Antrim Football Thread

[Walter Cronc]

Yeah I see where you're coming from - my only counter would be that most of the best players you see coming out of the south west seem to have went to derry schools which I doubt is coincidence in terms of mindset / coaching etc. That's how it shouldn't be mind you...

I get your point totally, bit of a conundrum because the parents wont send their kids to schools they feel are inferior and the schools can't get out of that rut without the kids.

There needs to be investment into the schools and development squads on a level we've not seen before and a realisation that this is the only way to improve things, not your flashy senior managers etc etc.

It is generational work in schools and clubs to lift the standard and playing pool across the board.

Genuinely isnt rocket science but will be expensive and it will be hard work.

Totally but the Convent are St Louis are on a par academically - understand if lads attend Maghera/St Pius. Antrim have to think outside the box and pairing the school with a county academy might be one way of doing it. I reference Trillick lads previously attending St Michaels Enniskillen. That doesn't appear to happen anymore going by Omagh teamsheets. Not sure if its by chance or Tyrone GAA keen to keep lads within the county??

Regarding costs - Ulster GAA have shafted Antrim this past 10 years or more over Casement. The county board should be demanding huge investment in structures in return!

[Spike]

Yeah I see where you're coming from - my only counter would be that most of the best players you see coming out of the south west seem to have went to derry schools which I doubt is coincidence in terms of mindset / coaching etc. That's how it shouldn't be mind you...

you also need to invest in a high school in the vicinity of st louis for natural school rivalry in addition to providing a route for the kids who didnt pass the transfer test.    pumping money into st louis alone is throwing good money after bad and neglecting the majority of the playing base

[Walter Cronc]

Yeah I see where you're coming from - my only counter would be that most of the best players you see coming out of the south west seem to have went to derry schools which I doubt is coincidence in terms of mindset / coaching etc. That's how it shouldn't be mind you...

you also need to invest in a high school in the vicinity of st louis for natural school rivalry in addition to providing a route for the kids who didnt pass the transfer test.    pumping money into st louis alone is throwing good money after bad and neglecting the majority of the playing base

Who are Omaghs rivals?

[Spike]

off the top of my head Deans and St Ciarans.  i'm sure there are more.

[Walter Cronc]

Local clubs doing heavy lifting in that part of Tyrone. Comparing to SW Antrim/Ballymena very difficult. Something has to change though with lads playing for Derry schools and a result being whether intentional or not apathy towards playing for Antrim

[paddyjohn]

Yeah I see where you're coming from - my only counter would be that most of the best players you see coming out of the south west seem to have went to derry schools which I doubt is coincidence in terms of mindset / coaching etc. That's how it shouldn't be mind you...

you also need to invest in a high school in the vicinity of st louis for natural school rivalry in addition to providing a route for the kids who didnt pass the transfer test.    pumping money into st louis alone is throwing good money after bad and neglecting the majority of the playing base

That would leave St Patricks or Slemish College.

[Dreen]

We need the people more than investment.  We do not have enough good football men in the county to make anything happen at the minute. 
When it comes to time and volunteering, who will make the sacrifices to do the hard yards when it doesn't involve their own child or club.
The best counties have these people, currently we don't.

[Dreen]

Local clubs doing heavy lifting in that part of Tyrone. Comparing to SW Antrim/Ballymena very difficult. Something has to change though with lads playing for Derry schools and a result being whether intentional or not apathy towards playing for Antrim

St Louis only took in Grade 1's last year for a start which makes it hard to square against Maghera.

The players going to Maghera/Magherafelt, how many actually go for the football?
Pg1 being used in the debate there, only 1 player went there and he may always have been going there through his Derry connection, i know they picked 1 up from St Conor's this year(good recruitment work)

[Walter Cronc]

We need the people more than investment.  We do not have enough good football men in the county to make anything happen at the minute. 
When it comes to time and volunteering, who will make the sacrifices to do the hard yards when it doesn't involve their own child or club.
The best counties have these people, currently we don't.

Get Ulster GAA to pay their wages! There cannot be any stone left unturned and yes I include 11+ grades in that. Omagh CBS and St Pats Armagh/Downpatrick became non selective. Ballymena could follow.

[Spike]

People living along the loughshore naturally look west rather than east.  it will take something unnatural to change that. 

Add in that magherafelt is only 5 or 6 miles away then simple geography is going to rule.

