PSYCHOLOGY A MINOR MATTER
THE days of minor games as curtain raisers on big Championship days may be coming to an end following the publication of a new GAA report.
The 80-page Talent Academy and Player Development Review Committee Report has made a string of recommendations, including stripping away county development squads and repositioning the club in that respect through a new player pathway framework.
The report contends that young players should not be competing for All-irelands before the minor (under-17) grade, while also claiming that it’s not appropriate for players of that age to be playing in front of large crowds.
The panel that compiled the report was chaired by former Kilkenny hurling coach Mick Dempsey and included ex-cork football boss Brian Cuthbert.
Cuthbert’s support for decoupling All-ireland senior and minor semifinals/finals is particularly interesting given that he managed his county at that grade before taking the senior job, while he won an GALWAY GAA
All-ireland minor medal as a player in 1993.
He said: “Some boys who are 15 and 16 are playing as curtain-raisers to large games and psychologically, might not be ready for it.
“We believe that it would be better that they would be played at different times and maybe as a different type of competition.
“It’s very clear to us that putting a 15-year-old out in front of 50,000 or 60,000 in an All-ireland final is not ideal.”
At yesterday’s presentation at Croke Park, Cuthbert produced a text message sent by an unnamed coach for the Feile (under-14) event.
“A text to parents of u13 and 14 boys telling them they have to come training in November for a Feile competition in March or April,” he said. “They have to bring a foam roller, if they’re playing other sports maybe they should be out, and telling them that only 25 will be selected, and if you are not in the 25 you can play in the Bs and Cs, they will start training at a different time
“This is a real text. This is where we are at. This type of behaviour doesn’t fit an amateur ideal.”