Sheedy: Stop the player drain

GAA clubs need to make a much greater effort to prevent players between the ages of 16 and 20 from becoming distracted and quitting the game, former Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy has said.

Officials should do everything in their power to keep them involved as there is a danger that they will be lost to the game forever, he told the Munster Council GAA forum in Killarney on Saturday.

Sheedy said a huge number of players drift away from the game in their teenage years with many becoming distracted by “high stools and cailinís” but club officials need to act fast to ensure they keep playing the game.

“Put an arm around them and take a few clouds out of the sky for them,” he said.

Later in life many of them have huge regrets that they stopped playing and, in many instances, all they might have needed was a little persuasion to stay involved.

“Make sure you are communicating with the players between 16 and 20 and make sure you hear them,” he said.

Sheedy, who guided Tipperary to the All-Ireland title in 2010, also urged clubs to set their targets high, on and off the field, if they want to be successful and he stressed that fundraising and investment are key if clubs are to make proper progress.

“To move with the times you have to invest and you’ll get it back in spades, 10 or 20 fold. Everything evolves around investment and if you can’t invest in your club and your players you are not going to be successful,” he said.

He recalled a time when his own club, Portroe, was caught for cash and consideration was given to buying a car as a prize and selling lines at GAA matches throughout the country to raise funds.

Sheedy said club member Declan Kelly – a hugely successful businessman and a former US economic envoy – said to do so would be akin to killing a fly with a sledgehammer and he suggested that a €1,000 a team golf classic would be a better way to generate funds.

“He said he would get 10 teams and surely we could get 10 or 15 teams as well. We made €22,000 from that fundraiser and it just goes to show that you’ve got to think big.

“You want to see people who are ambitious if you want to be successful.”

Sheedy told delegates that GAA clubs have to raise the bar if they want to achieve their goals and when he managed the Tipperary senior hurlers he always set very high standards.

“If we were training at half seven then I was always there by seven and I was ready to go at quarter past seven.

“You can’t come in at twenty to eight as you would be noticed. If I walked in at twenty to eight and the boys arrived at eight o’clock they would be well within their rights. You have to set the standard,” he said.

Clubs also need to constantly encourage players and volunteers rather than telling them what they are doing wrong but everybody must know what it expected of them, he insisted.

“When people get involved they must contribute. There is no point in talking about it and they must put their shoulder to wheel,” he said.

Sheedy said he won’t accept people operating within their comfort zone and clubs should encourage everybody to get the best out of themselves.

“Everyone in life must operate at the top of their game or challenge themselves to get to the top of their game all of the time. Push people around you out of their comfort zone.

“There is no bigger thrill in life than being around people who get into a space where they get the best out of themselves.

“We have a fabulous organisation but there are so many people right now that are under achieving. Set your goals and set about achieving them but make sure they are big goals.

“If you expect to achieve results you must commit yourself to operate at a level never before attempted.”

The former Tipperary boss said every team should be set up for success and clubs should get people involved to ensure that on-field targets are met as everything hinges on the players.

“Plan and prepare energetic training sessions and make sure that happens at every age group. Don’t take your eye off the ball at any level or you’ll be back down at the bottom of the hill before you know it,” he said.

“We must ensure that players are treated better in our organisation than anywhere else. The product that we have and the enjoyment that you can get from it is absolutely massive. We’ve got to ensure that we keep on encouraging young people to keep participating,” he said.

Sheedy, who foiled Kilkenny’s five-in-a-row aspirations in 2010, said when he is coaching he prefers setting short-term targets as opposed to developing long term ones.

“I always work off a one-year plan. I know there are five-year plans in the GAA and that’s great but if you set a five-year plan you won’t win anything in the first year,” he said.