Poll: The Winter training ban

The Irish Times - Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Managers warned over potential breaches


IAN O'RIORDAN Reports

GAELIC GAMES NEWS: THE GAA has warned county managers that any potential breaches of the so-called winter training ban could result in the withholding of gate receipts from the upcoming National Leagues.

They may not be planting undercover agents in furze bushes on the Curragh or behind stone walls in Donegal, but the GAA will be pursuing any reports of such breaches, even if so far there has only been anecdotal evidence of county teams training in November and December.

“If we hear definitely of any teams breaking the ban we’ll certainly investigate it,” said Feargal McGill, the GAA’s Operations Manager. “We haven’t received any concrete information on it so far. But we’ve clearly set down that we’ll withhold elements of National League gate receipts if any county is blatantly disregarding it.”

“But it’s not about us chasing counties. It’s about team managers using their cop-on. All the scientific and medial evidence suggests players are better off having a break at this time of year. It’s good for them mentally and it’s good for them physically.”

Nevertheless, several county managers have spoken out against the collective training ban since its introduction, for the second year, on November 1st – although the majority of these are managers going into their first seasons in charge, and therefore at an apparent disadvantage over managers who have been in charge of teams for one year or more.

“We still believe that having a close season is a vital thing for the GAA,” added McGill. “It happens in every other sport all around the world. Players have to rest. They have to recover. We accept that the close season as it is probably isn’t perfect. Not all players are getting a break, and in third level colleges in particular, players probably aren’t getting a significant break.

“But nonetheless if there wasn’t a closed intercounty season they’d be getting far less of a break because they’d be trying to serve two masters. They’d be training for two teams at this time of the year. At least they’re only playing and training with one team at the moment.

“We know there have been opinions expressed from individual managers, and possibly from some players, over the past couple of weeks, but we’re intent on maintaining the close season. If counties want to tweak it, change the timing of it or whatever, they can do so at Congress.”

There is some evidence of managers getting around the November-December training ban, by breaking up their panels into smaller groups (as is reportedly happening with the Donegal footballers), or simply giving players individual training programmes to work on in their own time (as is happening with the Waterford hurlers). However, the GAA are happy to let this go, as long as managers are seen to be generally respectful of the collective ban.

“Players are entitled individual programmes, absolutely,” says McGill. “You’ve got a situation in a lot of counties in the west and south where you have people living in Dublin, and throughout the year they’re driving two or three hours to get to training and back. We don’t want that at this time of year.

“So plenty of individual players are training in gyms and that’s fine. We don’t expect them to stop altogether but at least they’re in control of what they’re doing themselves. And I believe the vast majority of counties are honouring the ban, and those who aren’t need to look at themselves.

“They need to take a common sense approach to it, as much as us going after them and punishing them, they need to use their own cop-on. It’s not going to help any player not to be having a rest at this time of year.”

It remains to be seen if there is enough objection to the training ban to generate a motion to Congress next April, either doing away with the ban altogether or having it reduced to perhaps only November.

However, the chances of the ban being extended to club training appear slim, given the limited amount of club activity at this time of the year anyway.

“The association has no proactive plans to change this at the moment,” added McGill.

“If managers are talking to county boards and have very strong opinions on this it’s up to them to bring motions to Congress. But I don’t believe it will ever extend to clubs.

“The way the fixture calendar is structured at the moment it’s just impossible, but in all fairness it’s a very small number of clubs that are active from mid-November to the end of the year. Only a fraction of clubs, really.”

Dublin players have their two feet up till the 1-1-2011 chilling..No collective training FACT ... i think they might have the odd collective session of beer though.

Tyrone over 40ssorry meant over 30s have being back training since october..Does that mean their breaking this ban....

the vast majority of the Clare hurling panel and a good few young lads(from last years 21's side) have been doing weight programs and conditioning work since the start of the month...half a dozen or so of the older guard have been given the autumn off and are expected to be back in January

mullins wrote:Dublin players have their two feet up till the 1-1-2011 chilling..No collective training FACT ... i think they might have the odd collective session of beer though.

