Some of the banter in the pub, on facebook and by text this week was as good as I’ve seen. Everybody’s adventure to get home was played out in front of a cyber audience. The laughing and joking overwhelmed the worry because we all believed that everybody would get home in time.
The week progressed and the weather persisted which meant ‘Plan B’ became more and more watery. Flights got cancelled and the few remaining seats got booked up. Collins and Kitch made an epic journey from Charlerio to Cherbourg to Wexford and on, by truck, train, tractor, ferry. Others went to Italy to go to Dublin but ended up in London.
Flights that were cancelled were uncancelled. Trains were delayed or rerouted. The snow continued; sometimes in Brussels, sometimes in Dublin and sometimes they just ran out of de-icing fluid. I had one of the smoothest routes via Amsterdam with Sylvia and Sinead as travel companions. In the end, many made it home but many found no way out.
So why did the GAA save Christmas? Well, during the week there were loads of people helping each other out, offering solutions, support and whatever else they could. In most cases, the people interacting know each other only because of the GAA.
Kitch and Collins for example, only know each other because of it. Sylvia, Sinead and myself know each other because of it. Colin, Alec, Shane and their travel crew are linked by it. Plenty more examples. Point is that the journey was made easier and the stress lessened by it.
It will be best understood by those who didn’t make it though. Burkee sent a mail to the GAA list inviting anyone who didn’t get home to join himself and his girlfriend for Christmas dinner. They too were stranded. Johnny O, Denis and I’m guessing Paddy, Eoin and a couple of more joined them.
If the G.A.A. didn’t exist in Belgium, none of these people would know each other and if they did, wouldn’t have a connection strong enough to find each other in that moment of crisis. Knowing that if I was stuck, I would be stuck with a good few others from the club meant that I felt no stress about getting home. By all accounts they had a great day, I’m nearly disappointed I missed it!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Turning The Page
Intense, big ego, too high expectations, doesn’t listen, dictatorial, likes the sound of his own voice etc. I’m sure I’ve been labelled with all those over the last three years. That creates a perception of what I might be like but I’d argue the negative aspects of the traits I mention above do not match reality so much. Mostly the behaviour was with the best of intentions, maybe sometimes even intentional as I tried to craft a credible, organised set-up that attracted players and made sure when they arrived they enjoyed it and stayed. We succeeded and so I don’t regret any of the arguments, decisions or perceptions which may have occurred.
I’m not sure how to describe the experience of the last three years but I can imagine it is similar to raising a child; getting the satisfaction out of seeing it develop but also sharing the pain when things don’t go quite so well. That mean’s stepping back is probably going to be like giving up the child. After a month or so of exchanges; myself, Colin and Eoin sat down in The Oak on Saturday night and agreed that Eoin would take the managerial reigns in 2011.
Eoin and I both share an equal passion for hurling and football but our styles and way of demonstrating it often conflict, which has led to more than one clash over the years. There was a night in 2009 when we clashed at training and he headed for the gate. There was the exchange in Munich where he unloaded a few of his opinions on me and more than one frank email exchange over the years. I’m sure his family have heard what a pr1ck I am on more than one occasion too!
For us to have fallen out long-term would have benefited neither of us nor would it have done the team any good. More than once we had to bite our tongues and get on with it. I appreciated the very direct feedback I’d get from him as he was one of the few to pull me up on things and I needed that. At the beginning of this year, it made sense to ask him to take over as captain, as potentially a volatile combination it could have been. For us to succeed we have to be aligned though and we both realise this.
After mulling it over for six weeks or so he will now take over as manager/coach of the lad’s football. He knows it’s a big ask as the whole thing has grown massively and requires a monumental about of time, commitment and dedication. Already he has ideas on how to manage things better and hopefully they will benefit the whole set-up and drive things on further. Naturally, he can count on my support throughout.
I never expected to be able to get out fully and I’m sure Eoin will use me at different stages of the year. I realise what it takes to keep going and there will probably be days when he needs me to take a session or bounce ideas off me. He’ll be the boss though and I look forward to just being a player. Of course, he has Collie B to work with and he will again be key to making sure we continue to run things in as professional a manner as possible.
Eoin will have his hands full though. As far back as 2001, I was referred to as being ‘militant’ in my approach to an issue with management of one of the teams I played on so I’m sure it is unlikely that I will fade quietly into the background! My main motivation in stepping back is to just enjoy playing without all the burdens of being one of the lads leading the group. We get thrown into coaching roles much younger in Europe then at home and that can rob us of some of the enjoyment from actually playing during our best years. My focus in 2011 will be to get the body right and get back that focused dementia that we had in 2008 back!!
To finish with a final perception, the one which probably gives me the most credit for the growth of football in the club. I recognise my contribution and appreciate that people feel it was valuable even if sometimes it is overstated. Others have made massive contributions and deserve mentioning before I sign off. Conan for his drive and passion to get things going, Emmett for sharing my madness as captain in ’08, Ruairi and particularly Johnny P for making sure the Shield team wasn’t a kiss-me-ass set-up and instead one that could hold their heads high and be respected. Cluxton as captain in 2009, Rochey for being such a big help with training in 2010 and and of course Collie B whose contribution has been stated on many occasions here. One person can’t make this thing tick and Eoin won’t be able to do it on his own. However, if he gets the support I got then I’m sure we will go from strength to strength.
I’m not sure how to describe the experience of the last three years but I can imagine it is similar to raising a child; getting the satisfaction out of seeing it develop but also sharing the pain when things don’t go quite so well. That mean’s stepping back is probably going to be like giving up the child. After a month or so of exchanges; myself, Colin and Eoin sat down in The Oak on Saturday night and agreed that Eoin would take the managerial reigns in 2011.
Eoin and I both share an equal passion for hurling and football but our styles and way of demonstrating it often conflict, which has led to more than one clash over the years. There was a night in 2009 when we clashed at training and he headed for the gate. There was the exchange in Munich where he unloaded a few of his opinions on me and more than one frank email exchange over the years. I’m sure his family have heard what a pr1ck I am on more than one occasion too!
For us to have fallen out long-term would have benefited neither of us nor would it have done the team any good. More than once we had to bite our tongues and get on with it. I appreciated the very direct feedback I’d get from him as he was one of the few to pull me up on things and I needed that. At the beginning of this year, it made sense to ask him to take over as captain, as potentially a volatile combination it could have been. For us to succeed we have to be aligned though and we both realise this.
After mulling it over for six weeks or so he will now take over as manager/coach of the lad’s football. He knows it’s a big ask as the whole thing has grown massively and requires a monumental about of time, commitment and dedication. Already he has ideas on how to manage things better and hopefully they will benefit the whole set-up and drive things on further. Naturally, he can count on my support throughout.
I never expected to be able to get out fully and I’m sure Eoin will use me at different stages of the year. I realise what it takes to keep going and there will probably be days when he needs me to take a session or bounce ideas off me. He’ll be the boss though and I look forward to just being a player. Of course, he has Collie B to work with and he will again be key to making sure we continue to run things in as professional a manner as possible.
Eoin will have his hands full though. As far back as 2001, I was referred to as being ‘militant’ in my approach to an issue with management of one of the teams I played on so I’m sure it is unlikely that I will fade quietly into the background! My main motivation in stepping back is to just enjoy playing without all the burdens of being one of the lads leading the group. We get thrown into coaching roles much younger in Europe then at home and that can rob us of some of the enjoyment from actually playing during our best years. My focus in 2011 will be to get the body right and get back that focused dementia that we had in 2008 back!!
To finish with a final perception, the one which probably gives me the most credit for the growth of football in the club. I recognise my contribution and appreciate that people feel it was valuable even if sometimes it is overstated. Others have made massive contributions and deserve mentioning before I sign off. Conan for his drive and passion to get things going, Emmett for sharing my madness as captain in ’08, Ruairi and particularly Johnny P for making sure the Shield team wasn’t a kiss-me-ass set-up and instead one that could hold their heads high and be respected. Cluxton as captain in 2009, Rochey for being such a big help with training in 2010 and and of course Collie B whose contribution has been stated on many occasions here. One person can’t make this thing tick and Eoin won’t be able to do it on his own. However, if he gets the support I got then I’m sure we will go from strength to strength.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Fitter, Faster, Stronger
This time of year has always been a time to cut loose. It generally means G.A.A. off-season and that means a relaxing of the disciplines that go hand in hand with the playing season. I was fortunate that a lot of our teams were successful in the late 90’s and early 00’s so playing into November was a regular occurrence.
It wasn’t like I was locked up at home during the year but the release from the stress of worrying about your fitness and the combination of the Christmas spirit made for a great cocktail. I always point to the winter of 2001 as being the best example. We lost the County Final to Ilen Rovers on the first Sunday of December and from that night in The Greyhound until the last day of December, we fairly let rip.
Of course, it wasn’t total abuse as I was playing Hockey with U.C.C. and you would have the Intervarsities and early round of the Irish Senior Cup to keep you focused. What it meant was instead of training or playing nearly every day you would have more time on your hands and we used it well.
I’d hit the turn of the year raring for action again. I wouldn’t have been winter trainings biggest fan but I was fanatical about the whole thing in general so that got me by. I coined the motto ‘fitter, faster, stronger’ to represent my New Year’s resolution a few years ago. It sounded great but I never had time to work on those elements in the isolation they needed. Hockey was a constant at that time of year, football would come into the equation in January and then Hurling would start kicking in by February. There simply wasn’t enough time to get into the gym and work on other things.
I’ve a different perspective nowadays though. It’s really been hitting home in the last couple of years that the body is struggling a bit more. The back fecked up a fair chunk of this year and some corrective action will be required next year. I’m beginning to learn that short term solutions like nurofen aren’t a great option!! I picked up some new insoles on Wednesday and I’m hoping they will set me on the right road.
It is good to see lads are trying to stay active during the winter and keep in some shape. There’s a gang of fellas playing Squash on Wednesday nights and another lash of us playing indoor soccer on a Thursday.
The other day I was reading an interview with the Crokes player Eoin Brosnan. He was saying how their former coach Pat O’Shea once set out the example of Nemo Rangers as the model which they should strive to emulate. He said you’d never see a Nemo man on his own whether it be in the pub, on the golf course, at the cinema or anywhere else. They were always with each other. You can see an element of that with our lads and that’s fairly amazing as our friendships don’t date back as long as those at clubs at home.
Some lads need a lot more work over the winter though but they don’t need to be named and shamed here. You only have so many years to play sport and if it’s something you truly enjoy, then you should do everything you can to maximise your time playing. There were guys this year who suffered from injury quite a bit and every time they would come back, they would pick up something else. This is the time to get the body right and recover to a fitness level that actually allows you train without picking up niggling things. Whether those fellas waste another year kicking their heals will depend on what they do in the next two months.
Everyone needs to improve though and for even those who stayed injury free, now is the time to work on things. If you were getting horsed off the ball too much, not satisfied with your fielding, kicking, speed or anything else, then get into the gym and work on preparing your body for a more vigorous assault next year.
The ageing process means you can’t go on the piss for the entire off-season and expect to cruise back into things. The body needs better maintenance as you get older and that means sleep, food, hydration and all that other jazz. Of course, I’m not a model exponent of best practice but I do try more now than I used to.
Fitter, faster, stronger is a realistic goal for everyone for 2011. I’ve basically ditched the hockey and the soccer to get the back right. Soccer may have a role to play after Christmas as I need to start building up fitness but it will be largely about gym work. I think I can have a more consistent and higher performance level by properly managing myself, something I never did in the past. So can everyone else. The build up to Christmas won’t be an excuse for slacking off either. If it takes the 1st of January to motivate you then that probably tells you a lot about where your sporting ambitions lie in the grand scheme of things.
It wasn’t like I was locked up at home during the year but the release from the stress of worrying about your fitness and the combination of the Christmas spirit made for a great cocktail. I always point to the winter of 2001 as being the best example. We lost the County Final to Ilen Rovers on the first Sunday of December and from that night in The Greyhound until the last day of December, we fairly let rip.
Of course, it wasn’t total abuse as I was playing Hockey with U.C.C. and you would have the Intervarsities and early round of the Irish Senior Cup to keep you focused. What it meant was instead of training or playing nearly every day you would have more time on your hands and we used it well.
I’d hit the turn of the year raring for action again. I wouldn’t have been winter trainings biggest fan but I was fanatical about the whole thing in general so that got me by. I coined the motto ‘fitter, faster, stronger’ to represent my New Year’s resolution a few years ago. It sounded great but I never had time to work on those elements in the isolation they needed. Hockey was a constant at that time of year, football would come into the equation in January and then Hurling would start kicking in by February. There simply wasn’t enough time to get into the gym and work on other things.
I’ve a different perspective nowadays though. It’s really been hitting home in the last couple of years that the body is struggling a bit more. The back fecked up a fair chunk of this year and some corrective action will be required next year. I’m beginning to learn that short term solutions like nurofen aren’t a great option!! I picked up some new insoles on Wednesday and I’m hoping they will set me on the right road.
It is good to see lads are trying to stay active during the winter and keep in some shape. There’s a gang of fellas playing Squash on Wednesday nights and another lash of us playing indoor soccer on a Thursday.
The other day I was reading an interview with the Crokes player Eoin Brosnan. He was saying how their former coach Pat O’Shea once set out the example of Nemo Rangers as the model which they should strive to emulate. He said you’d never see a Nemo man on his own whether it be in the pub, on the golf course, at the cinema or anywhere else. They were always with each other. You can see an element of that with our lads and that’s fairly amazing as our friendships don’t date back as long as those at clubs at home.
Some lads need a lot more work over the winter though but they don’t need to be named and shamed here. You only have so many years to play sport and if it’s something you truly enjoy, then you should do everything you can to maximise your time playing. There were guys this year who suffered from injury quite a bit and every time they would come back, they would pick up something else. This is the time to get the body right and recover to a fitness level that actually allows you train without picking up niggling things. Whether those fellas waste another year kicking their heals will depend on what they do in the next two months.
Everyone needs to improve though and for even those who stayed injury free, now is the time to work on things. If you were getting horsed off the ball too much, not satisfied with your fielding, kicking, speed or anything else, then get into the gym and work on preparing your body for a more vigorous assault next year.
The ageing process means you can’t go on the piss for the entire off-season and expect to cruise back into things. The body needs better maintenance as you get older and that means sleep, food, hydration and all that other jazz. Of course, I’m not a model exponent of best practice but I do try more now than I used to.
Fitter, faster, stronger is a realistic goal for everyone for 2011. I’ve basically ditched the hockey and the soccer to get the back right. Soccer may have a role to play after Christmas as I need to start building up fitness but it will be largely about gym work. I think I can have a more consistent and higher performance level by properly managing myself, something I never did in the past. So can everyone else. The build up to Christmas won’t be an excuse for slacking off either. If it takes the 1st of January to motivate you then that probably tells you a lot about where your sporting ambitions lie in the grand scheme of things.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Stockholm Convention
I was trying to explain to a colleague why I was in Stockholm at the weekend. Not long into the explanation, I noted the strange look on her face. I think she thought I was describing some sort of cult meeting. I suppose the G.A.A. is a cult of sort and annual convention the mother of it all. Many people descended on the Swedish city for the event this weekend whilst many others were left at home due to the current weather blitz sweeping Europe.
I'd be fairly cynical about this kind of stuff. Committee's wouldn't be my thing and I'd view most who sit on them with suspicion. Of course it is a largely non-sensical viewpoint but I make myself contend by being able to acknowledge this point whilst continuing to thread warily. Despite my views, I did sit on the 2010 committee as Coaching Officer. I don't feel I did the role justice though and achieved enough so I decided to remove myself from the position for 2011 - part of the ongoing strategy to involve myself less on all activities not directly related to playing!
Anyway, back to the Convention which was impeccably hosted and beamed live around the world by the Stockholm Gaels club. Born just last February, they claimed the Scandinavian Championship at it's first attempt and had the balls to send themselves straight into the Championship section of the Pan-Euros. One of their lads, Colin Courtney actually played with us last year up in Copenhagen. He's a great buddy of Conor O'Brien, a friend of mine from Kinsale.
They look like they run an extremely well organised, innovative set-up and are an example to us all. Of course they are still young and haven't yet had the opportunity to have the history of fallings in and outs that other clubs would have. However, early indications suggest they are well ahead of schedule and coming fast.
The speeches and motions and elections are the core activities on the weekend agenda but what I enjoyed most was meeting & talking to the people. It's the only occasion to talk to different clubs when the days activity isn't lurking in the background like an elephant. Everyone is more at ease and focussed on the bigger picture and happy to share and listen to stories.
