2013 Creggan U-21 Tournament

Any craic · December 28, 2012, 11:50:58 PM

Donegal head to Dubai tomorrow. See an interview here with Dermot Brick Molloy at the Creggan U-21 Draw tonight: http://tinyurl.com/cn3t7eb

ck · December 29, 2012, 12:29:09 AM

This is a pointless tournament. If burnout remains an issue in the 18 to 23 age group why are there so many unofficial tournaments allowed to be set up. Why does the provincial council not run it, why is a club allowed to run it?
There is far too much football in GAA for this age group and this tournament serves no purpose.

theticklemister · December 29, 2012, 12:56:18 AM

How did draw go

ONeill · December 29, 2012, 01:02:43 AM

Ourma v Tyrone

DownFanatic · December 29, 2012, 03:02:31 AM

Quote from: ck on December 29, 2012, 12:29:09 AM
This is a pointless tournament. If burnout remains an issue in the 18 to 23 age group why are there so many unofficial tournaments allowed to be set up. Why does the provincial council not run it, why is a club allowed to run it?
There is far too much football in GAA for this age group and this tournament serves no purpose.

Ya could be dead in the mornin'. Man up and let young men play the game they love.

Hoof Hearted · December 29, 2012, 10:21:37 AM

Quote from: DownFanatic on December 29, 2012, 03:02:31 AM
Quote from: ck on December 29, 2012, 12:29:09 AM
This is a pointless tournament. If burnout remains an issue in the 18 to 23 age group why are there so many unofficial tournaments allowed to be set up. Why does the provincial council not run it, why is a club allowed to run it?
There is far too much football in GAA for this age group and this tournament serves no purpose.

Ya could be dead in the mornin'. Man up and let young men play the game they love.

exactly.the St Pauls tournament is unofficial too, and there arent many complaints about that. nor will their be from the winners !

f**k i wish i was U21 again, i would play every day of the week ! (need to rewind 20 years though)

Gold · December 29, 2012, 11:05:07 AM

Quote from: ck on December 29, 2012, 12:29:09 AM
This is a pointless tournament. If burnout remains an issue in the 18 to 23 age group why are there so many unofficial tournaments allowed to be set up. Why does the provincial council not run it, why is a club allowed to run it?
There is far too much football in GAA for this age group and this tournament serves no purpose.

Ask the players. Imagine it was you playin for your club tryin to win an Ulster title--it would be class

INDIANA · December 29, 2012, 11:19:46 AM

Quote from: ck on December 29, 2012, 12:29:09 AM
This is a pointless tournament. If burnout remains an issue in the 18 to 23 age group why are there so many unofficial tournaments allowed to be set up. Why does the provincial council not run it, why is a club allowed to run it?
There is far too much football in GAA for this age group and this tournament serves no purpose.

Totallly agree but you only have to read the responses above to realise how in the Dark Ages some posters are.

They'll be the same people that say burnout is all in someone's "head"

rodney trotter · December 29, 2012, 11:34:50 AM

Only in the last few years this tournament has been revived. My club won a County div1 title a few years ago and this wasn't going. It had been running a few years before that. Lads who aren't eligible for u21 in 2013 can play as it the County Champions from 2012. Went to a game 2 years ago and it was a good standard, lots of football for lads that age, College, County

theticklemister · December 29, 2012, 11:42:16 AM

As hardstation said; ye could have 3/4 players who have the following committments at this time of year - club u-21 ulster, uni fresher/senior, county senior. But the rest of them have no such committments. The problem is ye may have about 25 % of the teams taking part in this years u-21 competition who were still minor this year and they may have only got 7/8 games for the season, with it beginning in April and finishing in July. Then no football until their local u-21 comp starts which is usually October.

The GAA is like every other sporting organisations; the better player/team you are/have the more games you will get- this rewards the elite footballer/hurler. It just so happens these players are wanted left, right and centre; even at this time of year.

theticklemister · December 29, 2012, 11:45:56 AM

Quote from: hardstation on December 29, 2012, 11:40:45 AM
College and county football are for the elite.
The average Joe of 19 or 20 gets the odd game for his club's reserves.

