Sligo ready to face Antrim in Qualifiers
SO Antrim it is this Saturday and don’t be fooled for a second thinking this will be an easy passage through to the next round.
Antrim have very good players scattered all over their team and we as a group certainly won’t be taking this game lightly.
In truth we can’t afford to take any team lightly and if we have a hint of complacency against Antrim this would be the rock we would perish on.
We have been busy for the last three weeks. We played Roscommon in a challenge in Strokestown and the panel also played two league matches with their clubs.
We have also just completed a mini training camp in Sligo.
This was very useful as we got to spend plenty of time together.
Our schedule was very busy as we arrived in Scarden on Friday at 7.30pm, a half- hour before beginning a pitch session, in which we worked on different scenarios in relation to the Antrim game and on our own structure.
We finished at 9.10pm, had something to eat and then at 9.45pm, had our video analysis session.
This was mainly on Antrim. At 10.30pm the players went home, while the management had a quick meeting to discuss how proceedings went.
The general consensus was that it was a good session.
We congregated at Scarden again for breakfast at 11am.
After breakfast, players split into groups to fine tune our game plan and get themselves focused for the AV B game at 2pm.
To make this work you have to treat this game like any other competitive game and this is what we did.
From any Av B game what you are really looking for is that it’s competitive, that the players deliver on the game plan and that you pick up no injuries.
Thankfully all three goals were nailed. Afterwards, we had a quick lunch before the team decamped to the Southern Hotel for 30 minutes of yoga and a pool session. These are key elements of the recovery process.
While all this is happening, our video analyst James Conlon is downloading the game we have just played.
He is pulling certain clips we have identified for our next analysis meeting. When the players get out of the pool, the players split into groups once more to focus on areas they identify as needing improvement from that afternoon’s action.
What’s important is that they identify where they did well in too. Ignoring the positive and emphasising the negative is not the way forward. It is about positive feedback and constructive criticism. It goes well.
We enjoy a top- class dinner at the Southern Hotel at 6.30pm. We owe the staff, led by Kevin McGlynn, a debt of gratitude for the way they looked after us. Everything was spot on. At 7pm, Dr Conor Kenny spoke to the group. Conor hails from Drumcliffe and played minor with Sligo in 2003.
He talked to the group about his part in the Mediterranean search and rescue mission. As lead doctor, he is risking his life to save others. He would never say that, because he is a humble man, but it was plain to see from the video footage he showed us.
Every year, thousands of people flee violence, insecurity, and persecution from Libya. They attempt a treacherous journey via north Africa and Turkey, in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe. And every year, countless lives are lost on these journeys.
In 2015 alone, 3,771 people are thought to have died during the crossing; by October 2016, more than 3,500 people had drowned or gone missing that year.
Conor explained the workings of the medical team out on sea and how they worked as a team. We certainly learned a hell of a lot from his presentation. Conor certainly has no sense of entitlement and as a doctor he is doing what most doctors set out to do and that’s save lives. The lessons to be learned are obvious.
What Conor is doing is worth more than All- Ireland or Olympic medal – any medal you can think of.
This is a remarkable voyage by a remarkable young man. If any business school or college are looking for a guest speaker you should look no further.
Conor will probably kill me for this but there is just so much to be learned from what he has to say and it would be a shame for other people not to hear and learn from this noble Sligo man.
IN TRUTH WE CAN’T AFFORD TO TAKE ANY TEAM LIGHTLY AND IF WE HAVE A HINT OF COMPLACENCY AGAINST ANTRIM THIS WOULD BE THE ROCK WE WOULD PERISH ON.