Each person has an inspiring and motivating tale to tell. Anna-Marie from Rennes and her thousands of kids learning the game of football. Eddie from Toulouse and the Norwegian secondary school teacher getting hurling up and running. You have the Hungarian Adam and his committed group of locals pucking ball around. Trevor down in Zurich with his battalion of Swiss. And about an hour from him you have the unit of Irish teachers teaching their boarding school pupils the ancient game! Their representative at the weekend was a guy called Brian, a best buddy of Lorcan who knocks around the scene here, Sound man and the kind of fella with the enthusiasm to make you pick up a hurley. It's because of guys like this that we continue to grow in Europe.
It's incredible the underage work going on, often because of one adult’s desire to have their child grow up intertwined with their Irish roots as best as possible. This whole identity thing and the G.A.A. is a phenomenon which is hard to explain. Irish people are so proud of where they are from and the G.A.A. is no doubt a big factor in that psyche. It gave all our towns and villages an identity and often launched our place into the wider domain. How many people knew Newtownshandrum existed until the O'Connor brothers and their father marched up the steps of the Hogan. In Europe, it is undoubtedly the #1 vehicle for which to express it.
It wasn't all sweet talking up there though. Jesus, the politics. I asked Keary how he can sleep at night being involved in this disgusting occupation! Fellas working the floor, buying pints, shaking hands, patting backs and selling themselves. All we were missing was a lorry load of babies to be kissing. I had a long chat with a lad from one club. We were agreed on the horrible nature of the whole thing but when we finished the conversation he asked me to vote for their nominee! We laughed though as he was embarrassed to have to ask and clearly wasn't comfortable doing it.
The weekend was refreshing and invigorating. It heightened my 'fear' though. The one which relates to the placing of Belgium G.A.A. in the grand scheme of things. In many ways, so much comes so easy to our club members. Most have arrived to a well structured club and maybe operate in the comfort zone. Financially we are far from rich but have some security. On the field, we have an abundance of players and can be happy with our recent successes. How can we push on though? I see all the work being done elsewhere, the drive, the enthusiasm and know that unless we can continue to be creative and ambitious, that we may fall behind. We ask a huge amount of our players in Europe from a travel/cost point of view. We must find ways to keep them motivated and keep the club to the forefront.
I forgot to mention the highlight. 3am in an Irish bar in Stockholm and Joe McDonagh, former President of the G.A.A. takes to the stage and sings The Wests Awake. Chest beating stuff.
I'd be fairly cynical about this kind of stuff. Committee's wouldn't be my thing and I'd view most who sit on them with suspicion. Of course it is a largely non-sensical viewpoint but I make myself contend by being able to acknowledge this point whilst continuing to thread warily. Despite my views, I did sit on the 2010 committee as Coaching Officer. I don't feel I did the role justice though and achieved enough so I decided to remove myself from the position for 2011 - part of the ongoing strategy to involve myself less on all activities not directly related to playing!
Anyway, back to the Convention which was impeccably hosted and beamed live around the world by the Stockholm Gaels club. Born just last February, they claimed the Scandinavian Championship at it's first attempt and had the balls to send themselves straight into the Championship section of the Pan-Euros. One of their lads, Colin Courtney actually played with us last year up in Copenhagen. He's a great buddy of Conor O'Brien, a friend of mine from Kinsale.
They look like they run an extremely well organised, innovative set-up and are an example to us all. Of course they are still young and haven't yet had the opportunity to have the history of fallings in and outs that other clubs would have. However, early indications suggest they are well ahead of schedule and coming fast.
The speeches and motions and elections are the core activities on the weekend agenda but what I enjoyed most was meeting & talking to the people. It's the only occasion to talk to different clubs when the days activity isn't lurking in the background like an elephant. Everyone is more at ease and focussed on the bigger picture and happy to share and listen to stories.
Each person has an inspiring and motivating tale to tell. Anna-Marie from Rennes and her thousands of kids learning the game of football. Eddie from Toulouse and the Norwegian secondary school teacher getting hurling up and running. You have the Hungarian Adam and his committed group of locals pucking ball around. Trevor down in Zurich with his battalion of Swiss. And about an hour from him you have the unit of Irish teachers teaching their boarding school pupils the ancient game! Their representative at the weekend was a guy called Brian, a best buddy of Lorcan who knocks around the scene here, Sound man and the kind of fella with the enthusiasm to make you pick up a hurley. It's because of guys like this that we continue to grow in Europe.
It's incredible the underage work going on, often because of one adult’s desire to have their child grow up intertwined with their Irish roots as best as possible. This whole identity thing and the G.A.A. is a phenomenon which is hard to explain. Irish people are so proud of where they are from and the G.A.A. is no doubt a big factor in that psyche. It gave all our towns and villages an identity and often launched our place into the wider domain. How many people knew Newtownshandrum existed until the O'Connor brothers and their father marched up the steps of the Hogan. In Europe, it is undoubtedly the #1 vehicle for which to express it.
It wasn't all sweet talking up there though. Jesus, the politics. I asked Keary how he can sleep at night being involved in this disgusting occupation! Fellas working the floor, buying pints, shaking hands, patting backs and selling themselves. All we were missing was a lorry load of babies to be kissing. I had a long chat with a lad from one club. We were agreed on the horrible nature of the whole thing but when we finished the conversation he asked me to vote for their nominee! We laughed though as he was embarrassed to have to ask and clearly wasn't comfortable doing it.
The weekend was refreshing and invigorating. It heightened my 'fear' though. The one which relates to the placing of Belgium G.A.A. in the grand scheme of things. In many ways, so much comes so easy to our club members. Most have arrived to a well structured club and maybe operate in the comfort zone. Financially we are far from rich but have some security. On the field, we have an abundance of players and can be happy with our recent successes. How can we push on though? I see all the work being done elsewhere, the drive, the enthusiasm and know that unless we can continue to be creative and ambitious, that we may fall behind. We ask a huge amount of our players in Europe from a travel/cost point of view. We must find ways to keep them motivated and keep the club to the forefront.
I forgot to mention the highlight. 3am in an Irish bar in Stockholm and Joe McDonagh, former President of the G.A.A. takes to the stage and sings The Wests Awake. Chest beating stuff.
Monday, November 29, 2010
More Than Just A Club
It was like that feeling when you go home for Christmas and arrive into the pub and meet all your buddies again. Ye just slip seamlessly back into ye’re old ways. It was a bit like that this weekend as the likes of Ollie, Hudson, Pierce Jordan, Laffan and a host more returned for the end of year bash.
It was a ferociously frantic weekend, a greater test of a man’s worth than any tournament, no matter the heat or the opposition, has presented us with. It all started so quietly though, catching up over pints in Place Lux on Friday evening.
What happened afterwards that night should probably be largely kept between those who were there but here are a few highlights; Ollie forgetting his marquee song whilst The Oak came to a standstill to listen, Keg ‘hurling’ downstairs, wrestling, bench-pressing Ollie, showering him with beer, the moon outside The Oak, Timmy literally turning Marian’s world upside down and the scrums in The Joyce. Neither establishment were sorry to see us depart. Things got so bad that we even had to call Ollie’s mother.
The troops needed rallying on Saturday but rally we did and off to de Valera’s we marched. It nearly took a turn early on when Hudson enquired whether Collie B was wearing his cardigan as a bet. On with the food which was magnificently rolled out to over a hundred bodies.
Then there were the speeches and in fairness Keary shun the bogman look for the night and orchestrated things well from the pulpit. There was an ambassador there for good measure and of course the Chairman of all of Europe. Awards were dished out to Caoimhe, Niamh, Bull, Jim and even myself.
Special note for Big Jim. He was never a man who would winter well but we minded him as best we could last year. So well in fact that Burger King became The Gooch and the The Gooch became footballer of the year. He’s a man who finished last year as a solid but not outstanding Shield player. This year, he epitomised the work ethic and courage that characterised our early season trophy haul. A genuine player of the year and one who deserved his reward.
Then the doors swung open and in rode Big Liam Kelly. An icon to the young men of Belgium G.A.A. as I told him many times that night. Johnny and Griff summoned me with the camera to get their photo with the legend. Chaos reigned thereafter.
There were ambulances, paramedics, jaegerbombs, dancing, singing, broken guitars, unhappy girlfriends and a wonderful moment when Caoimhe stood in the middle of a dancing huddle swinging Collie B’s cardigan in the air. We tried to get a sing song going but everything was gone too mental.
A host of other things happened I’m sure but my recollections are poor. I departed shortly after 7am but was far from the last. Others were reported seen coming out the door after 9. Pearce O’Caoimh was one of them and his girlfriend was unrelenting about the planned trip to Brugges, turning him straight around and out the door to get the train. It was 10am.
There was a reconvening in The Oak for the rugby where water and fry-ups were in great demand. Ollie strolled in with a big bruised head and unaware of how or why it happened. Timmy sat sheepishly in the corner whilst rumours of his mischief bounced off the walls.
We’ve had some massive weekends in our time here but this one would rattle the best of them. It truly is more than just a club.
Friday, November 26, 2010
One Moment
Sitting in Bar 13, just off Union Square in New York a couple of weeks ago, I was wondering how one could convey the importance of training your balls off to win something and the joy you get from its reward.
I harp on painfully about committment and sacrifcing the sacrificable during the year to try and achieve success on the pitch. The conclusion I came to at the end of last year was that too many of those on the Championship team either thought they were better than they were and didn't need to train that hard or didn't value the feeling from winning as much as I do. Whichever reason it is, it can be backed up by evidence in the form of lack of Championship tournament wins and training attendance figures.
So you wonder how to relate the importance of it all to fellas. Inspiration came from the 2-for-1 happy hour deal in the deserted bar where we occupied two stools and tried to drain some banter from the not unattractive barmaid. Then it came to me. What gave guys the most satisfaction and greatest sense of achievement in 2010? Aside from marriage, births or significant occassions which may only happen a handful of times in your life.
I gaurantee if most fellas pinpoint a moment, it will have been on some pitch somewhere in Europe. It may stretch back as far as January, when they went home exhausted after one of the pre-season physicals and lay on the couch happy in the knowledge they dropped every bead of sweat onto the pitch in the BSB.
More than likely it will have been at some tournament though. The Championship team's run in Benelux threw up successive moments. What about when the Shield team won that game against Lux down in Lux? Or when both groups came together to win The Nation's Cup. Maybe up in The Hague when we struggled to field a team but ground out a great victory. Maybe it was the moments just after the final whistle, in the dressing room after or in the car on the way home. Maybe it was at 5am the following morning after teasing out all the day's action with your teammates and finally having a moment to enjoy the achievement on your own.
It could have been anyone of those things and I'm pretty convinced that when guys reflect on their best moments of the year, one of those will rise to the top. So why not work hard to achieve that feeling as often as possible. Maybe guys take it for granted and fall away into the comfort zone, knowing training is a nice facility to have there when they want it. However, within a week of it ending, everyone is pining for it again, in a way that wasn't evident days previously.
As for my moment, I'm not sure. Hurling wise, The Hague tournament was up there. I think it was a moment down in Zurich though when we had a long distance free to give us the insurance point though. It was p1ssing rain and there wasn't a dry ball in all of Switzerland. Except the one in Martin Crowley's bag. Out it came and the ball sailed over the bar. It seems small but I get great satisfaction playing with fellas who are always looking to get an edge and Martin was tuned into that. He held that ball all day, for just such a moment.
Football wise, it was probably the Lux tournament. They'd won it something like ten years in a row. We gave our most convincing performance of the year in the final against The Hague. Enda commented afterwards that we looked like we were getting stronger and stronger as the final progressed. It was satisfying on two counts. First, all the work on the training pitch was brought out and secondly, I'd stood in as captain for the day as Eoin managed the Shield team. Making those Hague lads listen to me for a few more minutes when we received the cup didn't do any of them any harm (although they seemed to show that later in year!)!
I harp on painfully about committment and sacrifcing the sacrificable during the year to try and achieve success on the pitch. The conclusion I came to at the end of last year was that too many of those on the Championship team either thought they were better than they were and didn't need to train that hard or didn't value the feeling from winning as much as I do. Whichever reason it is, it can be backed up by evidence in the form of lack of Championship tournament wins and training attendance figures.
So you wonder how to relate the importance of it all to fellas. Inspiration came from the 2-for-1 happy hour deal in the deserted bar where we occupied two stools and tried to drain some banter from the not unattractive barmaid. Then it came to me. What gave guys the most satisfaction and greatest sense of achievement in 2010? Aside from marriage, births or significant occassions which may only happen a handful of times in your life.
I gaurantee if most fellas pinpoint a moment, it will have been on some pitch somewhere in Europe. It may stretch back as far as January, when they went home exhausted after one of the pre-season physicals and lay on the couch happy in the knowledge they dropped every bead of sweat onto the pitch in the BSB.
More than likely it will have been at some tournament though. The Championship team's run in Benelux threw up successive moments. What about when the Shield team won that game against Lux down in Lux? Or when both groups came together to win The Nation's Cup. Maybe up in The Hague when we struggled to field a team but ground out a great victory. Maybe it was the moments just after the final whistle, in the dressing room after or in the car on the way home. Maybe it was at 5am the following morning after teasing out all the day's action with your teammates and finally having a moment to enjoy the achievement on your own.
It could have been anyone of those things and I'm pretty convinced that when guys reflect on their best moments of the year, one of those will rise to the top. So why not work hard to achieve that feeling as often as possible. Maybe guys take it for granted and fall away into the comfort zone, knowing training is a nice facility to have there when they want it. However, within a week of it ending, everyone is pining for it again, in a way that wasn't evident days previously.
As for my moment, I'm not sure. Hurling wise, The Hague tournament was up there. I think it was a moment down in Zurich though when we had a long distance free to give us the insurance point though. It was p1ssing rain and there wasn't a dry ball in all of Switzerland. Except the one in Martin Crowley's bag. Out it came and the ball sailed over the bar. It seems small but I get great satisfaction playing with fellas who are always looking to get an edge and Martin was tuned into that. He held that ball all day, for just such a moment.
Football wise, it was probably the Lux tournament. They'd won it something like ten years in a row. We gave our most convincing performance of the year in the final against The Hague. Enda commented afterwards that we looked like we were getting stronger and stronger as the final progressed. It was satisfying on two counts. First, all the work on the training pitch was brought out and secondly, I'd stood in as captain for the day as Eoin managed the Shield team. Making those Hague lads listen to me for a few more minutes when we received the cup didn't do any of them any harm (although they seemed to show that later in year!)!
End of Year Bash
I reckon I've written three or four entries in the last couple of weeks but such was the negativity emanating from them, I opted not to post. In the absence to anything else to stew on, I continued with some harsh assessment of all things Belgium Gaelic Football to pass away the time. I must be becoming less out spoken as I get older though.
Time heals and all that craic. To aid this process, our end of year dinner takes place in de Valera's on Saturday night and promises to be the biggest and best bash yet. These things normally get the label 'Dinner Dance' at home but in the absence of any old people, with the exception of Martin, we decided no-one would be offended if we removed the title.
I remember my first, back in late 2006. There was probably one average length table of us. On Saturday, our sponsor's pub de Valera's will close its doors to the public and solely cater for our party. Numbers will hover around 110 heads for the three course meal, provided at a very decent price of €25 per head.
I can remember being at my first FC Irlande Christmas dinner there when they could also fill the pub. The thought of there being a Belgium GAA of such size wasn't even imaginable then. Saturday will be our biggest yet as the club goes from strength to strength. There will be twenty trophes on show, ten from the lads and ten from the girls. Aside from the tournament wins, the men's footballers claimed Benelux and The Nations Cup whilst our lady counterparts won the European Championship for the third year in a row.
Hurling wise, it was all about the Camogie breakthrough after years of struggle. Winning the last two tournaments was enough to bring the Euro Championship back to Belgium for the first time. The Hurlers put back-to-back Championships together and extended their tournament win streak to ten, winning all this year's rounds.
There will be players of the year, club persons of the year and all the usual speeches. Many players who left during the year will return. Ollie, Jelena, Laffan, Hudson, Maeve, Pierce, Avril and a few more will all land in Brussels in the next few hours to kick-off what is sure to be a memorable weekend. We'll also tilt a glass to former Chairman and current treasurer/sponsor/hatchet man Conchur de Barra as he prepares to depart to live in Canada for a year. No shortage of things to celebrate so don't expect to see anyone Sunday.
Time heals and all that craic. To aid this process, our end of year dinner takes place in de Valera's on Saturday night and promises to be the biggest and best bash yet. These things normally get the label 'Dinner Dance' at home but in the absence of any old people, with the exception of Martin, we decided no-one would be offended if we removed the title.
I remember my first, back in late 2006. There was probably one average length table of us. On Saturday, our sponsor's pub de Valera's will close its doors to the public and solely cater for our party. Numbers will hover around 110 heads for the three course meal, provided at a very decent price of €25 per head.
