‘Wee’ need more games and more coaches - Nally

ONE of the most respected GAA coachesoaches in the country believes that Louth footballootball needs to act now or risk being left furtherrther behind by more progressive rivals. A level dismal has 2018 sparked campaign plenty at senior of nof soul-searching across the county inn recent months, with everything from grassroots to the elite up for debate and discussion.

But as a top coach with experience at inter-county and club level, Colm Nally, right, is well-placed - and certainly well qualified - to offer his two-pence worth.

The Castleknock boss insists that everyone with a vested interest in Louth football must put their shoulder to the wheel. Up until was recently one of the the favourites former Redssgoalucceed to succeed goalkeeper Pete McGrath, but he revealed the timing just wasn’t right.

However, having played, managed and coached at all levels of the game and in a number of different counties, the Newtown Blues clubman feels that with some joinedup thinking and backing from clubs, Louth football can emerge from the doldrums.

He would like to see the county adopt a ‘three-pronged attack’, targeting coaching, fixtures and funding.

But he insists it’s not all about throwing money at the problem and stresses that clubs have to play their part.

‘Firstly, I would say that there are a lot of good things happening in Coaching and Games,’ he says. ‘I have a role as a squad co-ordinator through Leinster and we have nine coaches, five of them full-time, including one each dedicated to Dundalk and Drogheda.

‘We have superb facilities in Darver and we have some great guys there like Craig Lynch, Shane Lennon, Michael Keane, Brian Og Corr, to name a few, but you can always use more. I’d like to see that number increased by one or two more, with a GPO (Games Promotion Officer) dedicated specifically to strength and conditioning a priority.’

‘On the coaching side of things clubs still have a bit to do. We’ve held five workshops this year and five or six clubs haven’t sent anybody to any of them. You can bring a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.

‘For example, the cross border leagues is a really good initiative, but Louth and Wexford had the lowest take up. They say that’s because we’re at either end of the province, so there’s extra travel, but we had very few clubs entered this year and that’s a concern.

‘Strong clubs are investing in coach education and they’re always looking to recruit good coaches, but I think we need to ask ourselves are we doing enough.’

But if coaching relies on funding to some extent, Colm feels that one simple and relatively cost-free change could make a world of difference.

‘We need more games - at all levels,’ he continues. ‘At adult level I’d love to see a 10-month season with a double round in the league of 22 games. Do away with the subsidiary competitions and just give club players more games - better club players means better inter-county players.’

Crucially, though, Nally feels clubs have to grasp the nettle when it comes to fixtures.

‘Clubs would have to buy into it and be prepared to play without their county players at certain times of the season.

‘Monaghan’s system of five points for a win without county players is very innovative, and maybe you have to offer clubs some kind of reward like that to play without their county players.

‘In Dublin they just play. With Castleknock our first and second teams are out on the same day and I’ve gone to games with 17 players, but Castleknock players are getting more football and they’re the better for it.

‘I’d love to see us try something like that out so that we’re guaranteeing lads around 30 games of football a year. That will bring the standard up. We have to try something different or we’ll keep getting the same results.’

At uunderage level Nally sees similar problems lemsproblems aand again he feels the onus is on the countcounty board and clubs to find a solution.

‘At underage I’d like to see a nine-month seasoseason, but again it’s about providing more games. You still need huge buy-in from clubs to commit to things like the croscross border leagues or local blitzes, but unfunfortunately at times we don’t seem to loolook at the bigger picture.

‘When I was involved with the Blues at underage level we organised blitzes anand tested ourselves against the likes of SSt Vinvent’s, Kilmacud Crokes. That’s a clclub taking the initiative.

‘I also saw lads going off to play basketball ketbabasketball and soccer and that’s because they werenweren’t getting enough games.’

‘I ththink we did play more games when the DrDrogheda Leagues and Cumanns were in placplace some years ago. I’m not saying we go baback down that road, but we do need to look aat ways to provide more games for the 11 to 18 year old age groups. At the moment the ratio is around 4 to 5 training sessions to one match, but the target should be more like three training sessions to every two games.’

While, the cost of providing more games would be minimal, Colm concedes that full-time coaches do cost money, which brings us to the third prong - fundraising.

And again he feels it’s an area that clubs and the county board need to find common ground on.

‘Put simply we don’t fundraise and we badly need more funding. We have great staff at the minute, with expertise in areas like video analysis and nutrition, but one area we really need to address is strength and conditioning. Ironically Meath have appointed a full-time S&C coach and he’s a Louth man, Barry Teather.

‘I suppose Dublin are held up there as the model in terms of coaching and games, but they didn’t re-invent the wheel.

‘The first thing they did 15 to 20 years ago was educate their coaches, then they moved on to appointing more full-time coaches. But just as importantly, they came up with a better fixture programme and they play more games at all levels from Og Sport right up to senior.

‘At this stage most clubs in Dublin have GPOs, or share one, and clubs here should definitely look into it, if they feel it would be the right fit for them.

‘Leinster part fund it and depending on the catchment area you can have one to yourself or share one. When I was with Fingal Ravens they shared a GPO with Fingallians, but Castleknock have one to themselves. A lot depends on the cathcment area and how many schools are in the area.

‘But there’s no point in just copying the Dublin model and expecting the same results. Kildare and Meath are really progressive now but I wouldn’t say their model would necessarily suit us either. We need to come up with our own plan and just try new things. I think a fixture plan that provides more games at all levels would be a good place to start.’

At adult level I’d love to see a 10-month season with a double round in the league of 22 games. Do away with the subsidiary competitions and just give club players more games