Getting the outside edge

IT’S no secret that GAA teams and their management entourage will go to any length in their quest to seek an advantage over their rivals.

More and more inter-county teams have sought experts within the two codes in the hope of arming them with an elusive ‘edge’ for the championship.

However, more and more teams are now, in fact, seeking advice from outside sports, such as boxing and rugby.

Former Leinster hooker Bernard Jackman is Performance Coach to the Wexford footballers and works on all aspects of preparation with them including self-belief, leadership development within the squad, goals and how they analyse opponents and he believes the GAA has made huge strides in professionalism in recent times.

“They are putting in huge hours and they understand the building blocks that need to be put in place to be a high-performance athlete,” he said.

“They are right up there (with rugby) with tactics, nutrition, rehydration, strength and conditioning, injury management, everything.

“They know that they need to put that structure in place in January if they are to perform at their very best come June. They know that the Ger Loughnane stuff isn’t enough anymore, that they have to do it all.”

So are they up with the ‘less is more’ mantra?

“It is changing, the perception. I would get the impression sometimes that they have this impression of rugby players hopping off each other in training day after day, five days a week, when the reality is that rarely happens.

“When rugby went pro, we were absolutely flogged to death and we were completely fatigued come game days. Our results dipped the more we did because there is basic science behind it and most GAA teams now would have someone from that sports science side with them.

“It’s even more important for these guys who are 19 or 20 and who are playing Sigerson Cup on top of everything else. They need to be monitored constantly and made sure they are not being asked to do too much because the load on them is massive.”

On the main differences between amateur and professionals, Jackman, who has studied attitudes in the NFL, NBA and AFL offers: “You are talking about anything up to eight sessions a week at times for guys who are holding down jobs as well.

“The rugby lads are all incredibly lucky. They get designated down time. They have their meals served up to them and time to recuperate. You have the footballers throwing their kit into the boot of a car after a day at the office or whatever and that’s not ideal, to say the least.”

However, despite that, he said: “These guys are at the top level of sport and you could go into any of the dressing rooms I was in — Leinster, Connacht or Ireland — would have had huge respect for the GAA guys.

“You walk into a dressing-room and you get their full attention but maybe they are a bit shy at first and then after you get to know them they open up, whereas when Pádraig Harrington talked to the Irish lads, we bombarded him with questions.”

GAA players have developed in size, no question about that, some teams even resembling their rugby counterparts. It’s something Billy Walsh, Irish Boxing’s head coach, has recognised.

“It’s changed so much from when I used to play, there’s hardly any resemblance to now and then. Some of them wouldn’t look out of place on a rugby field,” he said.

Walsh played minor hurling and football for Wexford in 1981 but opted for boxing after a Leinster final defeat to Kilkenny in the former code.

The Faythe Harriers clubman has worked with Crossmaglen Rangers as well as the Laois and Model County’s senior football teams this year; recruited by both to provide advice on diet, preparation and mental strength, as well as recovery and discipline.

The latter he believes, is one of the key differences between the GAA and boxing.

“In boxing, you could be in there taking a hammering, getting beaten up, but you just have to keep your head and not lash out. If you do, the fight will be over very quick. It’s one of the key elements of making it as a boxer. If you’re ill-disciplined, you probably won’t even make it into the ring. But in GAA, there isn’t as much and you see it all the time, as recent as last weekend, guys having a go at the ref or whatever.”

Burnout and over-training are buzz words bandied about in the GAA these days, with competition’s overlapping, and players, especially college players, under huge demands from club, county and college, but in terms of preparation, Walsh intimated they ought to try the life of a boxer. “These guys (boxers) train twice a day, with maybe one rest day a week. GAA players don’t train as much, maybe some do but certainly not as much as boxers.”