A fair share of them looked one-footed all summer....having 2 feet in the winter is no use....

Boxtyeater wrote:

mullins wrote:Dublin players have their two feet up till the 1-1-2011 chilling..No collective training FACT ... i think they might have the odd collective session of beer though.

A fair share of them looked one-footed all summer....having 2 feet in the winter is no use....

Boxty im sure 1 day, We will send down another Dub to deliver you another connacht title....But if he keeps reading the above it could be a long time..

I notice when trawling through Twitter, in my capacity as Forum Twitterer (or Twitter Twat as the wife calls it!!) that the Derry panel are doing a fitness test tonight! Paddy Bradley (@paddyb14) was talking about it to Danny Devlin (@delboy something) last night when Devlin posted that he had the flu! This has turned out to be a complete farce with me noticing at least 4 county players who have admitted to winter intercounty training! Time for the GAA to admit that this needs serious revision!

bald eagle wrote:I notice when trawling through Twitter, in my capacity as Forum Twitterer (or Twitter Twat as the wife calls it!!) that the Derry panel are doing a fitness test tonight! Paddy Bradley (@paddyb14) was talking about it to Danny Devlin (@delboy something) last night when Devlin posted that he had the flu! This has turned out to be a complete farce with me noticing at least 4 county players who have admitted to winter intercounty training! Time for the GAA to admit that this needs serious revision!

i was speaking to a friend of mine at the weekend BE - and he was actually involved in a session with the Derry senior panel on Saturday morning. It was a session of 1k runs with him acting as a pace setter. He was surprised at how 'unfit' the guys were!!!!

bocerty wrote:

bald eagle wrote:I notice when trawling through Twitter, in my capacity as Forum Twitterer (or Twitter Twat as the wife calls it!!) that the Derry panel are doing a fitness test tonight! Paddy Bradley (@paddyb14) was talking about it to Danny Devlin (@delboy something) last night when Devlin posted that he had the flu! This has turned out to be a complete farce with me noticing at least 4 county players who have admitted to winter intercounty training! Time for the GAA to admit that this needs serious revision!

i was speaking to a friend of mine at the weekend BE - and he was actually involved in a session with the Derry senior panel on Saturday morning. It was a session of 1k runs with him acting as a pace setter. He was surprised at how 'unfit' the guys were!!!!

Yeah, it's unreal! You have Paddy Bradley on Twitter this week asking some lad if he's playing in the game between Derry and St. Marys this weekend! As for fitness, if Derry aren't going to be fit in July, they sure as hell ain't gonna be fit in December!!

bald eagle wrote:

bocerty wrote:

bald eagle wrote:I notice when trawling through Twitter, in my capacity as Forum Twitterer (or Twitter Twat as the wife calls it!!) that the Derry panel are doing a fitness test tonight! Paddy Bradley (@paddyb14) was talking about it to Danny Devlin (@delboy something) last night when Devlin posted that he had the flu! This has turned out to be a complete farce with me noticing at least 4 county players who have admitted to winter intercounty training! Time for the GAA to admit that this needs serious revision!

i was speaking to a friend of mine at the weekend BE - and he was actually involved in a session with the Derry senior panel on Saturday morning. It was a session of 1k runs with him acting as a pace setter. He was surprised at how 'unfit' the guys were!!!!

Yeah, it's unreal! You have Paddy Bradley on Twitter this week asking some lad if he's playing in the game between Derry and St. Marys this weekend! As for fitness, if Derry aren't going to be fit in July, they sure as hell ain't gonna be fit in December!!

what he was basically saying was that some of them were so bulked up with years of weights that speed was non existent in most of them. They were all fit for long endurance runs and would probably run all day but pace was very slow.

In many ways its the same for a lot of teams - the big emphasis has been on weights and upper body strength and yet look at Gooch, he wouldnt be 2 stone soaking wet and his lack of strength hardly is a disadvantage to him