Putting the foundations in place

AS the inter-county GAA season emerges from winter hibernation, Brendan Larkin and Therese O’Callaghan canvassed football and hurling managers on their close season training regime.

IT might once have been the off-season, but for many modern inter-county sides October, November and December are training months. The managers don't all sing from the same hymn sheet, and some flatly contradict the approach of their colleagues.

Cork's senior footballers began in September. When Cork's All-Ireland hurlers were playing county champions Newtownshandrum, coach Billy Morgan organised the footballers' first get-together for the 2005 season.

"Last September each player was given a weights programme which they followed rigidly one night a week," said Morgan, whose charges went into serious training in the middle of January.

Cork also went to La Manga in Spain early in January for an intensive week's training, even if Morgan feels "the days of players lapping the field are gone, although Mick O'Dwyer trains the Laois team as he did the Kerry side 30 years ago and it hasn't done them any harm."

That same Mick O'Dwyer, whose Laois side face Limerick in tomorrow's League opener, is equally forthright on lapping the field. "I've my own method of training. It has stood the test of time and I'll stick with it. I'll work on building up the players' stamina by doing a lot of lapping the field and sprints. It's the best way to prepare for the modern game."

His Laois side have done most of their work indoors, in a facility at The Heath just outside Portlaoise, where they've been training two nights a week since last October under John Doran, who was also the trainer O'Dwyer had with Kildare."

Wexford's Pat Roe doesn't hold with that indoor work, by contrast.

"I don't have indoor training facilities but wouldn't use them if I had. I prefer the outdoors. Training usually lasts an hour to an hour and a half and 90% of it is ball work. We need to brush up on the skills of the game and what better way than to constantly use the ball?"

Roe, whose side entertain Armagh tomorrow, doesn't believe in lapping the field either, which he believes can become "very boring", he regularly watches other codes for training tips. "The day I know everything is the day I'll stop being a coach. Every day is a school day."

In contrast with Roe's focus on ballwork, Tipperary football boss Seamus McCarthy must concentrate on his side's stamina. Unrest in the camp last year meant the side missed winter training.

"Consequently our fitness is way out of line, and we are now in the middle of heavy stamina training under lights in Dr Morris Park, which contributed to our poor showing in the McGrath Cup. The lads also have their own individual gym programmes."

At the other end of the scale, Roscommon football manager Tom Carr has given some of his players time off, because they're suffering burn-out. Though he's brought in fitness expert Joe Doonan, trainer to marathon runner Catherina McKiernan, he's had "a lot of young, raw players" on board.

"We're now training four times a week, and when the NFL begins it will be Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Meeting Friday before league games is very important as it keeps the fellows fresh and focused."

In hurling, the difference in approaches is even more marked, despite the traditional emphasis on touch and skill work. For instance Dublin's hurling manager Humphrey Kelleher has surrounded himself with specialists like Australian Will Heffernan, the strength and conditioning coach, trainer Jim Kilty, and Kilkenny/Tipperary hurler Denis Byrne as the new skills coach. Strength is a prerequisite for the Dubs this season.

"Last year we were not physically capable of competing with the top teams," says Kelleher. "We were skilful enough but weren't executing under pressure."

Dublin started gym work on October 26 for two nights a week. "Since Jan 1 we have upped that to two nights weights, two nights outdoors, and matches on Saturday and Sunday. The response has been tremendous. By the end of January-February we will have trained 42 days out of a possible 59."

Dinny Cahill's Antrim side is a year further along than Dublin, though he admits the beating by Cork in last year's championship was a big setback.

"Our pride hurt," he confessed. "We took a break after that and did not resume training until November. Now spirits are high again. Twelve months ago we did nothing, only gym work because we had to build up players, but now we're doing Monday and Thursday in the gym, and Tuesday and Friday outside in all-weather pitches."

Cahill's preparations have included replacing well-known names "You have to trim out the waste wood, even guys who have given great service," and he's currently focused on maintaining Antrim's Division 1B status.

Cahill and Kelleher's concentration on winter weight training cuts no ice with John McIntyre, the new Offaly hurling coach; he argues that the season is long enough without putting players through the wringer too early.

"We got back to training in early January and the response has been very good. I'm a firm believer in variety in training as it keeps players interested.

"It's important that training isn't dull and that players look forward to coming in. Having the use of the all-weather facilities at Birr Community School is a huge bonus for us. I don't believe in all this indoor training. The games are played outdoor, so why not train outdoors?

"We'll build up the stamina work as the season goes on, but I don't believe in all these scientific methods of training that seem to be the norm now. For me hurling training is all about working on the skills of the game and a player's first touch. Get those right and everything else will fall into place."

Pad Joe Whelahan's Limerick hurlers have been back in training since late November, but the Offaly man shares McIntyre's skills belief.

"The facilities at the University of Limerick are superb and under Dave Mahedy we've been training there three nights a week, working on the skills of the game. A typical training night would last about two hours and so far all the players have responded well.

"I'm not in favour of doing laps around the field. That becomes monotonous and can turn players off very quickly. A devised programme where players don't realise they are working hard is the ideal way to prepare a team."

Ken Hogan is keen on building team spirit within the Tipperary camp, and to that end he's willing to accept the absence of Toomevara players while they're hunting All-Ireland Club glory.

"If Toomevara do well, which I think they will, the taste of success would be good for the county. Look at Newtownshandrum and Cork last year. We did not start back until January 5 and so far we're confining ourselves to base work."

Hogan feels January is primarily for developing teamwork and team bonding, but he's also looking further down the line.

"Our aim for the year is to get to the All-Ireland quarter-final, but for the present, we'll look no further than our Munster championship date with Limerick in May."

Waterford hurling boss, Justin McCarthy, has long preached the value of freshness in players, and his side are settling back after a ten-day team holiday in South Africa, where a fundraising game played amongst themselves for the local townships was their only real exertion.

"We train Tuesdays and Thursdays and hurl at the weekend," says McCarthy, but the majority of the training is outdoors, with very little gym work.

He emphasises that his players perform better when focusing on competitive games.

"Our first game is against Kilkenny at home, and then we play Laois, Dublin, Galway and Clare. The aim is to make progress in the spring and to be still moving ahead by early summer. We learned a lot last year and at the moment we want to build a strong panel, including new players."

The most successful inter-county hurling coach of recent years, meanwhile, says his squad has done no serious training since the All-Ireland final.

"Players are currently in the gym following specific programmes," says Brian Cody of Kilkenny. "But there has been nothing done collectively. We came back from two weeks holiday in Florida a fortnight ago and no hurling was done on that trip.

"Training for hurling is different from football in that we do most of our work with the hurley. Of course, there's a lot of stamina work done. You have to do that to build up your reserves for the big games, there's no point in being able to hurl if you can't last the pace.

"It's important to freshen up training, something new helps players to stay on their toes. Otherwise training sessions can become boring and players lose interest."