Antrim Hurling

[Jesusjones]

Hahahaha If you are the county champions you are the team to beat. The pressure getting to you already?

[Na Glinntí Glasa]

Hahahaha If you are the county champions you are the team to beat. The pressure getting to you already?

lol sure we were beat a few weeks ago, were in bother lol

[johnnycool]

What's the story with Antrim U17's in the Celtic Challenge?

Is this a development squad with the bigger effort going into the Leinster championship at U18?

[Last Man]

What's the story with Antrim U17's in the Celtic Challenge?

Is this a development squad with the bigger effort going into the Leinster championship at U18?

Very hard to get our best U17 players to take it seriously, when they will be on the u18 team anyway. Not sure why it appears to be more of a problem in Antrim but going by own young fellas experience at this grade albeit a couple of years ago, it would be fairly negative.

[johnnycool]

What's the story with Antrim U17's in the Celtic Challenge?

Is this a development squad with the bigger effort going into the Leinster championship at U18?

Very hard to get our best U17 players to take it seriously, when they will be on the u18 team anyway. Not sure why it appears to be more of a problem in Antrim but going by own young fellas experience at this grade albeit a couple of years ago, it would be fairly negative.

Are they two separate management structures for the two teams?

In Down it's the one and the same with quite a large overlap anyway in terms of players.

[Last Man]

Not sure tbh but I'd say it's much the same, what minor manager is going to say if you don't show for the U17s you will be gassed for the minors. Just won't happen.

[Pjoe]

I think Antrim are playing an u16 squad in the competition.  Antrim are a "graded county" therefore minor panelists are not eligible to play in the Celtic Challenge.

The following is taken from the Operations Manual:

Involvement in the County Minor Hurling Panel
Players who are on the Inter-County Minor Hurling Panel in the following Counties are not eligible to participate in this competition: Antrim; Down; Carlow; Clare; Cork; Dublin; Galway; Kilkenny; Kildare; Laois; Limerick; Meath; Offaly; Tipperary; Waterford; Westmeath; Wexford.
A player will be deemed to be on the Inter-County Minor Hurling Panel if he is one of the 24 named match day players for the Provincial Minor Hurling Championships.

[breakingball]

What's the story with Antrim U17's in the Celtic Challenge?

Is this a development squad with the bigger effort going into the Leinster championship at U18?

yes. Antrim are playing their u16 hurlers in celtic challenge. u17 playing in leinster

[johnnycool]

What's the story with Antrim U17's in the Celtic Challenge?

Is this a development squad with the bigger effort going into the Leinster championship at U18?

yes. Antrim are playing their u16 hurlers in celtic challenge. u17 playing in leinster

That makes more sense, although what Pjoe is saying mustn't be strictly true as I know of a few of our U17 lads who play on that Celtic challenge team are also part of the U17 minor team in the lower level Grade 3 in Leinster.

Down just wouldn't have the playing pool to not play without the U17's in the Celtic Challenge and even then I think the lad doing goals for the U17's was playing U14 last year if facebook is anything to go by.

[Pjoe]

Yes I had heard Down were playing Minors even though they too are graded.  Could be an interesting situation they find themselves in with regard to the regulations.

[johnnycool]

Yes I had heard Down were playing Minors even though they too are graded.  Could be an interesting situation they find themselves in with regard to the regulations.

Yip,
Down management first year in the job made a balls allegedly and will do well to not get booted out.

[Last Man]

If they were told then yes that wouldn't be on.

[johnnycool]

If they were told then yes that wouldn't be on.

I don't think it was intentional, I just think the young lad in the job this year didn't understand the rules properly. Probably should have been explained to him better by someone on the payroll if you know what I mean.

TBH even if they do get kept in the Celtic Challenge they're now far too highly graded for the team that they'll have to put in it as all the Celtic Challenge games are on the same days as they're playing in Leinster.
Even better, it will make Down have to take in a bigger expanse of players who otherwise would be cast aside as not suitable and proper development can be done.

I thought there was something amiss 

[Pjoe]

I think the management team might have been made aware prior to the first game, but perhaps decided to go ahead anyway.  Maybe go caught up in the possibility of "bright lights of success" and the chance to win. 

The whole concept behind the Celtic Challenge is to give all players - particularly on the fringes of minor squads the opportunity to compete at inter county level.  With the 2 year gap between the then U16 and U18 (minor) competitions a significant amount of players were getting lost.  However, with minor now at U17 this has changed the situation.

[johnnycool]

I think the management team might have been made aware prior to the first game, but perhaps decided to go ahead anyway.  Maybe go caught up in the possibility of "bright lights of success" and the chance to win. 

The whole concept behind the Celtic Challenge is to give all players - particularly on the fringes of minor squads the opportunity to compete at inter county level.  With the 2 year gap between the then U16 and U18 (minor) competitions a significant amount of players were getting lost.  However, with minor now at U17 this has changed the situation.

I was giving the lad the benefit of the doubt, but you could be right as some of the coaches involved would have know right enough. Whether that feel on deaf ears is another story.
I don't know the lad in question personally.