I wouldn't want to be in the same building with these eejits.

Some of them must think it's a way into senior management or something. I'd be disappointed for the lads themselves if they have a bad game but that's it. I've seen some coaches, including some of our own, go off at lads after the game. That won't help anyone. You can't expect U11s to be consistent every week.
Refs can't do right for doing wrong either at that level, they get abuse for being too strict and then the same ones give them stick for being too lenient.

Some of those managers do go on to take senior teams within their club, there's only two levels I haven't been involved with over the years, for a lot of the years it's always been the same volunteers looking after teams, it's only when a 'golden' team comes along that people are really interested in getting involved,  use the word involved, loosely...

Shouting at kids is wrong, I've spoken to managers during juvenile games I'm refereeing at, telling them that they can't do it. The competitive side of things will always kick in at some point and as long as it's measured there's nothing wrong with teaching that.

All clubs need to have a juvenile chairman and committee with a clear plan to work with, I feel managers should take a team right through to minor and then go back to the start, continuity with kids I feel is important, it can be stressful and takes up a lot of your time outside of work, but it's enjoyable to see them turn into lovely young men or women if you're involved with the ladies games.

Not sure I would agree with that, I would say that any of us take a small bit from every coach we have, important to be exposed to different ideas and deliveries.

I would say that competitiveness should be gradually introduced from U15, at the end of the day a successful juvenile coaching team (fundamentals through to U17) should be judged on how many individuals remain involved through to the adult teams and their improvement/development along the way.

[Fear Bun Na Sceilpe]

Never worried about results but would be worried if fundamentals were not there-that comes down to the coach

No it doesn't some kids are clean useless. No athletic ability, no balance etc. Then then chose when & when not to come to training. Coach can do nothing with those kids.

I cant agree. Im talking about hurling here, grip, short stick, jab lift, hook, block. Every child can do it, yes you will have some better than others, but if a whole team cant its the coach usually.

Of course the skills will then need repeatedly improved at home. Not sure about football, but its much much more basic and easier than hurling anyhow so i imagine the same applies

[Fear Bun Na Sceilpe]

Never worried about results but would be worried if fundamentals were not there-that comes down to the coach

Bullshit. Some kids never have a ball or a hurley out of their hands some don't pick it up from one week to the next. That's the reality. If you think some coach is gonna turn a kid into David Clifford then you need your head looked at. The job of the coach is to demonstrate and encourage. The child needs to practice if he/she wants to get better. And you know what if? If they do they do and if not, then nobody should be too worried. We've kids who come for the craic and the fun and others want to win All Irelands. There needs to be room for all at underage and all get equal playing time.

see above, im talking about whole teams(not individuals), bad coaches who have never played themselves will struggle with proper fundamentals, of course all the rest you say about indivdual  practice and ability etc is true.