I can remember being at my first FC Irlande Christmas dinner there when they could also fill the pub. The thought of there being a Belgium GAA of such size wasn't even imaginable then. Saturday will be our biggest yet as the club goes from strength to strength. There will be twenty trophes on show, ten from the lads and ten from the girls. Aside from the tournament wins, the men's footballers claimed Benelux and The Nations Cup whilst our lady counterparts won the European Championship for the third year in a row.
Hurling wise, it was all about the Camogie breakthrough after years of struggle. Winning the last two tournaments was enough to bring the Euro Championship back to Belgium for the first time. The Hurlers put back-to-back Championships together and extended their tournament win streak to ten, winning all this year's rounds.
There will be players of the year, club persons of the year and all the usual speeches. Many players who left during the year will return. Ollie, Jelena, Laffan, Hudson, Maeve, Pierce, Avril and a few more will all land in Brussels in the next few hours to kick-off what is sure to be a memorable weekend. We'll also tilt a glass to former Chairman and current treasurer/sponsor/hatchet man Conchur de Barra as he prepares to depart to live in Canada for a year. No shortage of things to celebrate so don't expect to see anyone Sunday.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Catalan Mission
By Barcelona standards it was a cold. The pitch was lightly lit by the rugby club’s floodlights and adorned with puddles from rain earlier in the day. The weather meant we had fewer players than expected and we were already running a half hour late when we started. I was simmering at this point and it’s amazing that the lack of cones, bibs or pumped balls didn’t set the lid flying over the Nou Camp. Lesson here; Catalonians are a little more relaxed than this Corkman.
This is European G.A.A. though and I’ve been there, done that so know that you can’t have the same expectations all the time. The girls were eager though and started the warm-up whilst I talked with Collins’ brother who is based down there. Totally different to Collins as he’d actually engage you in conversation and seems to have some get up and go about him.
He was there for a rugby match which was on the pitch prior to the session. A couple of minutes into the first drill, one of the girls wandered off to chat to one of his teammates who was leaving after his shower!! My fuse was shortening at uncontrollable speed. The drills weren’t going well and the concentration wasn’t there so urgent action was needed. A quick running drill and some of the wind was knocked out of them and we could get down to work.
I kept it very much in the Eamonn Ryan mode and we started to make rapid progress. Only one of the girls was Irish but she hadn’t played since primary school. There was a French girl or two and the rest were Catalan (not Spanish!!). These girls are self-coached but do so with very little prior experience of Gaelic Football.
When the skill is broken down and explained to them, you can instantly recognise the improvements, in the execution but also by the smiles on their faces as they realise mastery of the skills may not be beyond them after all.
In the end I think we had a very worthwhile session. I wonder though how clubs like Barcelona can be helped in the future. The willingness to learn is there in droves but sufficient learning opportunities are not there for them. It seems the lads section has little interest in lending a hand so they plough on buoyed by an understandable enthusiasm for a game they shouldn’t even know exists.
Coaching workshops focusing on different aspects of the game need to be held more often and also I think coaches need to be sent to regional tournaments to watch the games and assess the areas which are in most need of development. The raw materials i.e. enthusiastic players, are there but they need more help.
The European Ladies Football officer, Monica Duran was my host for the weekend and she did well under difficult circumstances! My eating habits for one, make me a troublesome guest! She did masterfully though and even obliged and took me to the one tourist attraction I wanted to see; the Nou Camp.
I hope the girls took something from the weekend but the most important thing for them (and for all of us in fact) is that they religiously practice their skills and proper technique from here on. They play it because they enjoy it but they will enjoy it infinitely more when they see themselves improve.
This is European G.A.A. though and I’ve been there, done that so know that you can’t have the same expectations all the time. The girls were eager though and started the warm-up whilst I talked with Collins’ brother who is based down there. Totally different to Collins as he’d actually engage you in conversation and seems to have some get up and go about him.
He was there for a rugby match which was on the pitch prior to the session. A couple of minutes into the first drill, one of the girls wandered off to chat to one of his teammates who was leaving after his shower!! My fuse was shortening at uncontrollable speed. The drills weren’t going well and the concentration wasn’t there so urgent action was needed. A quick running drill and some of the wind was knocked out of them and we could get down to work.
I kept it very much in the Eamonn Ryan mode and we started to make rapid progress. Only one of the girls was Irish but she hadn’t played since primary school. There was a French girl or two and the rest were Catalan (not Spanish!!). These girls are self-coached but do so with very little prior experience of Gaelic Football.
When the skill is broken down and explained to them, you can instantly recognise the improvements, in the execution but also by the smiles on their faces as they realise mastery of the skills may not be beyond them after all.
In the end I think we had a very worthwhile session. I wonder though how clubs like Barcelona can be helped in the future. The willingness to learn is there in droves but sufficient learning opportunities are not there for them. It seems the lads section has little interest in lending a hand so they plough on buoyed by an understandable enthusiasm for a game they shouldn’t even know exists.
Coaching workshops focusing on different aspects of the game need to be held more often and also I think coaches need to be sent to regional tournaments to watch the games and assess the areas which are in most need of development. The raw materials i.e. enthusiastic players, are there but they need more help.
The European Ladies Football officer, Monica Duran was my host for the weekend and she did well under difficult circumstances! My eating habits for one, make me a troublesome guest! She did masterfully though and even obliged and took me to the one tourist attraction I wanted to see; the Nou Camp.
I hope the girls took something from the weekend but the most important thing for them (and for all of us in fact) is that they religiously practice their skills and proper technique from here on. They play it because they enjoy it but they will enjoy it infinitely more when they see themselves improve.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
But There Were Good Days Too
Does that importance of building the community that our friend Mide talks about supersede the importance of winning? Is it the victories that bring about the community in the first place? I wonder would Belgium G.A.A. really have kicked on if it were not for the success of 2008? The last blog is more about frustration and disappointment but there is a bigger picture that needs to be acknowledged and on a whole, the year was an overwhelming success.
From a participation point of view, we got record numbers. We fielded two teams in every tournament and a third team in Belgium and Maastricht. We did so with relative ease. On each occasion we could field two distinct panels and didn't have the issues of tight panels and movements of players up and down that we had in 2009. I reckon we used over seventy players in total and training attendance probably averaged around 18-20. They are numbers most adult sections of a club at home would be delighted with.
The first half of the season saw the A team dominate Benelux with some powerful displays. In the Nations Cup in July, the A and B teams merged together to claim that title at the first attempt. For those who went on to compete in the Shield, it seemed to give them confidence in their abilities. Their performances in Budapest and Maastricht were some of the most gutsy put on by any team in the club in the last few years. Amsterdam denied them in Maastricht and went on to take the title but our lads knocked hard on the door against other club's first teams.
We maintained our unbeaten record in the Parc too. Kilmacud visited for a mini tournament which saw our two Belgium teams getting to the final. The final was played on a roasting day and in competitive and aggressive fashion. Then Heston Gaels came calling in October and were also sent home defeated.
The Intra-Club league was a huge success too, even if it gave Hudson and The Dubs a few sleepless nights. Ringergate was riddled with hypocrisy but we all ended friends. Munster claimed the title with a Romanian in goal and a Kenyan floating around the backs. Those games filled the gaps that the summer schedule left and are certainly something we will consider again next year.
In my opinion training improved as did the general organisation. When I look at the improvement points that the players highlighted at the end of last year, we can say we ticked all their boxes.
In the end, it is winning and competing to win that drive things on, whatever way you dress it up. We often neglect the importance of participation in the GAA though and focus only on the marquee teams in a club. I've seen it in my own club in the past, where unless you make the grade, you are left to feed of scraps on sh1tty winter days when the stars can't be arsed. Down in Maastricht, Eoin highlighted the fact that over 45 guys got the opportunity to play football on the day. The club is a big part of everyone's life here but they are only part of the club because they are given an opportunity to play.
To acknowledge the importance of that does not mean we are accepting defeat to be ok.
From a participation point of view, we got record numbers. We fielded two teams in every tournament and a third team in Belgium and Maastricht. We did so with relative ease. On each occasion we could field two distinct panels and didn't have the issues of tight panels and movements of players up and down that we had in 2009. I reckon we used over seventy players in total and training attendance probably averaged around 18-20. They are numbers most adult sections of a club at home would be delighted with.
The first half of the season saw the A team dominate Benelux with some powerful displays. In the Nations Cup in July, the A and B teams merged together to claim that title at the first attempt. For those who went on to compete in the Shield, it seemed to give them confidence in their abilities. Their performances in Budapest and Maastricht were some of the most gutsy put on by any team in the club in the last few years. Amsterdam denied them in Maastricht and went on to take the title but our lads knocked hard on the door against other club's first teams.
We maintained our unbeaten record in the Parc too. Kilmacud visited for a mini tournament which saw our two Belgium teams getting to the final. The final was played on a roasting day and in competitive and aggressive fashion. Then Heston Gaels came calling in October and were also sent home defeated.
The Intra-Club league was a huge success too, even if it gave Hudson and The Dubs a few sleepless nights. Ringergate was riddled with hypocrisy but we all ended friends. Munster claimed the title with a Romanian in goal and a Kenyan floating around the backs. Those games filled the gaps that the summer schedule left and are certainly something we will consider again next year.
In my opinion training improved as did the general organisation. When I look at the improvement points that the players highlighted at the end of last year, we can say we ticked all their boxes.
In the end, it is winning and competing to win that drive things on, whatever way you dress it up. We often neglect the importance of participation in the GAA though and focus only on the marquee teams in a club. I've seen it in my own club in the past, where unless you make the grade, you are left to feed of scraps on sh1tty winter days when the stars can't be arsed. Down in Maastricht, Eoin highlighted the fact that over 45 guys got the opportunity to play football on the day. The club is a big part of everyone's life here but they are only part of the club because they are given an opportunity to play.
To acknowledge the importance of that does not mean we are accepting defeat to be ok.
Where It All Went Wrong
The writing was on the wall way back at the beginning of September. I could nearly pin-point the night when I first feared for our Championship ambitions. We were doing a kamikaze and the body language suggested lads just didn’t want to know about it.
People have asked me in the last few weeks where I think it all went wrong. They’ve offered their reasons but more often than not they offer the usual ones about hunger but they just get under my skin. Those words are grand to use in a certain context but when you are analysing where it all went wrong, you have to get at something more quantifiable.
I look back to early summer and think of all the lads I’d meet in the gym. Competition for places was extreme and guys were mad to be looking for ways to jump the queue. Others were coming back from injury and working their way back. I’d say the only other fella I’ve met in the gym since September is Collins.
There were 10 training sessions between Budapest and Maastricht. I’m open to correction but I don’t think any ‘A’ player made more than 50% of sessions. That isn’t Championship form. We always had good numbers but that’s more down to the sheer size of the group.
With regard to those two factors, the finger firmly points to the players. Missing training is understandable but with such a convenient and well priced gym membership available, there is no excuse for not making up the work on the side. If you have put in the work, it will always come through in the clutch. You draw on the confidence that the work was done and the fact of the matter is, the group didn’t do the work.
One factor that was out of our control was the player turnaround. Back in Benelux, things were very competitive. You had Hudson, Paul Gavin and The Fridge giving the defence extra steel. There were days when guys were going so well that you couldn’t give lads enough game time. No-one likes sitting on their arse and that translated into serious intensity at training. I didn’t even mention Keary there as he spent most of the time out injured.
When you moved to the midfield and half forward line, you were adding in the likes of Laffan, Byrno and Pearce, three guys who were going well and brought many qualities to the team. Laffan just had a relentless work ethic and an effective, direct style. Pearce, when tuned in is a very effective midfielder who gives a lot going forward. As for Byrno, when he is going well, he is very effective as he plays totally to the plan. I mention these guys but then you had Shane Ryan, Griff, Andrew etc etc hot on everyone’s heals.
Finally, our style of play let us down big-time too. On Saturday, we tried to plough up the middle too often. If you put two lads in the corners of our end line with a piece of string and got them to walk to the middle of the opposition goal, they would create a triangle. Despite every single conditioned game we do at training focusing on bringing width to the game, we insisted on playing narrow, inside this triangle. This inevitably leads us to bring the ball into contact more often and thus turning over possession.
I’ve pinned a lot on the players there. That’s not to say selection wise we got it spot on. The occurrence/handling of the bus incident was a big blow in Munich. I think we made some bad selection mistakes in Budapest. In hindsight, when Alec missed his flight, I should have held Ricky for the A’s instead of allowing him drop down. He proved his worth that day to the B’s and in Maastricht to the A’s. We also got our midfield combination wrong. It broke up the half-back partnership with myself and Collins and that had been one of our most effective combos all year.
Injuries played their role too. My back got worse with every outing since July and Collins learned this week that the knee injury he carried since the summer was a torn cartilage.
In the end though, the fact of the matter is that the margins were close this year. Every game, except the group game in Munich against The Hague, we could have won. We lost no other game by more than two points. The Championship is a step up from Benelux in that every game is in or around the level of the Hague games. Some guys aren’t able to play at that level all day yet. We need to close that gap though and it can be done.
People have asked me in the last few weeks where I think it all went wrong. They’ve offered their reasons but more often than not they offer the usual ones about hunger but they just get under my skin. Those words are grand to use in a certain context but when you are analysing where it all went wrong, you have to get at something more quantifiable.
I look back to early summer and think of all the lads I’d meet in the gym. Competition for places was extreme and guys were mad to be looking for ways to jump the queue. Others were coming back from injury and working their way back. I’d say the only other fella I’ve met in the gym since September is Collins.
There were 10 training sessions between Budapest and Maastricht. I’m open to correction but I don’t think any ‘A’ player made more than 50% of sessions. That isn’t Championship form. We always had good numbers but that’s more down to the sheer size of the group.
With regard to those two factors, the finger firmly points to the players. Missing training is understandable but with such a convenient and well priced gym membership available, there is no excuse for not making up the work on the side. If you have put in the work, it will always come through in the clutch. You draw on the confidence that the work was done and the fact of the matter is, the group didn’t do the work.
One factor that was out of our control was the player turnaround. Back in Benelux, things were very competitive. You had Hudson, Paul Gavin and The Fridge giving the defence extra steel. There were days when guys were going so well that you couldn’t give lads enough game time. No-one likes sitting on their arse and that translated into serious intensity at training. I didn’t even mention Keary there as he spent most of the time out injured.
When you moved to the midfield and half forward line, you were adding in the likes of Laffan, Byrno and Pearce, three guys who were going well and brought many qualities to the team. Laffan just had a relentless work ethic and an effective, direct style. Pearce, when tuned in is a very effective midfielder who gives a lot going forward. As for Byrno, when he is going well, he is very effective as he plays totally to the plan. I mention these guys but then you had Shane Ryan, Griff, Andrew etc etc hot on everyone’s heals.
Finally, our style of play let us down big-time too. On Saturday, we tried to plough up the middle too often. If you put two lads in the corners of our end line with a piece of string and got them to walk to the middle of the opposition goal, they would create a triangle. Despite every single conditioned game we do at training focusing on bringing width to the game, we insisted on playing narrow, inside this triangle. This inevitably leads us to bring the ball into contact more often and thus turning over possession.
I’ve pinned a lot on the players there. That’s not to say selection wise we got it spot on. The occurrence/handling of the bus incident was a big blow in Munich. I think we made some bad selection mistakes in Budapest. In hindsight, when Alec missed his flight, I should have held Ricky for the A’s instead of allowing him drop down. He proved his worth that day to the B’s and in Maastricht to the A’s. We also got our midfield combination wrong. It broke up the half-back partnership with myself and Collins and that had been one of our most effective combos all year.
Injuries played their role too. My back got worse with every outing since July and Collins learned this week that the knee injury he carried since the summer was a torn cartilage.
In the end though, the fact of the matter is that the margins were close this year. Every game, except the group game in Munich against The Hague, we could have won. We lost no other game by more than two points. The Championship is a step up from Benelux in that every game is in or around the level of the Hague games. Some guys aren’t able to play at that level all day yet. We need to close that gap though and it can be done.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
And Then It Was Done
The Belgian army had a shook look to it in the hotel this morning after the year’s final engagement in Maastricht yesterday. The bodies were battered but the banter was flying and that’s the way it should be.
Ultimate success eluded all our men’s teams on the day but there significant results all the same. Not so much in the Championship though as the team came up short again. We’ll explore where it all went wrong (from Benelux champs to Euro also rans) later in the week. Saturday’s day started brightly with a win over Luxembourg. Alec’s early 1-1 set us on our way to a 2-9 to 0-3 victory.
This was quickly followed by the worst half of football of the year which left us trailing 1-5 to 0-1 at the break against the Hague. Fortunately some amount of pride came to the surface in the second half and James O’Gara went from anonymous onlooker to shooting star as he tapped over 5 points. The gap was too great though and we lost 1-8 to 2-6.
We had to beat Paris (who had beaten Hague) in the last group game to qualify. We started in blistering fashion but Paris were quicker to close the gap than they had been on previous occasions. It was a real ding dong battle and tactically they got it right, defending deep and counter attacking with long ball into the full forward line. It finished something like 3-5 to 2-6.
