Christy O’Connor: Calendar motion will leave young players high and dry

When quizzed about his homework, the young player said he didn’t do homework on a Monday. “I take a detention every Wednesday,” he said.

When the ‘Talent Academy and Player Development Work Group’ went on the road collecting and collating data during a six-month period in 2018-2019, the U16 players involved in the consultation process told their own stories.

Most were positive experiences. Players spoke at those workshops about the pride of playing for their county, but the collateral cost was often a convenient oversight or an unrecognised horror story.