I swear day buck I never copied this!!!!!!!!!! I was in the middle of mine when yours was posted!!!!!!

rodney trotter · December 29, 2012, 11:49:48 AM

Those 3/4 players are still playing extra football, with the risk of injury burnout. How many times would they be training a week college county and then for this competition.? Those few players could be the backbone of their senior team for the next 10 years.

Still, good to give lads who wouldn't be gettiing as much football a chance to play at a good standard against quality opposation..

theticklemister · December 29, 2012, 12:01:38 PM

Ye could say the same for every level in the GAA. When we were minor playing in the all-county league A league, we had to play senior club football at Junior level as well tog out for the school in the mclarnon cup. There may have been about 10 of us doing this. Some clubs have to do this to survive.The other clubs don't need to do this to survive but need to do this win the top competitions.

Quote from: rodney trotter on December 29, 2012, 11:49:48 AM
Those 3/4 players are still playing extra football, with the risk of injury burnout. How many times would they be training a week college county and then for this competition.? Those few players could be the backbone of their senior team for the next 10 years.

Still, good to give lads who wouldn't be gettiing as much football a chance to play at a good standard against quality opposation..

Yes, ye could put a barrier in place that so many players play at certain levels; but that would never work. Hopefully the senior managers will realise that these lads have been training hard and let them off senior training for 3/4 weeks at the club. Look at Ryan Bell for example for Ballinderry. He has been called into the Derry senior squad at 18 this year, and he is playing in this competiton and then he has senior club training to think about; i bet ye a fortune there are another 10 or more boys like him.

Look at it this way too...................... all the teams who are preparing for this u-21 competition will be doing speed and agility work as the competiton draws near they want to be as sharp and quick as possible. Now imagine they go to senior training later that week or even the week after they finish the competiton; what is the first thing the senior coach will say to them at this time of year

'Right lads, let's get the long runs started; it's time we build up the endurance for the year ahead.'

Now you are using your fast twitch fibres in your muscles as well as your slow twitch fibres in the same weeks; this was causes injury.

The GAA has too many organisations which peak at different times of the year; the body cannot handle all this change at such a quick turnaround.

ck · December 29, 2012, 03:42:53 PM

Quote from: AFS on December 29, 2012, 02:50:56 PM
Quote from: INDIANA on December 29, 2012, 11:19:46 AM
Quote from: ck on December 29, 2012, 12:29:09 AM
This is a pointless tournament. If burnout remains an issue in the 18 to 23 age group why are there so many unofficial tournaments allowed to be set up. Why does the provincial council not run it, why is a club allowed to run it?
There is far too much football in GAA for this age group and this tournament serves no purpose.
Totallly agree but you only have to read the responses above to realise how in the Dark Ages some posters are.

They'll be the same people that say burnout is all in someone's "head"

I don't think there's a lot wrong with this competition. It's played from the end of January to the middle of February. Practically all of the players involved will be back in training for the new season by that stage anyway, and would probably be only too glad of a couple of games to break the monotony. The real problem is the prolonging of the season into November and December by playing county U21 championships during these months.

AFS sorry mate but your post underlines my original point. This is a pointless tournament set up by people who dont give a damn about player burnout and only care about their own egos and would be from the "ah sure young lads love playing football" brigade. The Ulster council stand idly by and do nothing about it as is their speciality.

Let me put it this way. Most of my club U.21s dont see a ball from Sept to February. The best players in the best clubs (elite) are being flogged. To say this is pre season and sure a few games will do them no harm is naive in the extreme. The best players are on county teams, trials, college teams, senior teams and then the best of these are also being asked to compete in tournaments that only serve to increase the profile of the organising club. Creggan and St.Pauls both included.
I'm no fan of the Ulster Council as I see them year after year dodge taking responsability for many issues. This is just another in a long line.

rodney trotter · December 29, 2012, 03:52:21 PM

The Minor Ulster club is a strange one too, good competition. But setting the Semi final on a Stephens day is strange. Same every year.

At least let young lads enjoy xmass, Its run late in the year as most County Championships would have finished around October. Know if i was a Minor I wouldn't be a happy chappy training through Christmass, even it meant a place in a Ulster Final.