That left us with a 3rd/4th place playoff against Lux which we won 9-7 to 1-2 or something along those lines. It was somewhat frustrating to see us finally bring some width into our game when it mattered least. Big performers on the day were Crusher and Sheanon. Credit to Eoin especially who added a decent amount of assists to his scoring stats.
Fixtures being the way they were, we saw very little of the Shield teams. Johnny P’s troops beat Lyon in their opening game with Hough leading the line in terms of scoring. Next up were Rennes, normally a Championship team and formidable opposition. Coming from 5 points down, again it was the Hough’s goals that were the difference.
The groups being the way they were, only the top team would qualify. This meant the lads had to beat Amsterdam’s first team to make the semi. There were four points in it at the end in favour of the Dutchman. Everyone was extremely disappointed but again perspective is needed. To be competing as a second team is a huge achievement. The disappointment was to be expected because the lads had put in the work and expected to be there or thereabouts. The fact Amsterdam won the Shield confirms they were.
Our C team away debut was far from a case of just making up the numbers. Unfamiliarity would be a huge issue for the team. Conor Aylward agreed to take charge and also took the hit on playing in goal. First up was Liffre, conquerors of the B’s in Munich last year. We owned the ball thanks to the efforts of the likes of Gearoid, Cathal and Pat but lacked the sharpness in front of the posts. 0-4 0-2 was the final score.
Budapest victors, Prague, showed their class in game 2 winning easily. However, with the team becoming more settled, the final group game was won against St. Malo. To put this in perspective, Malo beat out B’s in Munich and also in a playoff on Saturday. In our home tournament in June, I felt afterwards we were wasting our time as the lads were trampled on. However, the team was much stronger on Saturday and we’d expect some of the lads to step up to the A & B teams next year.
No doubt, success is measured in trophies and medals. However, there is some satisfaction to be gained by bringing 45+ lads to Maastricht and giving them the opportunity to play Gaelic Football. Now it’s time for a break though, in 14 hours myself and Colin Byrne will board a plane for New York and start our reflections on a largely successful year after many pizzas and many beers!
Ultimate success eluded all our men’s teams on the day but there significant results all the same. Not so much in the Championship though as the team came up short again. We’ll explore where it all went wrong (from Benelux champs to Euro also rans) later in the week. Saturday’s day started brightly with a win over Luxembourg. Alec’s early 1-1 set us on our way to a 2-9 to 0-3 victory.
This was quickly followed by the worst half of football of the year which left us trailing 1-5 to 0-1 at the break against the Hague. Fortunately some amount of pride came to the surface in the second half and James O’Gara went from anonymous onlooker to shooting star as he tapped over 5 points. The gap was too great though and we lost 1-8 to 2-6.
We had to beat Paris (who had beaten Hague) in the last group game to qualify. We started in blistering fashion but Paris were quicker to close the gap than they had been on previous occasions. It was a real ding dong battle and tactically they got it right, defending deep and counter attacking with long ball into the full forward line. It finished something like 3-5 to 2-6.
That left us with a 3rd/4th place playoff against Lux which we won 9-7 to 1-2 or something along those lines. It was somewhat frustrating to see us finally bring some width into our game when it mattered least. Big performers on the day were Crusher and Sheanon. Credit to Eoin especially who added a decent amount of assists to his scoring stats.
Fixtures being the way they were, we saw very little of the Shield teams. Johnny P’s troops beat Lyon in their opening game with Hough leading the line in terms of scoring. Next up were Rennes, normally a Championship team and formidable opposition. Coming from 5 points down, again it was the Hough’s goals that were the difference.
The groups being the way they were, only the top team would qualify. This meant the lads had to beat Amsterdam’s first team to make the semi. There were four points in it at the end in favour of the Dutchman. Everyone was extremely disappointed but again perspective is needed. To be competing as a second team is a huge achievement. The disappointment was to be expected because the lads had put in the work and expected to be there or thereabouts. The fact Amsterdam won the Shield confirms they were.
Our C team away debut was far from a case of just making up the numbers. Unfamiliarity would be a huge issue for the team. Conor Aylward agreed to take charge and also took the hit on playing in goal. First up was Liffre, conquerors of the B’s in Munich last year. We owned the ball thanks to the efforts of the likes of Gearoid, Cathal and Pat but lacked the sharpness in front of the posts. 0-4 0-2 was the final score.
Budapest victors, Prague, showed their class in game 2 winning easily. However, with the team becoming more settled, the final group game was won against St. Malo. To put this in perspective, Malo beat out B’s in Munich and also in a playoff on Saturday. In our home tournament in June, I felt afterwards we were wasting our time as the lads were trampled on. However, the team was much stronger on Saturday and we’d expect some of the lads to step up to the A & B teams next year.
No doubt, success is measured in trophies and medals. However, there is some satisfaction to be gained by bringing 45+ lads to Maastricht and giving them the opportunity to play Gaelic Football. Now it’s time for a break though, in 14 hours myself and Colin Byrne will board a plane for New York and start our reflections on a largely successful year after many pizzas and many beers!
Friday, November 5, 2010
School Nearly Out
The mood was good driving out of the BSB last night. We had nearly 30 lads and a good lively hours football. It felt like a weight was lifted off the shoulders too. No more planning sessions, battling traffic, listening to Timmy’s stories of failed conquests on the way training and no more need to rant and rave for a while. You’d be dying for the break but also when you’ve been at it this long you know the novelty will be well worn off within a week or two.
It was a relatively quiet week on the organisation side. I even emailed Colin today to see was there anything going down. He said it was worryingly quiet and it still is at 19h45 the night before our last tournament. We have something like 47 lads travelling tomorrow so it is a huge operation.
Those numbers bring a lot of stress around team selection too. You’d have a lot of new lads and other guys back from injury; judging the talents and fitness of those isn’t easy as there is a big difference between training and games. I’d hope lads realise from some of the selections this year that they are picked objectively and without bias. If the calls are proved wrong than that is just a judgement issue. Credit to the lads this year though, if there was any lingering annoyance, no-one has spat the dummy and everyone has been pulling in the same direction.
The Championship team will be gunning to finish a largely successful year on a high and we’d be lying if we said that dampening The Hague’s celebrations wasn’t motivation. We got some calls wrong down in Budapest so will hope that with a few adjustments we can bridge the narrow gap between ourselves them tomorrow. That’s not to discount the challenge of Lux and Paris. They’ve been ding dong battles all year and will be as close as any game against The Hague.
The spotlight will be on The Shield though. 15 teams are competing in four groups. That means only one team from each group qualify for the semi. The B’s face off against Lyon, Amsterdam and Rennes. Group of death comes to mind but our lads have a more than sturdy look about them so should be full of confidence. If they win it out on Saturday, they take the overall title. That would be our biggest achievement since the club was founded.
For the second time this year we will field a 3rd team. We are doing so with minimal effort, no shaking trees or knocking on doors. It’s not a mickey mouse team either. Martin Crowley, Conor Aylward, Matti Bertrand and John Harkin are the club stalwarts giving the team backbone. The latter three have all played big roles on the B’s and even A’s in the last couple of years but other commitments this year meant we haven’t seen as much of them.
They’ll be joined by new lads like Kitch, Cathal McCabe and proud Munster man John Nganga. Pat Barrett and Mike Lucey bring a lot of football to the show so these lads will be no-one’s whipping boys.
With the girls bringing 30+ players and a host of other supporters joining on the day, we should have well over 80 people down there. Another great day in store but how we will remember the day is by how well we perform on the pitch.
It was a relatively quiet week on the organisation side. I even emailed Colin today to see was there anything going down. He said it was worryingly quiet and it still is at 19h45 the night before our last tournament. We have something like 47 lads travelling tomorrow so it is a huge operation.
Those numbers bring a lot of stress around team selection too. You’d have a lot of new lads and other guys back from injury; judging the talents and fitness of those isn’t easy as there is a big difference between training and games. I’d hope lads realise from some of the selections this year that they are picked objectively and without bias. If the calls are proved wrong than that is just a judgement issue. Credit to the lads this year though, if there was any lingering annoyance, no-one has spat the dummy and everyone has been pulling in the same direction.
The Championship team will be gunning to finish a largely successful year on a high and we’d be lying if we said that dampening The Hague’s celebrations wasn’t motivation. We got some calls wrong down in Budapest so will hope that with a few adjustments we can bridge the narrow gap between ourselves them tomorrow. That’s not to discount the challenge of Lux and Paris. They’ve been ding dong battles all year and will be as close as any game against The Hague.
The spotlight will be on The Shield though. 15 teams are competing in four groups. That means only one team from each group qualify for the semi. The B’s face off against Lyon, Amsterdam and Rennes. Group of death comes to mind but our lads have a more than sturdy look about them so should be full of confidence. If they win it out on Saturday, they take the overall title. That would be our biggest achievement since the club was founded.
For the second time this year we will field a 3rd team. We are doing so with minimal effort, no shaking trees or knocking on doors. It’s not a mickey mouse team either. Martin Crowley, Conor Aylward, Matti Bertrand and John Harkin are the club stalwarts giving the team backbone. The latter three have all played big roles on the B’s and even A’s in the last couple of years but other commitments this year meant we haven’t seen as much of them.
They’ll be joined by new lads like Kitch, Cathal McCabe and proud Munster man John Nganga. Pat Barrett and Mike Lucey bring a lot of football to the show so these lads will be no-one’s whipping boys.
With the girls bringing 30+ players and a host of other supporters joining on the day, we should have well over 80 people down there. Another great day in store but how we will remember the day is by how well we perform on the pitch.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Blog Influences Attitude?
I write many blog entries complaining about various things unaware of whether the intended recipients of the message will ever see it. Occasionally, I’ll write about something and it will appear the message has been taken on board and lads have taken action.
Tonight was one of those nights. After the debacle that was last Thursday, I was delighted to see fellas actually on the field, togged out well before the appointed time, tackling the first two of my irritations. Immediately though, we faced the cone issue but understanding Rome wasn’t built in a day, I took a deep breath and built a bridge.
I reckon we had around 28 out in the BSB tonight and with me sitting out the session things went much more smoothly as I was more concentrated on the job in hand. For all my ranting and raving, there is a great sense of satisfaction that we’ve kept everyone aboard the train for the last ten months. We travel in record numbers to Maastricht on Saturday and go there in fine fettle.
From a Championship point of view, there is no escaping that attendance has not been up to scratch. Everyone from Bob to Crusher, to O’Shea and even through to Collins and Sheanon have missed around half the sessions since Budapest.
However, there was plenty of evidence of the enthusiasm that ran through the group earlier in the year. The likes of O’Shea and Johnny O were very tuned in and vocal tonight. Collins got the finger out once the games started and Timmy is doing everything we hope he will do at the weekend.
One lad we need tuned in on Saturday is Crusher. He’s lost a bit of interest in the last couple of months and maybe his performances dipped. He showed all the signs of his old self down in Buda though and I’d expect him to improve again at the weekend.
The fire has kept burning also because of the carrot that is the Shield. Johnny P’s lads will be in a right dogfight this weekend with 15 teams competing. They’ll do so without their midfield duo of Ross Church who is home for his graduation and Keith Stephens who is home on the campaign trail. We need to nail the panels tomorrow but it’s going to be more troublesome than ever. We’ve been discussing for a week but still can’t get consensus.
One night left now and for all the moaning we’ll all miss the trips out to BSB and will need to find something to fill the void in the winter. One lad who won’t be part of that is Carlo as he heads for a new job in Basle.
I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like Carlo when he arrived. He was clearly from Northern Ireland so the name Carlo was what first raised suspicion. Then I got a friend request from him on facebook and left it sitting there for a couple of weeks as it was from Carlito Brigante or something. I hadn’t a clue who it was until I asked a few of the lads who I saw he had virtually befriended and they confirmed it was Carlo.
I couldn’t figure him out initially. He always wore an Irish rugby jersey to training which was a bad start. He bounced around cracking bad jokes and generally looking dodgy. When you’d speak to him, he’d kind of cock up his chin, say ‘aye’ and giggle before he’d get any words out.
He turned out to be alright though; got on the bandwagon, trained well and didn’t muck about. It’s hard to pick out his Belgium G.A.A. highlight, maybe better to ask the ladies! He did score an excellent point in a tight game against Copenhagan down in Budapest, he was on the bus to Munich and he had a collection of horrendous trench coats (the cream one being the worst). I suppose that’s enough though, he was only here a couple of months.
Anyway, turns out the Parliament was closed today so that’s why they were all on time. Another broken dream.
Tonight was one of those nights. After the debacle that was last Thursday, I was delighted to see fellas actually on the field, togged out well before the appointed time, tackling the first two of my irritations. Immediately though, we faced the cone issue but understanding Rome wasn’t built in a day, I took a deep breath and built a bridge.
I reckon we had around 28 out in the BSB tonight and with me sitting out the session things went much more smoothly as I was more concentrated on the job in hand. For all my ranting and raving, there is a great sense of satisfaction that we’ve kept everyone aboard the train for the last ten months. We travel in record numbers to Maastricht on Saturday and go there in fine fettle.
From a Championship point of view, there is no escaping that attendance has not been up to scratch. Everyone from Bob to Crusher, to O’Shea and even through to Collins and Sheanon have missed around half the sessions since Budapest.
However, there was plenty of evidence of the enthusiasm that ran through the group earlier in the year. The likes of O’Shea and Johnny O were very tuned in and vocal tonight. Collins got the finger out once the games started and Timmy is doing everything we hope he will do at the weekend.
One lad we need tuned in on Saturday is Crusher. He’s lost a bit of interest in the last couple of months and maybe his performances dipped. He showed all the signs of his old self down in Buda though and I’d expect him to improve again at the weekend.
The fire has kept burning also because of the carrot that is the Shield. Johnny P’s lads will be in a right dogfight this weekend with 15 teams competing. They’ll do so without their midfield duo of Ross Church who is home for his graduation and Keith Stephens who is home on the campaign trail. We need to nail the panels tomorrow but it’s going to be more troublesome than ever. We’ve been discussing for a week but still can’t get consensus.
One night left now and for all the moaning we’ll all miss the trips out to BSB and will need to find something to fill the void in the winter. One lad who won’t be part of that is Carlo as he heads for a new job in Basle.
I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like Carlo when he arrived. He was clearly from Northern Ireland so the name Carlo was what first raised suspicion. Then I got a friend request from him on facebook and left it sitting there for a couple of weeks as it was from Carlito Brigante or something. I hadn’t a clue who it was until I asked a few of the lads who I saw he had virtually befriended and they confirmed it was Carlo.
I couldn’t figure him out initially. He always wore an Irish rugby jersey to training which was a bad start. He bounced around cracking bad jokes and generally looking dodgy. When you’d speak to him, he’d kind of cock up his chin, say ‘aye’ and giggle before he’d get any words out.
He turned out to be alright though; got on the bandwagon, trained well and didn’t muck about. It’s hard to pick out his Belgium G.A.A. highlight, maybe better to ask the ladies! He did score an excellent point in a tight game against Copenhagan down in Budapest, he was on the bus to Munich and he had a collection of horrendous trench coats (the cream one being the worst). I suppose that’s enough though, he was only here a couple of months.
Anyway, turns out the Parliament was closed today so that’s why they were all on time. Another broken dream.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Heston Gaels Gunned Down
Months ago, Heston Gaels contacted us about playing a challenge in Brussels. Delighted with their initiative, we gratefully accepted their request. The timing was set to be the weekend before the last round in Maastricht. With a trip to London planned the preceding week to play Tir Chonnail Gaels, we couldn’t have planned the run-in to the last round of the Pan-E Championship/Shield better.
London fell through and the fact this weekend was a bank holiday in Belgium nearly put the Heston Gaels fixture in jeopardy. As I was back in Ireland, I’d basically washed my hands of it and left it in Colin’s hands. With fellas dropping in and out, he emailed me during the week questioning the value of bothering to organise such games. Luckily for everyone though, his fuse remains alot longer than mine.
With the panels for next week in the process of being finalised, guys were genuinely playing for their places. In my absences, ‘chief advisors’ Eoin and Collins were to run the rule over lads. Amusingly, the first thing that was said by both of them in the texts I received on Saturday was that the other was brutal. Other comments were a bit away from being aligned too. I was hoping Colin Byrne would share the same opinions as one of them but he had a slightly different take on things too.
The game itself was won by a point (preserving our unbeaten record in P50) and I’ve no doubt served its purpose. Fellas like Keary and Colin needed game time after injury, as did Griff who had just returned. New lads like Paddy also got his first chance to impress.
I don’t think there are too many other clubs in Europe so active in seeking challenge games and maybe they are right. People keep themselves busier at weekends on the continent and the current G.A.A. diet is ample to satisfy their hunger. However, we feel that to compete with other sports, especially FC Irlande, we need to offer a fairly full calendar of fixtures, so we persist.
