May sunshine turns chore of training into a real treat
AS has been the case for the last number of years, the month of May has arrived with glorious sunshine.
The good weather makes it so much easier for the organisation of every type of sporting activity and last weekend’s scorcher brought huge crowds out onto the parks and pitches up and down the country.
I witnessed this first hand at my kids’ soccer and gaelic sessions on Saturday and Sunday morning where increased numbers had coaches working to the pin of their collective collars.
I help out with Glen Emmets’ Under-7/8 squads and we had a hugely entertaining blitz on Sunday morning in Haggardstown with the local club Geraldines and St Fechin’s. Apart from the fun and enjoyment, what struck me most was the amount of parents and grandparents in attendance to cheer the youngsters on. Here’s hoping for more of the same weather in the coming weeks and further increases and supporters.
During my playing days I always found the weekly grind of training became a lot more bearable with the increase in temperatures. Almost overnight it transformed the chore of weekly training from being something to endure to being a real treat to enjoy.
The warmer evenings put a pep in everyone’s step and attracted previously lost players out from the woodwork. The increased dressing-room banter, combined with the smell of freshly cut training ground grass sharpened everyone’s senses and usually heralded the real beginning of championship football.
The extra bodies meant there was more football played during the session and meant you could play a decent game also.
This seasonal migration nearly always had a positive impact, but tensions were sometimes raised when it came to the selection of the in participants probables versus the possibles at the end of the session.
A lad who may have been a mainstay of the side during the winter and early spring campaign suddenly found himself relegated to corner forward on the possibles selection - his place being taken by ‘Johnny come lately’ who hasn’t been about the place since last season’s championship defeat and has only recently returned back from the local winter league soccer campaign, where we was top scorer for the fifth year in a row.
Everyone knows he can’t be relied on for a full season’s contribution, €20 at 3/1 on a draw in the second leg of the Man Utd v Celta Vigo tie. but his guaranteed scoring average means the usual commitment protocols are overlooked. If he can survive the tackles and assaults from disgruntled colleagues on the training pitch over the first few weeks, then all will be forgiven and he will have another good summer.
The sudden arrival of summer also has a major impact on the health of our playing surfaces. Pitches can go from soft and safe to hard and dangerous in a very short period of time. The risk of injury increases exponentially and a bad one could put you out for the best part of the summer.
This situation can be a complete nightmare for managers as they try to gauge a happy medium between getting players to championship fitness levels and pushing them over the top to potential injuries.
The success or failure of a season usually depends on the manager getting this balance right. I played alongside 1957 legend Kevin Beahan in the Louth GAA Golf Classic last Friday in warm but blustery conditions in Ardee Golf Club.
While our four-man team did not feature among the prizes, this was through no fault of Mr Beahan who was competing on familiar home soil. The affable octogenarian hasn’t lost any of his competitive spirit or zest for life and his youthful exuberance at times put some of us to shame.
Kevin reminded us that Friday was 60 years to the day (5th May 1957) since Louth embarked on their famous All-Ireland journey with a 3-6 to 0-4 first-round win over Carlow at Pairc Tailteann in Navan.
The memory is still razor sharp as he recalled the scorers that day being Dermot O’Brien (2-1), Paddy Butterly (1-1), Bertie Dullaghan (0-1) and himself (0-4). As they continue their preparations for Wicklow, the current Louth team were not at their best at the weekend, suffering defeats to Longford in Monasterboice on Friday and shipping six goals against Westmeath in Clogherhead on Sunday.
Strong rumours have emerged of a rift which has developed in recent weeks between the county management team and the county board. While there is nothing new in this type of rumour within county set-ups, it seems very surprising that it would occur within a county who’ve just achieved back-to-back promotions. Marcus Rashford’s late goal scuppered last week’s draw bet with Man United and Celta Vigo. I think Thursday’s 3/1 odds of a draw in the return leg are equally attractive.