Colin Sheridan: GAA must end merciless grind of never-ending season for student players

Imagine the buzz and excitement that a November Sigerson weekend in Galway would generate? Imagine, too, the relief of a player whose season has finally come to an end.

Ulster University players celebrate at the final whistle of the 2024 Sigerson Cup final against UCD. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

November. The dirtiest of months, when nothing grows save for our fatigue with pretty much everything. The evenings close in like a bleak metaphor, with the summer that never was dissolving into distant memory. It’s difficult to find some light in the dark, but, with magnificent inevitability, the GAA club championships provide it, enhanced by TG4’s excellent coverage that consistently illuminates otherwise forgettable Sunday afternoons with its innovative broadcasting and linguistic flair, making us all wish we paid more attention to the modh coinníollach.

While the few club players left playing this time of year are chasing their dreams around muddy pitches in the midlands, the many are about to embark on yet another season, a matter of weeks after the last one ended. This will manifest itself through elaborate strength and conditioning issued alongside club charters that often demand the abandonment of all vices. These programs will morph and evolve from December to June, while league matches of little consequence will punctuate the monotony. More waiting will then ensue, on county players to return exhausted from the front - or the States if your county was beaten early - sore and inevitably fed up with the game they are supposed to love. Somehow, they must summon the effort to care about a club championship that is the highlight of their teammates' year, but maybe the bane of theirs. The end, whenever it comes, is likely a relief.