That basically concludes our main preparations for next Saturday. The panels need to be finalised tomorrow and hopefully the rest of the arrangements will go smoothly in the coming days.
London fell through and the fact this weekend was a bank holiday in Belgium nearly put the Heston Gaels fixture in jeopardy. As I was back in Ireland, I’d basically washed my hands of it and left it in Colin’s hands. With fellas dropping in and out, he emailed me during the week questioning the value of bothering to organise such games. Luckily for everyone though, his fuse remains alot longer than mine.
With the panels for next week in the process of being finalised, guys were genuinely playing for their places. In my absences, ‘chief advisors’ Eoin and Collins were to run the rule over lads. Amusingly, the first thing that was said by both of them in the texts I received on Saturday was that the other was brutal. Other comments were a bit away from being aligned too. I was hoping Colin Byrne would share the same opinions as one of them but he had a slightly different take on things too.
The game itself was won by a point (preserving our unbeaten record in P50) and I’ve no doubt served its purpose. Fellas like Keary and Colin needed game time after injury, as did Griff who had just returned. New lads like Paddy also got his first chance to impress.
I don’t think there are too many other clubs in Europe so active in seeking challenge games and maybe they are right. People keep themselves busier at weekends on the continent and the current G.A.A. diet is ample to satisfy their hunger. However, we feel that to compete with other sports, especially FC Irlande, we need to offer a fairly full calendar of fixtures, so we persist.
That basically concludes our main preparations for next Saturday. The panels need to be finalised tomorrow and hopefully the rest of the arrangements will go smoothly in the coming days.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Training Irritations
The Gooch reckoned I had at least twenty seven moans at training on Thursday. He’s probably right. He also criticised me for not finishing on a positive note. I ranted at him about this but eventually acknowledged he was right about that too. William Cummins was the first person I heard say this. It was one of the things he picked up from his time in Chriost Ri; always finish on a positive note.
I do my very best to keep a lid on it at training cause I know fellas don’t want training to be stopped regularly or to hear my voice more than is absolutely necessary!!
However, as it is a two way street, no harm to get the things that I find most irritating out of the way. Reduce this list and get less of a headache.
1) Missing training without informing myself or Colin.
2) Missing training for something you think is a valid excuse but could have been avoided thus making it an invalid excuse. These can be wide-ranging and include excuses like workload even though ya might have strolled into the office at a leisurely hour or taken a nice handy lunch. They may also include going to the cinema with your girlfriend or doing any other activities with said person on one of the two (out of a total of 7) nights you are training.
3) Not recognising the invalidity of above mentioned excuses.#
4) Being late for training without a valid excuse i.e. jesus, traffic was mental because of the EU Summit. These summits are not a secret. Plan ahead, leave earlier than usual.
5) The drill is explained. There are 6 cones and 24 players. Players are told to get in even groups at the cones. They scatter. 10 lads are on a red cone and 2 on a white cone, 6 on a blue and 6 more on a green. Two cones are totally vacant.
6) Arriving late and getting straight into a drill, not recognising that one group may be totally uneven and joining that group. Small thing but that means an uneven distribution of work i.e. one group gets flaaed whilst the other has too much standing around.
7) Being told every night to get your water and bring it to every drill with you. Then, not bringing water in the first place or leaving it in your bag and wasting time between drills going over to get it. And stopping for a chat.
8) Arriving late to training and joining into the conditioned game without asking the rules. Quickly following up your first wrong with a blank ‘how was i supposed to know’ look on your face.
9) Wearing soccer, rugby or any other jersey from a foreign code.
10) Not having gloves when it’s raining or generally greasy.
11) Calling me at 18h40 wondering what the craic with lifts is, when training is at 19h in Tervuren.
12) Talking to the girls when you should be practising your kicking whilst you are waiting for everyone to assemble.
13) Practicing your kicking before training by baiting the ball against the fence (and frequently over it) instead of getting a partner and doing it properly.
14) Looking blankly when a drill you have done a thousand times is explained to you again.
15) Running to the wrong cone.
16) Continuing to play when you know you’ve just carried the ball over the boundary line of the pitch, picked it straight off the ground or thrown instead of handpassing it.
17) Complaining that a ball is flat when there is a pump in the bag i.e. pump the thing.
18) There is a bib bag and it’s been the same bib for a long time. As filthy and smelly as the bibs are, they won’t walk back into the bag.
19) In the warm-up, we’re doing hamstring stretches. Everyone starts on the line. You hold for three seconds and do each side three times, moving forward two steps after each one and counting in your own head. Theoretically, everyone should finish the set at the same time, in the same place. Never happens.
20) Not calling names in drills (I don’t know his name is not an excuse), communicating on the pitch or encouraging the lads who are bursting their balls in a drill while you are resting.
That’s twenty. Maybe Gooch can’t count. I’m not joking when I say all twenty of those things occur virtually every....single.... night.
I do my very best to keep a lid on it at training cause I know fellas don’t want training to be stopped regularly or to hear my voice more than is absolutely necessary!!
However, as it is a two way street, no harm to get the things that I find most irritating out of the way. Reduce this list and get less of a headache.
1) Missing training without informing myself or Colin.
2) Missing training for something you think is a valid excuse but could have been avoided thus making it an invalid excuse. These can be wide-ranging and include excuses like workload even though ya might have strolled into the office at a leisurely hour or taken a nice handy lunch. They may also include going to the cinema with your girlfriend or doing any other activities with said person on one of the two (out of a total of 7) nights you are training.
3) Not recognising the invalidity of above mentioned excuses.#
4) Being late for training without a valid excuse i.e. jesus, traffic was mental because of the EU Summit. These summits are not a secret. Plan ahead, leave earlier than usual.
5) The drill is explained. There are 6 cones and 24 players. Players are told to get in even groups at the cones. They scatter. 10 lads are on a red cone and 2 on a white cone, 6 on a blue and 6 more on a green. Two cones are totally vacant.
6) Arriving late and getting straight into a drill, not recognising that one group may be totally uneven and joining that group. Small thing but that means an uneven distribution of work i.e. one group gets flaaed whilst the other has too much standing around.
7) Being told every night to get your water and bring it to every drill with you. Then, not bringing water in the first place or leaving it in your bag and wasting time between drills going over to get it. And stopping for a chat.
8) Arriving late to training and joining into the conditioned game without asking the rules. Quickly following up your first wrong with a blank ‘how was i supposed to know’ look on your face.
9) Wearing soccer, rugby or any other jersey from a foreign code.
10) Not having gloves when it’s raining or generally greasy.
11) Calling me at 18h40 wondering what the craic with lifts is, when training is at 19h in Tervuren.
12) Talking to the girls when you should be practising your kicking whilst you are waiting for everyone to assemble.
13) Practicing your kicking before training by baiting the ball against the fence (and frequently over it) instead of getting a partner and doing it properly.
14) Looking blankly when a drill you have done a thousand times is explained to you again.
15) Running to the wrong cone.
16) Continuing to play when you know you’ve just carried the ball over the boundary line of the pitch, picked it straight off the ground or thrown instead of handpassing it.
17) Complaining that a ball is flat when there is a pump in the bag i.e. pump the thing.
18) There is a bib bag and it’s been the same bib for a long time. As filthy and smelly as the bibs are, they won’t walk back into the bag.
19) In the warm-up, we’re doing hamstring stretches. Everyone starts on the line. You hold for three seconds and do each side three times, moving forward two steps after each one and counting in your own head. Theoretically, everyone should finish the set at the same time, in the same place. Never happens.
20) Not calling names in drills (I don’t know his name is not an excuse), communicating on the pitch or encouraging the lads who are bursting their balls in a drill while you are resting.
That’s twenty. Maybe Gooch can’t count. I’m not joking when I say all twenty of those things occur virtually every....single.... night.
Conditioned Games
When I was playing football at home a game at the end of training usually took the form of backs and forwards or if we had enough and there was a portable goal around we might split into two and play a match. The most conditions that would be placed on it would be maybe the reliable one hop one solo rule.
Now a day’s though ‘conditioned games’ are all the rage. As with anything you do at training there should be a purpose and that purpose should be explained to the players. One simple game we play has four goals. One team defends its two goals (which should be a good distance apart) and attacks two goals opposite. The other team does likewise but defending/attacking the opposite goals obviously.
The purpose of this game is to quickly switch the direction of the play if one of the goals is blocked. The team should always have a player in the ‘hole’ and the ball should be transferred to the other side of the pitch via home. This requires patience and awareness i.e. don’t try and hammer the ball in through twenty lads, instead switch the play to the space at the other side of the pitch.
We played one the other night which was about reacting quickly when space opens up. The idea was simple. There were four different coloured cones, two on each sideline of the pitch. I could call a player’s name and a colour at any time, even if they were in possession. The player would have to immediately sprint around the colour cone before re-entering play (dropping the ball if in possession). This could be used to create a 3 v 2 by removing a defender or make someone available for a switch pass by taking his marker out of the game as well as creating many other situations. The idea is for players to be able to quickly recognise these openings and capitalise.
I use conditioned games to try and knock bad habits out of us and give us more experience of game type situations. Also they are used to enforce a certain style of play. In our case that should mean moving the ball rather than carrying it.
We use these games a lot. The fact of the matter is we don’t have guys with a load of football behind them so our experience of situations is lacking and also ability wise we don’t have a broad skill set. With that in mind we have to keep things very simple, relying on accurate hand passing and good movement off the ball.
I think guys get a bit fed up of the restrictions so on Thursday we loosened things up a lot. My hope was that the conditioned games we have played would be evident in how we played out a game under normal conditions.
Absolutely not though. We went straight back into bad habits; kicking ball ten yards or nearly worse, thinking we can pick out a lad fifty yards away when he’s marked by two men. Another annoying habit we have (and actually you see this everywhere) is getting the ball out of a pack of people and instead of switching the play, we go straight back into the pack. Carrying the ball, especially into contact is another thing that we seem to think is great craic!
I think a reason for this brain freeze is that guys want to have the ball for longer and make the sexy pass. People get enjoyment out of that. However, the reality is the only enjoyment that is important in hurling and football is that gained from either winning or playing beyond your capabilities. Conditioned games try and train our minds to play to our strengths. The style forced upon you in those games is the style which needs to be brought to unrestricted training games and tournaments.
Now a day’s though ‘conditioned games’ are all the rage. As with anything you do at training there should be a purpose and that purpose should be explained to the players. One simple game we play has four goals. One team defends its two goals (which should be a good distance apart) and attacks two goals opposite. The other team does likewise but defending/attacking the opposite goals obviously.
The purpose of this game is to quickly switch the direction of the play if one of the goals is blocked. The team should always have a player in the ‘hole’ and the ball should be transferred to the other side of the pitch via home. This requires patience and awareness i.e. don’t try and hammer the ball in through twenty lads, instead switch the play to the space at the other side of the pitch.
We played one the other night which was about reacting quickly when space opens up. The idea was simple. There were four different coloured cones, two on each sideline of the pitch. I could call a player’s name and a colour at any time, even if they were in possession. The player would have to immediately sprint around the colour cone before re-entering play (dropping the ball if in possession). This could be used to create a 3 v 2 by removing a defender or make someone available for a switch pass by taking his marker out of the game as well as creating many other situations. The idea is for players to be able to quickly recognise these openings and capitalise.
I use conditioned games to try and knock bad habits out of us and give us more experience of game type situations. Also they are used to enforce a certain style of play. In our case that should mean moving the ball rather than carrying it.
We use these games a lot. The fact of the matter is we don’t have guys with a load of football behind them so our experience of situations is lacking and also ability wise we don’t have a broad skill set. With that in mind we have to keep things very simple, relying on accurate hand passing and good movement off the ball.
I think guys get a bit fed up of the restrictions so on Thursday we loosened things up a lot. My hope was that the conditioned games we have played would be evident in how we played out a game under normal conditions.
Absolutely not though. We went straight back into bad habits; kicking ball ten yards or nearly worse, thinking we can pick out a lad fifty yards away when he’s marked by two men. Another annoying habit we have (and actually you see this everywhere) is getting the ball out of a pack of people and instead of switching the play, we go straight back into the pack. Carrying the ball, especially into contact is another thing that we seem to think is great craic!
I think a reason for this brain freeze is that guys want to have the ball for longer and make the sexy pass. People get enjoyment out of that. However, the reality is the only enjoyment that is important in hurling and football is that gained from either winning or playing beyond your capabilities. Conditioned games try and train our minds to play to our strengths. The style forced upon you in those games is the style which needs to be brought to unrestricted training games and tournaments.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Tick Tock
This weekend we should have been in London playing the Exiles Cup. It was to be a return fixture for the inaugural one which took place in Brussels last year, which we won in a highly entertaining game.
There was a lot of humming and hawing about availability and eventually we had to pull the plug on it which was a bit embarrassing considering our hosts had done a good bit of prep at their side. The girls did pull themselves together so at least the club had some representatives! They reversed last year’s result to win 3-6 to 2-3.
At this stage of the year you have to pick and choose what to put pressure on the lads to do. We’ve been on the road since January 21st and have trained around eighty times as well as filling 12 weekends with games and trainings. That comes with considerable expense and is very draining on your enthusiasm too.
Prior to Budapest, a lot of us probably felt particularly weary from it. The Munich experience had been bad and the mood was muted in the weeks that followed. Both teams participated well down in Buda though and spirits have been high since we returned.
I’ve taken a kind of countdown approach to things to overcome any motivation issues and now we are down to just four sessions left this year. We can win the Shield in Maastricht and whilst the Championship team can’t win it out, we certainly want to finish what has been a very successful year on a high. Since we returned from Hungary, there has been a great energy about things at training.
Moving to the BSB means getting to training through rush hour traffic is a pain in the arse. However, it also means that the lads who do show are there because they really want to be there and they are not just along for the craic. A good example last Thursday was Ricky. He returned from Luxembourg that afternoon by train and got the tram out to Tervuren. He had Andrew bring his gear and ran in the gate just as we were getting going. As cranky as some people may find me, it’s pretty simple to get in my good books and that’s a good example of how to do it!
I sat out training for the last two weeks to let a few aches ease themselves out. I find playing and training the team at the same time a pain in the ass. Just concentrating on the training side reminded me that I actually enjoy training a team and I think the lads also benefit because things run much more smoothly and my demeanour is much more positive.
So, four sessions left. Sometimes it feels like a big weight around the neck but with the countdown in full swing, the burden turns more to fear. You begin to remember how long a winter can be without training and tournaments and so saviour each evening freezing your nuts off out in Tervuren that bit more.
There was a lot of humming and hawing about availability and eventually we had to pull the plug on it which was a bit embarrassing considering our hosts had done a good bit of prep at their side. The girls did pull themselves together so at least the club had some representatives! They reversed last year’s result to win 3-6 to 2-3.
At this stage of the year you have to pick and choose what to put pressure on the lads to do. We’ve been on the road since January 21st and have trained around eighty times as well as filling 12 weekends with games and trainings. That comes with considerable expense and is very draining on your enthusiasm too.
Prior to Budapest, a lot of us probably felt particularly weary from it. The Munich experience had been bad and the mood was muted in the weeks that followed. Both teams participated well down in Buda though and spirits have been high since we returned.
I’ve taken a kind of countdown approach to things to overcome any motivation issues and now we are down to just four sessions left this year. We can win the Shield in Maastricht and whilst the Championship team can’t win it out, we certainly want to finish what has been a very successful year on a high. Since we returned from Hungary, there has been a great energy about things at training.
Moving to the BSB means getting to training through rush hour traffic is a pain in the arse. However, it also means that the lads who do show are there because they really want to be there and they are not just along for the craic. A good example last Thursday was Ricky. He returned from Luxembourg that afternoon by train and got the tram out to Tervuren. He had Andrew bring his gear and ran in the gate just as we were getting going. As cranky as some people may find me, it’s pretty simple to get in my good books and that’s a good example of how to do it!
I sat out training for the last two weeks to let a few aches ease themselves out. I find playing and training the team at the same time a pain in the ass. Just concentrating on the training side reminded me that I actually enjoy training a team and I think the lads also benefit because things run much more smoothly and my demeanour is much more positive.
So, four sessions left. Sometimes it feels like a big weight around the neck but with the countdown in full swing, the burden turns more to fear. You begin to remember how long a winter can be without training and tournaments and so saviour each evening freezing your nuts off out in Tervuren that bit more.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Options
Currently, we have to acknowledge we are a bit off the pace on the football front. The Championship team has failed to win the last two tournaments and the Shield team hasn't won its tournaments either. When a team isn't winning, it naturally means there is a gap between them and the best. We must now try and figure out how to close this gap.
In a blog entry last year, I was talking about the differences between a coach, a trainer and a manager. I'd defined myself being more towards the trainer profile, focusing more on physical preparation then tactical and skill development. However, there is now a greater need to integrate more coaching into sessions.