South Derry and Tyrone schools also don't have to worry about hurling too much and can concentrate on the football.

maybe a better option would be to target st louis and st benedicts.    then have st killians and cross and passion in the glens.    im sure someone better placed in belfast could suggest more than a few rivalries in north, south and west belfast.

Parents are sending their kids to magherafelt because they are good schools and it is closer than ballymena. 

There is zero chance the board of governors at st louis are going to change to non-selective just for the good of antrim football!

Parents in ardboe cookstown and moortown also send their kids to magherafelt and they seem to be quite secure in their tyroneness. 

[NAG1]

We need the people more than investment.  We do not have enough good football men in the county to make anything happen at the minute. 
When it comes to time and volunteering, who will make the sacrifices to do the hard yards when it doesn't involve their own child or club.
The best counties have these people, currently we don't.

Get Ulster GAA to pay their wages! There cannot be any stone left unturned and yes I include 11+ grades in that. Omagh CBS and St Pats Armagh/Downpatrick became non selective. Ballymena could follow.

Never happening.

But that doesn't mean the premise of the idea is flawed. It needs investment though and needs to backed up to support clubs too.

[EOC1923]

After falling into Div 4 in 2020 Louth GAA implemented a strategic overhaul involving elite coaching, administrative reform and major infrastructure investment. One of the items focused on was strategic planning, with a review to streamline player pathways, improve retention in Urban clubs and enhance commercial self sufficiency through initiatives like An Lu.
Instead of all the money spent on big name managers like Davy Fitz (im sure Doran quite expensive also) could we not focus on the above?

Sounds great. So how do we streamline player pathways and retain players at club level using methods that havent been tried to date?

Whatever being done to date clearly not working. Pay an expert who knows more than me or you to figure out a plan, pay a hurling manager a quarter of what Day Fitz allegedly gets paid and use the other 3/4 towards our future. No idea what Davy gets paid by the way buy you get my point

[brokencrossbar1]

Have a slight interest in this now being an Antrim blow-in. Surely a lot of this would fall Kearney's remit to start looking towards developing. There's enough 'resources' (players etc) to do much better than currently the case but the overall infrastructure within the city in particular needs looked at. No grass pitch in North Belfast to facilitate any of the clubs based there. Schools with limited facilities. Within a 15 minute walk for my house there are 4 primary schools with no grass facilities. How are they accommodated?  Without fields there's limited that anyone can do and it all starts in P3-4

[NAG1]

Have a slight interest in this now being an Antrim blow-in. Surely a lot of this would fall Kearney's remit to start looking towards developing. There's enough 'resources' (players etc) to do much better than currently the case but the overall infrastructure within the city in particular needs looked at. No grass pitch in North Belfast to facilitate any of the clubs based there. Schools with limited facilities. Within a 15 minute walk for my house there are 4 primary schools with no grass facilities. How are they accommodated?  Without fields there's limited that anyone can do and it all starts in P3-4

It totally does fall into his remit, he is supposed to be the strategic lead for the county. This means getting out of the day to day stuff and making change happen.

He is only into the role, but I am pretty confident that the role shouldn't be taken up by arguments over fixtures or venues for games and should be at a completely different level strategically.

[brokencrossbar1]

Have a slight interest in this now being an Antrim blow-in. Surely a lot of this would fall Kearney's remit to start looking towards developing. There's enough 'resources' (players etc) to do much better than currently the case but the overall infrastructure within the city in particular needs looked at. No grass pitch in North Belfast to facilitate any of the clubs based there. Schools with limited facilities. Within a 15 minute walk for my house there are 4 primary schools with no grass facilities. How are they accommodated?  Without fields there's limited that anyone can do and it all starts in P3-4

It totally does fall into his remit, he is supposed to be the strategic lead for the county. This means getting out of the day to day stuff and making change happen.

He is only into the role, but I am pretty confident that the role shouldn't be taken up by arguments over fixtures or venues for games and should be at a completely different level strategically.

That's my feeling on it too. There needs to be a proper strategy put in place,  and you're looking at 20 year stuff here. He should not be involved in petty squabbling around a field. I see there are various roles being advertised at the minute so maybe stuff is starting to roll out but a key thing would be to get a group of stakeholders together and bang their f**king heads together to make them see that they need to look beyond their parish!