Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Kerry's bonding days of hell en route to All-Ireland

While the Kingdom's overseas training camps were documented, a lesser known but no less important aspect of their Championship preparation were team-bonding days. The All-Ireland winning manager offers an insight into the benefits

AT THE SUMMIT: The Kerry footballers at the top of Galtymore

Sat, 16 Apr, 2022 - 09:43

Éamonn Fitzmaurice

An All-Ireland winner with Kerry as player and manager who now brings sharp, modern tactical analysis of the game to Irish Examiner readers and listeners.

SO much is new and unusual for us when it comes to the 2022 football championship. Most significantly it will be run off in 15 weekends, finishing with the All Ireland final on July 24th.

The condensed season and the short gap between league and championship equates to an important change for most teams. That gap would have previously afforded teams - particularly the top teams - an invaluable opportunity to physically top up to be ready for the summer road. While some teams, most notably Kerry, still have that luxury, many counties are straight into it. How the sports scientists manage this will be telling.