When we talk about coaching, we probably first think about skills. How to kick, catch, hand-pass and solo. Of course this is important and we are working more diligently on it recently. However, what lads need just as much of is coaching during game situations. When I was playing at home , I used to think about how to approach each game and opponent a lot (and still do here). Generally you would know the guy you were going to mark from previous experience or from having seen him play. If you didn't, worst case, you could easily hunt down someone who had that knowledge. I'm talking size, speed, kicking foot, type of runs, whether he'll take you on or lay it off etc. Other influencing factors are the style of play of the team i.e. do they pump ball in long or high/low.
So from a defensive point of view, I'd have picked up a good few knacks over the years to try and counter certain traits. Also though, you get an insight into effective forward play because you are in the position of having to counter it. I always found the lad who took off across the pitch or at an angle more difficult to mark. You can't play him from the front as easily or commit to trying to win the ball. He will run into the space he wants to receive the ball, rather then look for it down on top of him. This gives him a better angle to turn you if you are overcommitted.
Now, that kind of experience or thought process doesn't make me a better/worse footballer than anyone else at training but I should be able to give some helpful pointers to guys who would not have played so much. Eoin and Collins have played a lot of football and should have opinions and tips to share also. In the absence of anyone else, we must do our best to try and relate those to other lads. Tony Griffin (former Nemo/Kinsale player) once told a group of us (defenders) in the club to always attack the ball. It's such a simple instruction but I always tried to keep it in my head. It changed my focus from marking the man to going and getting the ball.
I tried to get a message across on Tuesday night that was as simple in its delivery as Tony's words but also as beneficial if you can adjust your mindset accordingly. A lot of our team stays on the periphery of things and waits for stuff to happen. Other lads play the ball on and stop, as if their role in proceedings is temporarily suspended until the ball comes near them again. All we wanted guys to think about during the game on Tuesday night was whether or not they were an option for the man in possession.
Crusher needed a bit of encouragement but once he grasped it he was much more effective in the game. He came on in the final in Belgium and made two runs up the pitch creating good options on the overlap. It yielded a point and a wide but also dealt our opponents a psychological blow as it showed our eagerness to get on the ball even late in the last game of a long day. It also showed that fellas can do it but maybe they don't consciously think about doing it all the time. It clicked with Cathal too. If it doesn't come as a natural instinct then fellas should start by just giving an option to the guy who they have just passed the ball too and build from there.
Trevor Collins trained us in the winter of 2003 when no-one else would. We played some of the best and most enjoyable football I have experienced with Kinsale in those months and steamrolled teams. Everyone was tuned in to movement off the ball from the work we did with him.
As guys get used to thinking options, options, options then they can start thinking ahead further. When Darragh O'Se used get possession in the middle of the field, the gooch often didn't look for it off him at all. Instead, he anticipated the ball in to Donaghy and made sure he was an option for a lay-off from him.
We all know, in a chase, its the guy doing the chasing that suffers the biggest drain to his energy levels, even though he may run no further than the guy he is chasing. So, by constantly making yourself an option you will not only offer more opportunities to your team, you will also wear out your opponent.
In a blog entry last year, I was talking about the differences between a coach, a trainer and a manager. I'd defined myself being more towards the trainer profile, focusing more on physical preparation then tactical and skill development. However, there is now a greater need to integrate more coaching into sessions.
When we talk about coaching, we probably first think about skills. How to kick, catch, hand-pass and solo. Of course this is important and we are working more diligently on it recently. However, what lads need just as much of is coaching during game situations. When I was playing at home , I used to think about how to approach each game and opponent a lot (and still do here). Generally you would know the guy you were going to mark from previous experience or from having seen him play. If you didn't, worst case, you could easily hunt down someone who had that knowledge. I'm talking size, speed, kicking foot, type of runs, whether he'll take you on or lay it off etc. Other influencing factors are the style of play of the team i.e. do they pump ball in long or high/low.
So from a defensive point of view, I'd have picked up a good few knacks over the years to try and counter certain traits. Also though, you get an insight into effective forward play because you are in the position of having to counter it. I always found the lad who took off across the pitch or at an angle more difficult to mark. You can't play him from the front as easily or commit to trying to win the ball. He will run into the space he wants to receive the ball, rather then look for it down on top of him. This gives him a better angle to turn you if you are overcommitted.
Now, that kind of experience or thought process doesn't make me a better/worse footballer than anyone else at training but I should be able to give some helpful pointers to guys who would not have played so much. Eoin and Collins have played a lot of football and should have opinions and tips to share also. In the absence of anyone else, we must do our best to try and relate those to other lads. Tony Griffin (former Nemo/Kinsale player) once told a group of us (defenders) in the club to always attack the ball. It's such a simple instruction but I always tried to keep it in my head. It changed my focus from marking the man to going and getting the ball.
I tried to get a message across on Tuesday night that was as simple in its delivery as Tony's words but also as beneficial if you can adjust your mindset accordingly. A lot of our team stays on the periphery of things and waits for stuff to happen. Other lads play the ball on and stop, as if their role in proceedings is temporarily suspended until the ball comes near them again. All we wanted guys to think about during the game on Tuesday night was whether or not they were an option for the man in possession.
Crusher needed a bit of encouragement but once he grasped it he was much more effective in the game. He came on in the final in Belgium and made two runs up the pitch creating good options on the overlap. It yielded a point and a wide but also dealt our opponents a psychological blow as it showed our eagerness to get on the ball even late in the last game of a long day. It also showed that fellas can do it but maybe they don't consciously think about doing it all the time. It clicked with Cathal too. If it doesn't come as a natural instinct then fellas should start by just giving an option to the guy who they have just passed the ball too and build from there.
Trevor Collins trained us in the winter of 2003 when no-one else would. We played some of the best and most enjoyable football I have experienced with Kinsale in those months and steamrolled teams. Everyone was tuned in to movement off the ball from the work we did with him.
As guys get used to thinking options, options, options then they can start thinking ahead further. When Darragh O'Se used get possession in the middle of the field, the gooch often didn't look for it off him at all. Instead, he anticipated the ball in to Donaghy and made sure he was an option for a lay-off from him.
We all know, in a chase, its the guy doing the chasing that suffers the biggest drain to his energy levels, even though he may run no further than the guy he is chasing. So, by constantly making yourself an option you will not only offer more opportunities to your team, you will also wear out your opponent.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
John Mitchells, Birmingham Visit Brussels
John Mitchells of Birmingham visited Brussels this weekend. It was a bit of a strange one. We’ve known they were coming for months but because it came three months after the end of the season it didn’t really come onto the radar.
The danger in such situation was that we may not have a team but in fairness to Adrian and Martin they rallied the troops and we got to around 13 players. I sat out due to injury and was joined on the absent list by such luminaries as The Gooch (ya, he plays hurling too!), Pearce, Daire Cott, Conor Magner, Keary and a host of others.
Most impressive was the appearance of Michael Hough. Back in the first team of FC Irlande, he told them he was unavailable and so dropped to the seconds who were playing later. The game was due to start at 11 so we were there at half 10. They arrived at 12h15 which was extremely inconvenient for most of our team who had soccer matches and kids birthdays to attend.
Now, I fully appreciate that they were over for a session and in fairness they were all sound enough lads. However, they took the p1ss a bit too much during the game, taking off their shirts and waving them in the air when they scored and that sort of craic.
Anyway, we led at half-time mainly through the scoring prowess of Sheanon, Hough and debutant Gearoid. However, with numerous half-time departures for aforementioned reasons, Martin had to make some adjustments. One was to put me in goal.
We conceded one in the first half and five in the second half. Ouch. The usual question is ‘how many were your fault?’. More appropriate question is probably how many I could have saved. In that case, I probably could have saved them all. Bit of a disaster.
In the end we lost 6-11 to 3-9. Not a disgraceful result considering we started understrength and finished further understrength. There was also a camogie game but I had to depart shortly after that started. Reports suggest it went a similar way to the hurling. The whole thing wasn’t quite a waste of time but whether we accept such teams requests to visit so far beyond the end of season should probably be considered in the future.
The danger in such situation was that we may not have a team but in fairness to Adrian and Martin they rallied the troops and we got to around 13 players. I sat out due to injury and was joined on the absent list by such luminaries as The Gooch (ya, he plays hurling too!), Pearce, Daire Cott, Conor Magner, Keary and a host of others.
Most impressive was the appearance of Michael Hough. Back in the first team of FC Irlande, he told them he was unavailable and so dropped to the seconds who were playing later. The game was due to start at 11 so we were there at half 10. They arrived at 12h15 which was extremely inconvenient for most of our team who had soccer matches and kids birthdays to attend.
Now, I fully appreciate that they were over for a session and in fairness they were all sound enough lads. However, they took the p1ss a bit too much during the game, taking off their shirts and waving them in the air when they scored and that sort of craic.
Anyway, we led at half-time mainly through the scoring prowess of Sheanon, Hough and debutant Gearoid. However, with numerous half-time departures for aforementioned reasons, Martin had to make some adjustments. One was to put me in goal.
We conceded one in the first half and five in the second half. Ouch. The usual question is ‘how many were your fault?’. More appropriate question is probably how many I could have saved. In that case, I probably could have saved them all. Bit of a disaster.
In the end we lost 6-11 to 3-9. Not a disgraceful result considering we started understrength and finished further understrength. There was also a camogie game but I had to depart shortly after that started. Reports suggest it went a similar way to the hurling. The whole thing wasn’t quite a waste of time but whether we accept such teams requests to visit so far beyond the end of season should probably be considered in the future.
Still A Chance To Look Forward, Not Back
It’s a great time of the year to be reading through the sports pages. Club Championships are coming to the final Sunday and there’s no shortage of remarkable success stories and outrageous individual feats to be reading about. It’s fantastic that sport at such a local level gets such coverage.
In the Examiner yesterday, two articles caught my attention. The first was about the Carbery Rangers SFC semi-final against St. Finbarrs. We tussled regularly with Carbery Rangers back in the late 90’s and early 00’s when we were both in the Junior ranks. They went a step further than we did and went on to claim the County and quickly followed it up by winning the Intermediate. Now they are on the cusp of their first Senior final which is a remarkable achievement for a place of its size.
Ballygarvan’s story also drew my attention. We had some very tight battles with them in the SE JHC. They probably came out on top slightly more than us but we were always there or there abouts. I think it was 2004 when we clashed in the semi-final of the Divisional Championship.
It was played out in Riverstick, a cracking spot for a game of hurling. I think the game finished 0-14 to 0-14 with them scoring a late free to get the draw. I was in form that year in goal and that day was one of my better ones. However, one score they got in the second half rankles with me. They had a speedy forward called Muggsy. He took a shot midway through the second half and it came in through a crowd. There was no power on it but it was dipping under the crossbar. I deflected it over to be safe. If I was more confident (or taller!!), I’d have put up the paw and grabbed it. I didn’t though and the game eventually finished level.
I cut my holiday in the US short to come back for the replay out in Ballinhassig. That day was not decided by such fine margins and they beat us with a bit to spare. Ballygarvan went on to survive numerous more replays and win a remarkable County. I can still remember the headline in one of the national newspapers on its sports year in review. It started something like; ‘From Boston to Ballygarvan....’. They ended as a big story whilst we were barely a by-line it.
Today, Ballygarvan play in the Intermediate Hurling final in Cork. When I read about themselves and Carbery Rangers I have many varying feelings; admiration, envy, jealousy to name a few. Mainly though, I’d be just p1ssed off cause they drove on in a way that we never did in Kinsale.
I don’t think enough of our lads would read yesterday’s papers and realise or even believe that could have been us. We won football South-East in ’99, ’01 and ’05 but never back-to-back even though we were the top team in the Division at the time. The hurling came our way in 2006 with a young team but we’ve faded badly since.
The list is too long to analyse all the rights and wrongs but a couple of things are probably notable. One was the disastrous under-age structures (the Dunderrow academy aside) in place. For years, very little came through and what did relied on natural talent more than coaching! Thankfully that has been largely remedied now with some good people involved.
The second is the town factor. Ballygarvan and Rosscarbery are villages. No soccer pitches, rugby pitches or boats. No three nightclubs or streets laden with pubs either. The distraction of drink and women is great craic. How you balance and weigh that against Hurling and football is important though. Too many of us got the balance wrong.
This year Kinsale won the U-21 South-East A Football on B Hurling. The young crop are still young enough to shape their playing careers. They are too young to realise that in ten year’s time they could be sitting in some city in the world reading those articles and thinking about where it went wrong and what they could have done to change it.
Now though, they should be reading those stories thinking, right, we can be playing in County finals up in the Pairc. Let’s get cracking.
In the Examiner yesterday, two articles caught my attention. The first was about the Carbery Rangers SFC semi-final against St. Finbarrs. We tussled regularly with Carbery Rangers back in the late 90’s and early 00’s when we were both in the Junior ranks. They went a step further than we did and went on to claim the County and quickly followed it up by winning the Intermediate. Now they are on the cusp of their first Senior final which is a remarkable achievement for a place of its size.
Ballygarvan’s story also drew my attention. We had some very tight battles with them in the SE JHC. They probably came out on top slightly more than us but we were always there or there abouts. I think it was 2004 when we clashed in the semi-final of the Divisional Championship.
It was played out in Riverstick, a cracking spot for a game of hurling. I think the game finished 0-14 to 0-14 with them scoring a late free to get the draw. I was in form that year in goal and that day was one of my better ones. However, one score they got in the second half rankles with me. They had a speedy forward called Muggsy. He took a shot midway through the second half and it came in through a crowd. There was no power on it but it was dipping under the crossbar. I deflected it over to be safe. If I was more confident (or taller!!), I’d have put up the paw and grabbed it. I didn’t though and the game eventually finished level.
I cut my holiday in the US short to come back for the replay out in Ballinhassig. That day was not decided by such fine margins and they beat us with a bit to spare. Ballygarvan went on to survive numerous more replays and win a remarkable County. I can still remember the headline in one of the national newspapers on its sports year in review. It started something like; ‘From Boston to Ballygarvan....’. They ended as a big story whilst we were barely a by-line it.
Today, Ballygarvan play in the Intermediate Hurling final in Cork. When I read about themselves and Carbery Rangers I have many varying feelings; admiration, envy, jealousy to name a few. Mainly though, I’d be just p1ssed off cause they drove on in a way that we never did in Kinsale.
I don’t think enough of our lads would read yesterday’s papers and realise or even believe that could have been us. We won football South-East in ’99, ’01 and ’05 but never back-to-back even though we were the top team in the Division at the time. The hurling came our way in 2006 with a young team but we’ve faded badly since.
The list is too long to analyse all the rights and wrongs but a couple of things are probably notable. One was the disastrous under-age structures (the Dunderrow academy aside) in place. For years, very little came through and what did relied on natural talent more than coaching! Thankfully that has been largely remedied now with some good people involved.
The second is the town factor. Ballygarvan and Rosscarbery are villages. No soccer pitches, rugby pitches or boats. No three nightclubs or streets laden with pubs either. The distraction of drink and women is great craic. How you balance and weigh that against Hurling and football is important though. Too many of us got the balance wrong.
This year Kinsale won the U-21 South-East A Football on B Hurling. The young crop are still young enough to shape their playing careers. They are too young to realise that in ten year’s time they could be sitting in some city in the world reading those articles and thinking about where it went wrong and what they could have done to change it.
Now though, they should be reading those stories thinking, right, we can be playing in County finals up in the Pairc. Let’s get cracking.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Skill Development
Consciously, I have largely ignored practicing the basic skills in the last three years training the footballers. Instead, we focused a lot more on fitness. My thinking was simple; we could get to a lot higher level physically, much quicker than we could get there with our skills. I thought by being very fit we could overcome skill deficiencies and get to a competitive level fast. A very skilful team can move the ball with such efficiency that it can actually outplay a fitter team. However, the skill level must be very high and I didn't think we'd bridge the gap quick enough so bypassed it.
There are a number of reasons why I took this approach. The first is the motley crew nature of our players. A lot of guys have not played a whole load of football growing up (or not for some years) and my perception is that its more difficult to learn the skills when you are older. Getting lads fit is a different story though and is much easier. You can derive confidence from being and feeling fit too. Skill work can have the opposite effect if the balls are going everywhere. Intensity in training is important but drills will too often break down if the skill levels are not high enough and thus the intensity will drain out of a session. Some practical issues influence it also, like not having enough balls, nets behind goals etc. That seems incidental but to practice blocking, shooting etc etc it makes it trickier.
Hockey is a very technical game and one where fitness will only take you so far (and nowhere near as far as it will get you in Gaelic Football). I remember Eddie Kirwan (our former coach in UCC) used say he found putting lads through physical drills to be boring for him and he much preferred working with lads when they had a stick in hand. Obviously Eamonn Ryan is all about skills and his visit a couple of weeks ago has definitely influenced my thinking.
