Tackle player burn-out issue, but not at expense of clubs

I WAS at the Tipperary SHC final on Sunday, where 16-year-old Noel McGrath played a starring role in Loughmore-Castleiney’s first success since 1988, only their second in all.

While Noel was doing damage in Semple Stadium, up in Galway young Joe Canning, just out of minor, was notching 3-4 in Portumna’s romp to their second county title in three years.

According to reports, Joe wasn’t even the star of the show, but two years ago in Portumna’s breakthrough year he was, form he maintained all the way to Portumna’s All-Ireland title. His age then? Just a few months older than Noel McGrath.

This all brought to mind an issue that’s been engaging the minds of a lot of people lately — player burn-out. It’s a major problem and isn’t confined either to the exceptionally talented such as Noel McGrath and Joe Canning.

Any young inter-county player nowadays, those aged 18 to around 23, who are on panel of their own intercounty team and who are also attending one of the many fine third-level institutions nationwide are in danger of burn-out.

The reasons are obvious — too many games, too many training sessions. To this simple mind, the solution is equally obvious, and no, it’s not that which is being touted, doing away with the minor and U-21 competitions at inter-county level, replacing it with a new U-19 grade.

Recently on radio I heard a guy (won’t mention his name because he’s not in isolation) discussing the burn-out issue, the effect it had on young players especially. He was a selector on a minor team that had done well in the All-Ireland this year, a teacher, one who was at the coal-face on both the playing and the academic side, and thus understood first-hand the pressure facing these young lads.

Leaving Cert, inter-county fare at minor level, probably starring for a number of teams with their club also, he spoke knowledgeably and sympathetically about the burn-out issue.

And then he mentioned that his team had over 100 training sessions this year, as had a number of other teams in the competition. The minor All-Ireland, and this is already what team management is demanding of these youngsters.

Am I alone in thinking this is outrageous, shocking even? What title is worth that? Add in the sessions these lads are doing with their school/college, with their clubs at the various grades from minor to senior, and how much slogging are they doing off the pitch, before they ever get to play a game? How many teams are they playing with, how many matches?

The intercounty scene has been running rampant for many years now, as has the college scene, but it’s not the number of competitive games — it’s the number of training sessions, the number of challenge games.

There MUST be some kind of curb put on a manager’s access to intercounty players, and to the number of those players — and with due respect to them all, this is not something that should even be discussed with them.

It’s not just the players who have suffered — it’s the clubs, all the clubs, and this is suffering on the double. The players need their clubs as much as their clubs need them, perhaps more. It’s true that a fantastic bond can be created between players at inter-county level, but the club is home — these guys aren’t seeing enough of it.

Leave the minor and U21 championships, grades that have given us fantastic games over the year, grades that are vital in the progression of most players; manage them properly, that’s all, manage all the teams at all levels.

Don’t put a blanket ban either on the age at which a lad can play at adult level, using a mallet to crack a peanut. Without Noel McGrath Loughmore-Castleiney wouldn’t be Tipperary senior champions today; he is richer for that experience, much richer, and so is his club. Leave that alone.

The clubs, the smaller clubs especially, are already suffering enough through the loss to the county for most of the year of their best players. The problem is at inter-county and colleges level, the problem has to be managed at those levels. Bite the bullet, tackle the real problem.

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