Training methods wrong, says Shanahan

THE time has come to stop the “madness” of over-training players, said outgoing Tipperary Chairman Donal Shanahan in his address to yesterday’s annual convention in Thurles.

Saying that he had recently witnessed under-12 and under-14 players undergoing a warm-up routine which would do justice to a the world of professional rugby, he called on clubs to re-examine their coaching and training methods at youth level.

"There is an increasing body of opinion which suggests that some training methods adopted by some coaches at club level is unhelpful, inappropriate and irrelevant in the context of the age groups covered,'' he commented.