Some simple drills he did left us all fairly bait and really showed how you can get intensive bursts of activity, that totally focus on specific skills, into training. Kirwan probably also preferred skill based training because he could see some clear improvements in his players. After Eamonn's session I can definitely see an improvement in my kicking, particularly point shooting (although I still reserve this for training and not matches!!). In a different way, I've found that not blowing the ball wide or over a lad's head provides a similar level of satisfaction to bursting your nuts at a physical session.
Last night, we got a good bit of this type of stuff in and with reasonable intensity too. The huffing and puffing may be more of a reflection on the lessened physical approach in the last six weeks though. Still, it probably has to be the way forward as guys can only take so much hard slog and retain their motivation. In the end, they are there to play football and throwing the odd ball into physical work will only cod them so long.
There are a number of reasons why I took this approach. The first is the motley crew nature of our players. A lot of guys have not played a whole load of football growing up (or not for some years) and my perception is that its more difficult to learn the skills when you are older. Getting lads fit is a different story though and is much easier. You can derive confidence from being and feeling fit too. Skill work can have the opposite effect if the balls are going everywhere. Intensity in training is important but drills will too often break down if the skill levels are not high enough and thus the intensity will drain out of a session. Some practical issues influence it also, like not having enough balls, nets behind goals etc. That seems incidental but to practice blocking, shooting etc etc it makes it trickier.
Hockey is a very technical game and one where fitness will only take you so far (and nowhere near as far as it will get you in Gaelic Football). I remember Eddie Kirwan (our former coach in UCC) used say he found putting lads through physical drills to be boring for him and he much preferred working with lads when they had a stick in hand. Obviously Eamonn Ryan is all about skills and his visit a couple of weeks ago has definitely influenced my thinking.
Some simple drills he did left us all fairly bait and really showed how you can get intensive bursts of activity, that totally focus on specific skills, into training. Kirwan probably also preferred skill based training because he could see some clear improvements in his players. After Eamonn's session I can definitely see an improvement in my kicking, particularly point shooting (although I still reserve this for training and not matches!!). In a different way, I've found that not blowing the ball wide or over a lad's head provides a similar level of satisfaction to bursting your nuts at a physical session.
Last night, we got a good bit of this type of stuff in and with reasonable intensity too. The huffing and puffing may be more of a reflection on the lessened physical approach in the last six weeks though. Still, it probably has to be the way forward as guys can only take so much hard slog and retain their motivation. In the end, they are there to play football and throwing the odd ball into physical work will only cod them so long.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Lego Man Fails To Save Day
Lego man claimed six points against Paris
Our first encounter of 2010 with The Hague took place in Amsterdam back in March and finished 0-4 to 0-3 in our favour. On the same day, in the final, they turned it around to win something like 0-5 to 0-4. Little has changed since and the games between us continue to be tight and keenly contested. Saturday in Budapest was no different.
We were drawn in a group with Guernsey and The Hague in the 'Championship' section. Stockholm, Budapest, Paris and Luxembourg were in the other group. Bolstered by the return of Lego man and Olof, we felt we were in a stronger position than in Munich. Our opening performance didn't reflect that though and we were absolutely brutal surrendering awful possession, fouling, not tracking men etc etc. We pretty much failed to tick any box. Despite this we somehow managed to lose only by a point. However, the despondency afterwards seemed like it would bring the curtain immediately down on our chances for the day and season.
Guernsey's misfortune proved to be a blessing for us. They had flight complications and as a result they would arrive late and the schedule would be adjusted to cater for this. It left us with a long gap which allowed tempers to cool and banter to resume. In fairness, we have many faults but when fellas have it out it rarely lingers. Bizarrely out of all this, Jim, formerly known as Burger King, came out of it all with a new name, 'The Gooch'.
Back to Guernsey though and it was a game we had to win to qualify. Johnny O was given a job to do on the man mountain and we set our stall out early, tacking on a few decent points. My head for detail isn't so great but I remember Eoin Sheanon getting his jersey fairly well stretched on many occasions. He seems to get very little change out of the referees but is probably one of the most fouled players at these tournaments. Guernsey did make a comeback but we had another surge in us and Olof hit an insurance point with the conviction we know he has in him.
Second place meant we faced Paris, group A winners. They've had the edge on us since Copenhagen last year. We entered the game in Championship mode though, knowing that if we were to win this year's overall Championship, we could not lose again. It was our best half of football of the year, bar none. We totally overwhelmed them and burst forward on every occasion. When they did raid, they found a rejuvenated pairing of Burkey and Crusher in uncompromising form. 2-6 to 0-2 at half-time was our reward.
As you would expect from a team of Paris' quality, they rallied and claimed two goals (the only ones we conceded all day). Those goals showed up a frailty in our defence where we tend to be slow to react to certain situations. Again though, the surge was there and led by Lego man's six points from play (apparently) we took a deserved victory. Again, it would be The Hague in the final, for the 5th time this year.
The early chapters in this year's story with them were riddled with red cards and unsporting behaviour. In fairness both teams have largely reigned in that side of the game but they remain tight and edgy affairs. They have a particularly effective place kicker and again we were punished for some silly fouling in the first half. A one point half-time deficit was not overly concerning. It proved a stubborn gap to close though and The Hague increased it early in the second half. As the game came to a close, Timmy took a run at goal. There was traffic but he managed to veer right of it but in doing so cut his angle in such a way that a point was all he could muster. It wasn't enough and our opponents claimed a second successive European Championship under the lights of Budapest.
As always, it was disappointing but we cannot begrudge them their victory. They were missing a few lads too so to come down and grind out a win was a big achievement. It is hard to pinpoint where it has gone wrong for us but it cannot be anything too major. We are still there or there abouts and the margins in the two games against The Hague on Saturday show that. When we watched them against other teams on Saturday they looked awesome at times but we have it in us to contain them. Despite Maastricht being meaningless in terms of the overall Championship, our pride will ensure that we'll try and finish the year on a high.
Seven sessions left this year. There will be plenty of time to twiddle thumbs in the winter.
Shield Steps From Shadows
Rapid growth in Year 1 meant that we were well ahead of our plan in playing numbers when we landed in Maastricht in November 2008. That day we fielded two teams for the first time.
In 2009 we needed to consider whether we should persist with fielding a second team and we decided we had to. It would benefit everyone as we would have more players at training and more people involved in the club. Also, if we didn't we would lose the marginal lads. It was a big struggle though as you really need at least 26 lads travelling to allow both teams have subs and survive the day. Also, from the organisation side it adds a hefty weight to the burden.
Last year, we achieved our aim to field a second team in all the tournaments but did so without much success. The team was ragball-rovers-esque, playing in a beaten up set of jerseys from bygone days and fielding random characters regularly. Doors had to be knocked on, lads had to be dragged from beds and on occasion we even needed to recruit one or two on the day. There were so few glimmers of light it was admirable that the team kept stepping up to the plate with enthusiasm and will.
Back in March, we played up in Amsterdam, again with two teams. The first game would be between the two Belgium teams. Both togged in Belgium jerseys but this year the club had bought a second set, in red. It kind of rubber stamped the existence of this team. We made another decision that would negatively affect the team when we decided that the A team would no longer allow its subs to play down (or whichever way you say it to stay within the rules). It (paying up and down) had benefited no-one and meant that some guys would play too much and the subs on the Shield team would play too little. There were no complaints, the lads just got on with it.
Through Benelux, they fought gallantly in the toughest of regions (with 3 seasoned Championship teams). In Luxembourg, they claimed 3rd place, beating the hosts in the 3rd/4th playoff. It was coming together and they were heading for the Shield in buoyant form. Round 1 would take place in Munich. The team was down a host of regulars and struggled up front for long periods. They did manage to get their first win against Copenhagen and the copious amount of possession in other games (even if not reflected on scoreboard) bode well for the future.
Budapest was the latest outing at the weekend. Despite missing a wealth of decent players, the team had a hardy luck to it. Ross Church would make his debut and Ricky would move from Championship to Shield panel at the last minute due to Alec's missed flight. A tough group with Vienna, Copenhagen (winners of previous two Shields) and Amsterdam lay in wait.
Ricky struck late against Vienna for an opening win and that was followed with a 2-2 to 0-8 draw with Copenhagen in a game we should really have won. The group was very tight and even with two going through, whoever won the Amsterdam game would qualify. The losers would go out. Our lads were not to be denied, winning by a point.
A semi against Warsaw was next up but the detail has been lost through some beery memory loss. As we were in different locations, we couldn't see all of each other’s matches. Apparently Warsaw had one unbelievable guy and he ran wreck. Despite this, the lads could again have stolen the show with a couple of late goal chances.
Winning the group represents serious progress though. The team now has a realistic chance of winning the Shield out down in Maastricht. With many faces due to return, it should ensure training will be lively between now and then.
I could only manage to see only one game but heard many positive reports about the performances of Fergal, Hough, Andrew and Ricky especially. Also, only two goals conceded was an excellent reflection on the defence and RumAdrian. Onwards and upwards towards Maastricht.
In 2009 we needed to consider whether we should persist with fielding a second team and we decided we had to. It would benefit everyone as we would have more players at training and more people involved in the club. Also, if we didn't we would lose the marginal lads. It was a big struggle though as you really need at least 26 lads travelling to allow both teams have subs and survive the day. Also, from the organisation side it adds a hefty weight to the burden.
Last year, we achieved our aim to field a second team in all the tournaments but did so without much success. The team was ragball-rovers-esque, playing in a beaten up set of jerseys from bygone days and fielding random characters regularly. Doors had to be knocked on, lads had to be dragged from beds and on occasion we even needed to recruit one or two on the day. There were so few glimmers of light it was admirable that the team kept stepping up to the plate with enthusiasm and will.
Back in March, we played up in Amsterdam, again with two teams. The first game would be between the two Belgium teams. Both togged in Belgium jerseys but this year the club had bought a second set, in red. It kind of rubber stamped the existence of this team. We made another decision that would negatively affect the team when we decided that the A team would no longer allow its subs to play down (or whichever way you say it to stay within the rules). It (paying up and down) had benefited no-one and meant that some guys would play too much and the subs on the Shield team would play too little. There were no complaints, the lads just got on with it.
Through Benelux, they fought gallantly in the toughest of regions (with 3 seasoned Championship teams). In Luxembourg, they claimed 3rd place, beating the hosts in the 3rd/4th playoff. It was coming together and they were heading for the Shield in buoyant form. Round 1 would take place in Munich. The team was down a host of regulars and struggled up front for long periods. They did manage to get their first win against Copenhagen and the copious amount of possession in other games (even if not reflected on scoreboard) bode well for the future.
Budapest was the latest outing at the weekend. Despite missing a wealth of decent players, the team had a hardy luck to it. Ross Church would make his debut and Ricky would move from Championship to Shield panel at the last minute due to Alec's missed flight. A tough group with Vienna, Copenhagen (winners of previous two Shields) and Amsterdam lay in wait.
Ricky struck late against Vienna for an opening win and that was followed with a 2-2 to 0-8 draw with Copenhagen in a game we should really have won. The group was very tight and even with two going through, whoever won the Amsterdam game would qualify. The losers would go out. Our lads were not to be denied, winning by a point.
A semi against Warsaw was next up but the detail has been lost through some beery memory loss. As we were in different locations, we couldn't see all of each other’s matches. Apparently Warsaw had one unbelievable guy and he ran wreck. Despite this, the lads could again have stolen the show with a couple of late goal chances.
Winning the group represents serious progress though. The team now has a realistic chance of winning the Shield out down in Maastricht. With many faces due to return, it should ensure training will be lively between now and then.
I could only manage to see only one game but heard many positive reports about the performances of Fergal, Hough, Andrew and Ricky especially. Also, only two goals conceded was an excellent reflection on the defence and RumAdrian. Onwards and upwards towards Maastricht.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Organisation
Whilst most lads are aware of the organisation that goes into tournaments, unless they've done it themselves they can't really understand.
The preparation started weeks ago with hotel bookings and flight arrangements. The Budapest club organised a group rate in a hotel in the city. In the past, everyone used to stay in the same place and that made things a lot easier to coordinate i.e. everyone leave for the pitch at the same time and get there at same time! Also there is money to be collected for registration/lunch/dinner, team sheets to fill and disclaimers to sign. Having fellas in the same place makes this a lot easier. Now though, some guys prefer hostels and others bring their girlfriends and check in elsewhere. There’s very little price difference between many hostels and the hotels we stay in now so I don't really get why guys don't just take the offers. It's not something i try to enforce though.
Then you have lads who put their name down for the hotel, knowing that the club has to pay a deposit and then either pull out or change their arrangements. Everyone is always apologetic and they probably don't think it's a big deal because it's only them but in reality, there are a load of lads trying to tinker with arrangements and it creates us, mainly Colin, a big headache.
The information pack takes a lot of putting together also. You need to consider transport from airport to hotel, hotel to pitch and back, hotel to restaurant etc. All that takes a lot of time to gather. The simple stuff like gear required, weather, fixtures, panels etc also need to be gathered and collated.
We go into a fair amount of detail to ensure there are as few loopholes for questions as possible. Still though, it seems unavoidable. Today, Hough emailed to say he thought we should emphasise more that its on astro and only mouldies are allowed. Now, in my world, you receive a pack of information and you read it because all the information in it is important. Otherwise we wouldn't have taken the time to put it in.
Also, some lads are just too smart for their own good and like to highlight things like Hungary not being in the eurozone. The reg/lunch/dinner costs €35 and thats what we put in the mail. If we wanted it in funny money, we would have asked for it in funny money!
And the jerseys. There’s always a scramble to collect the jerseys the week of the tournament. I washed the 'Championship' teams jerseys last night but the 'Shield' ones are still sitting in a spare room in our apartment building waiting to be washed.
Finalising the panels is no straightforward issue either. Paul Hagan pulled out a week or so ago, Paul Quinn pulled out yesterday and Kevin Keary today. This can't be helped as situations change etc so you just have to adapt quickly to it. Some guys are carrying injuries and were asked for an update on their situation on Monday but still have not informed me. Again, this complicates the selection process.
That's just a taste of it. There are a million other little things to be done also. You need lads to behave like an army of little ants to make things go smoothly. We've improved our information supply a lot in the last two years to try and reduce any possible mess being down to human error rather than us not providing the required details. I think we have pretty much achieved that. Next thing to tackle is reducing the human error factor.
The preparation started weeks ago with hotel bookings and flight arrangements. The Budapest club organised a group rate in a hotel in the city. In the past, everyone used to stay in the same place and that made things a lot easier to coordinate i.e. everyone leave for the pitch at the same time and get there at same time! Also there is money to be collected for registration/lunch/dinner, team sheets to fill and disclaimers to sign. Having fellas in the same place makes this a lot easier. Now though, some guys prefer hostels and others bring their girlfriends and check in elsewhere. There’s very little price difference between many hostels and the hotels we stay in now so I don't really get why guys don't just take the offers. It's not something i try to enforce though.
Then you have lads who put their name down for the hotel, knowing that the club has to pay a deposit and then either pull out or change their arrangements. Everyone is always apologetic and they probably don't think it's a big deal because it's only them but in reality, there are a load of lads trying to tinker with arrangements and it creates us, mainly Colin, a big headache.
The information pack takes a lot of putting together also. You need to consider transport from airport to hotel, hotel to pitch and back, hotel to restaurant etc. All that takes a lot of time to gather. The simple stuff like gear required, weather, fixtures, panels etc also need to be gathered and collated.
We go into a fair amount of detail to ensure there are as few loopholes for questions as possible. Still though, it seems unavoidable. Today, Hough emailed to say he thought we should emphasise more that its on astro and only mouldies are allowed. Now, in my world, you receive a pack of information and you read it because all the information in it is important. Otherwise we wouldn't have taken the time to put it in.
Also, some lads are just too smart for their own good and like to highlight things like Hungary not being in the eurozone. The reg/lunch/dinner costs €35 and thats what we put in the mail. If we wanted it in funny money, we would have asked for it in funny money!
And the jerseys. There’s always a scramble to collect the jerseys the week of the tournament. I washed the 'Championship' teams jerseys last night but the 'Shield' ones are still sitting in a spare room in our apartment building waiting to be washed.
Finalising the panels is no straightforward issue either. Paul Hagan pulled out a week or so ago, Paul Quinn pulled out yesterday and Kevin Keary today. This can't be helped as situations change etc so you just have to adapt quickly to it. Some guys are carrying injuries and were asked for an update on their situation on Monday but still have not informed me. Again, this complicates the selection process.
