Can the empire strike back?
Every January their ambition is to be as competitive as they can and hope to win their competitions. All their resources are connected, co-ordinated and mobilised and they’re not shy in proclaiming this. Can the same be said for Cork?
Kilkenny recognise club activity is very important but also recognise inter-county success, particularly at senior level but important also at minor and U21, are their greatest games promotion vehicles. In today’s world it is recognised universally that role models in various walks of life fire the imagination and inspire teenagers across the board to emulate their heroes and heroines in various activities. Hurling is the same.
Eddie Murphy has been coaching hurling in Douglas schools for over 20 years. “There’s no better games promotion than having a Cork team with a major trophy visiting a school.”
He also felt U16 was the crucial age grade for the development of good young hurlers, adding that Féile na * Gael is over-glamorised and 14-year-olds are unsuited to some of the pressures that go with it.
“It would be far better if this was for U16s. They would have the maturity to handle the pressures associated with it and it would be the ideal framework to hold players longer in the club scene as well as being a good stepping stone to minor.”
Mark Landers, Cork’s winning captain in 1999 and manager/coach of the U17 county development squads was of a similar mind-set on the importance of the U16 grade, stressing the need for players at this level to be playing at a high intensity and pace.
“There are league games but players are not partaking in enough higher intensity championship-type games.”
He favours a league championship format in groups running on a particular night for a number of consecutive weeks after the state exams rather than the present format, a straight knockout. Group winners would play teams below them in a knockout series leading to a top-four type format.
A plate competition for the bottom clubs could also be included to keep those players interested.
“This format would make games more competitive and provide more matches,” says Landers. “It would benefit the individual players and the clubs as players would compete at a higher level leading to an overall raising of standards.”
Research shows that 50% of players in the U14, U15 and U16 age groups get one championship game, and that a further 25% get two.
The competitions for 2013 for these grades have already been arranged, but if coaches of development squads feel the structure of competitions are slowing the progress of players then that structure should be looked at.
It is not that coaches know more than administrators who organise the fixtures, but from a skill proficiency/deficiency perspective, the coach is ideally placed to make a judgement.
Fixture and competition planners have difficult positions within a county structure, catering for hurling as well as football across many age groups. There will be complaints from sectors no matter what they do.
If a compromise is needed between coaches and competition planners, why not pilot some research in 2013? Ask eight of the clubs beaten in the first round of the Premier U16 championship to play against each other in groups of four in a league championship format over four or five weeks in a plate competition.
Some feedback from the players and club coaches could be gathered and at least a discussion on a change of direction or keeping the status quo could take place.
At inter-county minor, U21 and senior level some common connection on tactical and role awareness should be running through the coaching, so that players making the career journey on to senior will find it easier to adapt when they arrive.
This year’s Cork minors had a high number of get-togethers, as did the U21s — but both teams lacked the awareness needed to respond to certain scenarios as they developed.
Minor and U21 coaches have difficulty in accessing their players in the summer so a lot of the team organisational work and understanding of roles should be in place by then. Both panels could be selected before Christmas and instead of concentrating on weights training exclusively, a lot more time should be invested on organisational and positional play.
There are restrictions on the amount of training sessions underage teams can be involved in, but minors and U21s would not be involved in training, they would be involved in organisational coaching sessions with different units of the panel.
To my knowledge there are no restrictions on these. The seniors didn’t adhere strictly to the restrictions in 2011 and maybe it’s time Cork wised up to the fact that these rules on restrictions are being circumvented in other counties and they now have to sprint to keep up.
Joining all the development dots is a huge undertaking and a revamped development squad structure was put in place this autumn from 14-17 after a review of the previous efforts.
This review committee was chaired by Liam Hennessy and included renowned and highly-respected physical trainer Sean McGrath as well as Brian Cuthbert and John Considine, who have managed Cork at minor level.
The people involved in the development squads are enthusiastic about their structure and the concept behind them and squads administrator, Carbery GDA Kevin O’Donovan, came in for the highest of praise.
But keeping that enthusiasm and work ethic over five years is a massive challenge. These squads have undergone development work in CIT during the mid-term break in October and other sessions are scheduled at Christmas, Easter and two in the summer.
Brian Cuthbert heads up the management committee charged with building a successful scheme in hurling and football and explained the philosophy behind the schemes is the total development of the young player.
“Up to now there was a feeling that winning the inter-county blitz tournaments was the purpose of the squads.
“We want to get away from this philosophy, to de-emphasise winning, so to speak, and emphasise overall quality. Of course, we won’t see the results of the scheme until this year’s U14s go through.”
I was struck by Cuthbert’s determination and sincerity to make these squads a success and came away from our meeting with the notion that these squads were Cork’s last chance to save the day.
Bob Ryan, chairman of Cork County Board, told me: “The success of these squads is vital for the resurgence of Cork hurling,” adding that he took a personal interest in their reorganisation and redevelopment as “a concentrated programme towards excellence”.
He stressed the squads would be resourced properly and they would want for nothing, within reason.
But what happens when his term is up? It’s important that finance needed for this project is ring-fenced for the next 10 years as promises go out the window when financial resources are stretched when, no doubt, loans on the Páirc Uí Chaoimh project are being repaid.
Marc Sheehan is chairman of Coiste na nÓg, the body directly responsible for these squads and also stressed his commitment to their success, adding that they’re working hard to streamline fixtures so they don’t conflict with colleges games.
These squads are designed to streamline a pathway of quality progress for young players and although it is envisaged that coaching personnel will move on with their groups from year to year, it is the executive of the county board — not Coiste na nÓg — that will pick the minor manager.
This is a flaw in the system, but when asked about it Ryan said the board “are open-minded about it”.
The nub of the problem in Cork is that there are many schools and clubs playing hurling with a high level of participation but not enough players are playing at consistently high levels.
If one was to put Cork in Olympic Games terms, there are many athletes but not enough are reaching the ‘A’ standard. Awareness, always the first step to recovery, was slow to dawn but it’s there now at county board executive level.
There are major deficiencies; a lack of finance for coaching; the need for six or more hurling-only GDAs; all-weather facilities (the new floodlit facility in the old Showgrounds will be operational by early 2015, according to Ryan); the standard in schools; the standard of club teams at senior; the lack of inter-county success and therefore games promotion.
Is Cork hurling on its knees? Should it be the top priority with the county board executive co-ordinating a war in defence of the game? Imagine the euphoria on Leeside if this war and the investment in the development squads catapulted Cork back to the top some September.
Imagine the headlines: “The Empire Strikes Back.”