That's just a taste of it. There are a million other little things to be done also. You need lads to behave like an army of little ants to make things go smoothly. We've improved our information supply a lot in the last two years to try and reduce any possible mess being down to human error rather than us not providing the required details. I think we have pretty much achieved that. Next thing to tackle is reducing the human error factor.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Budapest Beckons
www.doodle.com has become a regular feature on our weekly info mails to the lads. It helps us with planning of attendance for training, tournaments and giving lifts. Yesterday afternoon we had 7 registered to attend training. I was not happy. It was the first night out at the BSB and I suspected some of the lads would be put off by the trek out by tram or car in rush hour traffic. We've rented the best pitch they have so decent numbers would be needed to justify that.
In the past, we used nearly go round to lads workplaces and hold their hands to bring them out there. Now we just send the list of possible drivers and tell lads to organise themselves. Still, Olof Gill of all people, called me at 18h10 (training at 19h) wondering where the meeting point for the lifts was. Naturally I referred him to the communication in the mail but he said he had no time to read it. No time to read that but enough time to engage me in gmail chat whilst said mail was sitting in his inbox in front of him!! Anyway, he pulled a lift out of the back so was spared. Remarkably it was the only call I received. Progress.
My mood improved as everyone trudged in on time; all 19 of them. Training has been fairly low key since Munich and I've been much quieter at training. Before our trip to Bavaria I was more vocal than at any point of the year as I tried to make everyone aware of the need to raise everything a few notches from Benelux. It didn't work so the approach possibly needed adjustment. One disappointing point since is that the majority have been happy to continue in the roll of follower rather than leader. You would be hard pressed to pick out the guys who have noticeably tried to drive things on since. Guys need to be less passive and step-up because the few they rely on to do it won’t always be there.
In any case, it is this week that is most important and last night's session went fairly well. We've some proper selection headaches with 29 guys travelling. Last year there was a fairly clear division between the Championship and Shield panels with little or no movement between the two. The group is much more even now and we have tried to give fellas a chance if they are showing well. It is a horrible task as you are always open to the accusation of subjectivity but it is very hard to have justifiable objective criteria, especially in the situation we find ourselves here with transience, business travel, personal upheavals etc being regular distractions,
Thursday night will be our last outing before we fly east on Friday. The panels should be communicated beforehand and then it will be all systems go. The Championship panel will have one or two guys returning which will give more depth to the team and the knock-on effect of that will strengthen the hand of the Shield team, who have a strong look about them. Still, just like all the talk about what we would do before Munich, in many ways, who you have, is not necessarily what matters, it's what they have and will bring to the show that matters.
In the past, we used nearly go round to lads workplaces and hold their hands to bring them out there. Now we just send the list of possible drivers and tell lads to organise themselves. Still, Olof Gill of all people, called me at 18h10 (training at 19h) wondering where the meeting point for the lifts was. Naturally I referred him to the communication in the mail but he said he had no time to read it. No time to read that but enough time to engage me in gmail chat whilst said mail was sitting in his inbox in front of him!! Anyway, he pulled a lift out of the back so was spared. Remarkably it was the only call I received. Progress.
My mood improved as everyone trudged in on time; all 19 of them. Training has been fairly low key since Munich and I've been much quieter at training. Before our trip to Bavaria I was more vocal than at any point of the year as I tried to make everyone aware of the need to raise everything a few notches from Benelux. It didn't work so the approach possibly needed adjustment. One disappointing point since is that the majority have been happy to continue in the roll of follower rather than leader. You would be hard pressed to pick out the guys who have noticeably tried to drive things on since. Guys need to be less passive and step-up because the few they rely on to do it won’t always be there.
In any case, it is this week that is most important and last night's session went fairly well. We've some proper selection headaches with 29 guys travelling. Last year there was a fairly clear division between the Championship and Shield panels with little or no movement between the two. The group is much more even now and we have tried to give fellas a chance if they are showing well. It is a horrible task as you are always open to the accusation of subjectivity but it is very hard to have justifiable objective criteria, especially in the situation we find ourselves here with transience, business travel, personal upheavals etc being regular distractions,
Thursday night will be our last outing before we fly east on Friday. The panels should be communicated beforehand and then it will be all systems go. The Championship panel will have one or two guys returning which will give more depth to the team and the knock-on effect of that will strengthen the hand of the Shield team, who have a strong look about them. Still, just like all the talk about what we would do before Munich, in many ways, who you have, is not necessarily what matters, it's what they have and will bring to the show that matters.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Coaching Missionary Visits Brussels
Eamonn Ryan is highly regarded coach in G.A.A. circles and his name would be known throughout Ireland. His credentials are impressive having played inter-county football for Cork in the sixties and then gone on to coach Cork teams in virtually every code at every level. His most recent successes came with the Cork Ladies Footballers with whom he won five consecutive All-Irelands. Other clubs he would be strongly associated with would be Glenville, Watergrasshill, Na Piarsaigh and UCC to name just a few.
It is to his credit that he has kept up to date with all the latest coaching innovations, when many of his contemporaries have lost their jobs and credibility for not doing likewise. Mick O'Dywer is of the same vintage and much heralded but has not won an All-Ireland in donkeys years whereas Eamonn is still achieving great successes.
On Friday, I picked Eamonn up at the airport and we headed for a pre-arranged talk. There, he spoke to a group of forty club members for nearly two hours. Much of it focused on demonstrating what he wanted to do during the pitch sessions. A couple of points he made stood out though. One was relating to ownership and the player's role in develop their skills. When I was thinking about what to say to the Ladies at the 7's, one of the points I made was that as a coach, I'm only a facilitator. They are the players and they must make the decisions on the pitch. Eamonn also linked this to skill development and it is an important point for us all to remember.
He talked about a study he did on hurley size and his evidence and argument were very convincing. So many of the older generations live in the past and refuse to embrace the changes in modern hurling. Eamonn bucks the trend and he talked of how a shorter hurley is more relevant for the modern 'pick and strike' game. He had done a study of inter-county hurlers and listed off the names of top hurlers and the size of their hurleys. By the end of it, I think he had us convinced and most will seek a shorter caman for 2010.
On Saturday, he got rolling at 10h00 with the Ladies footballers and followed up with a session with the men. Many of the drills were the same and very simple in nature. In different ways, he pressurised and tired us but always kept the focus on the skill element. His explanations were clear and concise and he had many of us kicking points with our weaker foot by the end of it. I tend to cram too much into each drill and try and short-cut things a bit. I'd be paranoid about training lacking intensity and all that. From that point of view, how Eamonn goes about his business is a good learning.
On Sunday morning he was out with the Hurlers and again, we had a very worthwhile skill based session. Whatever about football, we especially need to work on our basic skills in hurling so his guidance was very relevant. His patient but firm approach works well and keeps you focused during the session.
A late addition to his itinerary was to train the kids out in Tervuren. The kids club have remained very separate to us since our re-formation and I thought it may be a good opportunity to start some strengthening of the link. With Fergal, Sean and Conor M playing with us but also having kids out at these trainings, the timing is good. Eamonn was excellent with the kids and his structured way of teaching the skills should be a great learning for the coaches. Eamonn himself felt it topped off the weekend very well.
He told me that when he used to first hear about European G.A.A. he wouldn't have taken it very seriously. Since then he has the opportunity to travel to Holland, France and Spain coaching teams and it has heightened his respect for the games on the Continent. At the weekend, he attended sessions in four different locations across the city. When you see his energy, enthusiasm and knowledge, it’s easy to understand why he remains such a respected coach.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Bounce
We concluded our year's training in Parc50 last night. With no lights and the evenings closing in, we have no option but to relocate. Our home for the remaining ten sessions of the season will be the BSB. Better forward planning this year means we have the nice pitch out there but we are still stuck with the 19h slot which is difficult for a lot of lads to make. It is also out in Tervuren and that is a very busy route at rush hour.
On top of this hurdle is the fact that numbers have begun to tailor off at training and the atmosphere has become a bit flat. The departures of key personalities is a contributing factor as well as people's workloads getting back to normal after the summer break. It's been a long season, stretching back to January and we've covered a lot of ground around Europe since then. It seems to be taking its toll.
My mood has become more irritable too which never helps things. Fellas not bringing gloves, arriving late, not telling me when they won't arrive at all etc are all getting on my nerves more frequently. The group needs a few characters with a bit of bounce in them. Not the type of p1ss artist who mucks around constantly at training, more the lad with the one liner and well timed interjections. I didn't hear anyone make a concerted effort to try and get some momentum into things last night. As with everything, fellas need to step up, especially when the mood is down.
I'm not so concerned ahead of Budapest though. Maybe we were all too wound up prior to Munich. We have Eamonn Ryan coming this weekend for some coaching sessions and his positive energy should transmit itself to the lads. Two good sessions next week and we'll head down in good shape. We've big numbers travelling and some lads are showing particularly well. Ricky kicked three points on the trot last night and is looking lively. Others need to pick it up in the next three sessions and earn their places.
I'd be half depressed after a poor training session and last night would fall into that category. When fellas look like they are going through the motions and not enjoying themselves, a fair share of the responsibility for that falls on the trainer. However, the trainer feeds off the enthusiasm of the group and that stimulates your mind to come up with new ideas. We put down a tough enough week this week but over the course of a long year, weeks like this are inevitable.
Expectation over the next 9 days is clear. Get out of your comfort zone of doing things who wouldn't normally do. Be more vocal and more positive. Show for balls in positions you normally wouldn't. Think about how you are going to make a difference in Budapest. And then actually do what you think/say you are going to do.
On top of this hurdle is the fact that numbers have begun to tailor off at training and the atmosphere has become a bit flat. The departures of key personalities is a contributing factor as well as people's workloads getting back to normal after the summer break. It's been a long season, stretching back to January and we've covered a lot of ground around Europe since then. It seems to be taking its toll.
My mood has become more irritable too which never helps things. Fellas not bringing gloves, arriving late, not telling me when they won't arrive at all etc are all getting on my nerves more frequently. The group needs a few characters with a bit of bounce in them. Not the type of p1ss artist who mucks around constantly at training, more the lad with the one liner and well timed interjections. I didn't hear anyone make a concerted effort to try and get some momentum into things last night. As with everything, fellas need to step up, especially when the mood is down.
I'm not so concerned ahead of Budapest though. Maybe we were all too wound up prior to Munich. We have Eamonn Ryan coming this weekend for some coaching sessions and his positive energy should transmit itself to the lads. Two good sessions next week and we'll head down in good shape. We've big numbers travelling and some lads are showing particularly well. Ricky kicked three points on the trot last night and is looking lively. Others need to pick it up in the next three sessions and earn their places.
I'd be half depressed after a poor training session and last night would fall into that category. When fellas look like they are going through the motions and not enjoying themselves, a fair share of the responsibility for that falls on the trainer. However, the trainer feeds off the enthusiasm of the group and that stimulates your mind to come up with new ideas. We put down a tough enough week this week but over the course of a long year, weeks like this are inevitable.
Expectation over the next 9 days is clear. Get out of your comfort zone of doing things who wouldn't normally do. Be more vocal and more positive. Show for balls in positions you normally wouldn't. Think about how you are going to make a difference in Budapest. And then actually do what you think/say you are going to do.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Three More Old School Graduate
It's hard to keep up with the ins and outs these days. The exit door is swinging again though and another trio have departed or are soon to depart. When it’s old school, it cuts a bit deeper.
Tom Lane
Tom emailed pre-Munich to say he was already gone. He moved to Brussels sometime around 2007 having played with Amsterdam for a few years. He was there with myself and Conan the first night we started hatching plans for a football team in the Oak in November 2007. He'd be a constant in our first year and deservedly claimed his European Championship medal down in Maastricht.
2009 wasn't so kind to him as a skiing accident curtailed his involvement and he had a lot of other commitments. They continued into this year and now he has taken the decision to pack his bags, put them up on his shoulders and head off around the world. Good luck to him. He leaves with his place in our story secured.
Philip Roche
Rochey strolled into an interview with me early in 2008. He'd been in the recruitment process the previous year and did well but timing meant he could not pursue his application. It made for an easy first interview. I fired a couple of standard questions and he says we spent the next 45 minutes talking about football. Anyway, he did enough and I sent him on for his final interview and he landed himself a job.
It was all hunky dory in the first year as he followed the party line and did as was expected. Despite the irritable D4 accent, he led by example at training and in tournaments. He was a key man for us when we won the Championship.
He drifted in year two and word filtered back about his waning interest. I wasn’t impressed. His girlfriend Ciara started to try and wrestle him from my clutches too and was largely successful. When we did get him out, he had miserable luck with injury. He first hurt his knee in Lux in May and then made a mess of it in Maastricht in November.
That injury has effectively kept him out of action all of 2010. Still, it offered an opportunity to get him involved with the training this year and that was a massive boost. He has the respect of the lads and a serious attitude when he is actually there. I needed his help and the lads needed another voice. It’s worked very well and we will miss his presence on and off the pitch next year.
He heads for London now to live with Ciara and we wish him luck. I no longer look at her with the bitterness I used to so he goes with my blessing. I’m sure they will both sleep easier knowing that.
Oliver O’Callaghan
Greeted by Mickey Keane’s infamous words down in Maastricht. Two years sitting across from Eoin Sheanon would have broke many a man much sooner. Ollie stuck it out much longer to his credit. He is also destined for London and will do a PhD in some Law stuff with the ultimate goal of getting back into the London student social scene. If you are small enough, you can claim to be young enough.
Interestingly, it was only after he announced his departure that he became as quick on the pitch as he is in the wee hours. He started kicking points, winning sprints and knocking fellas over.
A few tournament highlights...Rennes 2009. Eoin said he’d give him something like a tenner for each point scored. When his first score flew into the top corner, we all erupted on the sideline. He added a few more but never saw a cent. Then there was that equalising goal in the Intra-Club league. I think everyone knows what I’m talking about. We must of course mention his ridiculous behaviour after getting any type of score. Yes, he is one of those guys who suddenly becomes animated, punches the air, dishes out instructions and generally thinks ‘he da man’ for the following thirty seconds.
He’ll be missed all round; on the field, at work I’m sure, by the ladies and by the lads. His intelligent humour went way over my head most of the time but he was always entertaining, either through his jokes or just to look at!!
Tom Lane
Tom emailed pre-Munich to say he was already gone. He moved to Brussels sometime around 2007 having played with Amsterdam for a few years. He was there with myself and Conan the first night we started hatching plans for a football team in the Oak in November 2007. He'd be a constant in our first year and deservedly claimed his European Championship medal down in Maastricht.
2009 wasn't so kind to him as a skiing accident curtailed his involvement and he had a lot of other commitments. They continued into this year and now he has taken the decision to pack his bags, put them up on his shoulders and head off around the world. Good luck to him. He leaves with his place in our story secured.
Philip Roche
Rochey strolled into an interview with me early in 2008. He'd been in the recruitment process the previous year and did well but timing meant he could not pursue his application. It made for an easy first interview. I fired a couple of standard questions and he says we spent the next 45 minutes talking about football. Anyway, he did enough and I sent him on for his final interview and he landed himself a job.
It was all hunky dory in the first year as he followed the party line and did as was expected. Despite the irritable D4 accent, he led by example at training and in tournaments. He was a key man for us when we won the Championship.
He drifted in year two and word filtered back about his waning interest. I wasn’t impressed. His girlfriend Ciara started to try and wrestle him from my clutches too and was largely successful. When we did get him out, he had miserable luck with injury. He first hurt his knee in Lux in May and then made a mess of it in Maastricht in November.
That injury has effectively kept him out of action all of 2010. Still, it offered an opportunity to get him involved with the training this year and that was a massive boost. He has the respect of the lads and a serious attitude when he is actually there. I needed his help and the lads needed another voice. It’s worked very well and we will miss his presence on and off the pitch next year.
He heads for London now to live with Ciara and we wish him luck. I no longer look at her with the bitterness I used to so he goes with my blessing. I’m sure they will both sleep easier knowing that.
Oliver O’Callaghan
Greeted by Mickey Keane’s infamous words down in Maastricht. Two years sitting across from Eoin Sheanon would have broke many a man much sooner. Ollie stuck it out much longer to his credit. He is also destined for London and will do a PhD in some Law stuff with the ultimate goal of getting back into the London student social scene. If you are small enough, you can claim to be young enough.
Interestingly, it was only after he announced his departure that he became as quick on the pitch as he is in the wee hours. He started kicking points, winning sprints and knocking fellas over.
A few tournament highlights...Rennes 2009. Eoin said he’d give him something like a tenner for each point scored. When his first score flew into the top corner, we all erupted on the sideline. He added a few more but never saw a cent. Then there was that equalising goal in the Intra-Club league. I think everyone knows what I’m talking about. We must of course mention his ridiculous behaviour after getting any type of score. Yes, he is one of those guys who suddenly becomes animated, punches the air, dishes out instructions and generally thinks ‘he da man’ for the following thirty seconds.
He’ll be missed all round; on the field, at work I’m sure, by the ladies and by the lads. His intelligent humour went way over my head most of the time but he was always entertaining, either through his jokes or just to look at!!
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