Sponsored by
Sideline View . . . with Martin Kiely
The game is over, but the dust will take some time to settle after our crushing defeat by Tipperary in the All-Ireland semi-final.
Over the years we have had some very bad days, especially that day in Ennis to Clare and to Offaly last year.
However, the heavy beating by Tipperary has left people very angry.
I have never, in the length of time I am writing for this paper, had so many phone calls, e-mails and letters.
People are genuinely very upset by the way we have slipped down the ladder in the hurling world. I know, from talking to so many people in recent days, that they are taking this latest defeat with a very heavy heart.
Supporters not happy to sit back
Unlike others defeats supporters are not happy to sit back and say nothing, they want answers and they are hoping that the people in power will come forward and let us know where it all went wrong.
I think we will at least have to wait for the next County Board meeting to gauge the reaction of the delegates.
We have problems within the set-up and if they are left to fester I think we could be in for a winter of discontent.
In this regard the County Board should have a complete review of the season and set some goals for 2010 with a united front because no matter what they say some players did not buy into the new system and that needs to be sorted out.
The new management had a chance to get rid of the prima donnas and they didn't. We must have higher standards when it comes to picking our hurling panel. We cannot have guys coming in to make up the numbers and happy to get the gear and expenses.
Would it not be better if players from 24 to 30 on the panel were under the age of 24? That way we would be looking to the future and not have guys who know they won't make it and are, what I call, happy to be known as so-called county players.
Put a new system in place
If we are to make progress we must put a new system in place for our local championships. As it is inter-county players are giving very little time to their clubs. We have to get lads playing with their clubs and stop wrapping them in cotton wool.
They do it in Tipperary and in Kilkenny and we must have a championship whereby these players and others have the opportunity to display their skills at local level.
There is no doubt that Tipperary are a better team than Limerick, but not by the margin we all witnessed in Croke Park. The Limerick team that went out for that match never once expressed the sort of hurling they are capable of, but, most of all, they lacked the heart that's such a big part of our game.
I have heard a lot of various stories doing the rounds in the days after the match and if they are true I am not looking forward to next year.
Unless you have everyone going in the one direction you are going nowhere. The future of any county or club has to be about the young players coming through.
In relation to other counties we have much work to do and the time has come to spend some serious money in the way we prepare our young stars of the future.
As it is our development teams are running on a shoestring budgte and I would also say that some of the people in County Bord Na nOg could do with having a very serious look at how they do their business.
Some people in Bord Na nOg have a very different agenda to many people and that will have to change.
Tony Roche is the new chairman and one would hope that he will show some leadership.
The 'Lifting of the Treaty' is the way forward and I am hearing some very positive views from clubs and parents.
In the lead up to the vote for the 'Lifting of the Treaty' Mr. Roche made some very good soundings and was in favour of its implantation.
However, when it came to a vote at County Board level he voted against it.
Tony Roche was a hurler of some class and he now has a responsibility to make sure that the right moves are made for the good of our games.
I hear that he has proposed that a youth officer should be put in place at senior board level in each division.
This of course would be another way of undermining the 'Lifting of the Treaty'. When many of these divisions had their own Bord Na nOg's they were unable to look after the divisional teams they had.
All development squads in this county should come under coaching and games because we need to have a top class system in place if we are to have any hope for the future.
There are many good people working with teams at the moment and why can't we have some of the current people with coaching and games?
The time for oneupmanship is over. Let's get everyone working together.
In recent weeks Og Iomaint and Og Peil were held in Cork.
Played at CIT this is a time where players get great coaching and games that will be of long-term help to them.
Limerick sent down their teams in hurling and football, but very few of the people in charge of them went with them. Many parents of players contacted me and told me that it was only the night before that some people were contacted to travel with the team.
Indeed, when they went to Cork they lacked some of the training gear they were told to bring.
Tony Forristal
This coming weekend our under-14 hurlers will play in the Tony Forristal Tournament. This is a super competition for players at this level and it gives a very good indication for the future.
Up to last week the gear for the young players had not yet been sorted. That despite having been given their sizes last April. That's nothing new, I have this week spoken to many people who have been involved with these teams in the past and they told me stories that are just laughable at this level. Trying to get gear and basics is a constant struggle and we wonder why we can't compete in the years that follow?
Last week in preparation for this tournament Limerick played Dublin, the parents of these players had to take them by car as the Bord Na nOg would not provide a bus.
To make matters worse the same parents will have to take them to Waterford this Saturday and, should they win their opening games, they will again have to travel on Sunday.
This team should be taken down and put up overnight like many other counties are doing.
We need to have a very good look at how we look after our county underage teams and I can tell you from some of the research I did last week that we are miles behind what they are doing in other hurling counties.
Also, we should ensure that the best people are involved at all times.
Unless we change and put a solid underage structure in place for these teams we will always be living in hope.
In Limerick we think we are working and some people are, but it falls well short of what's happen in the likes of Tipperary. Also, the work and the progress that Waterford has made will serve them well in the future. They have a great system in place and the young players are very well looked after. In the 'Lifting of the Treaty' we have a way forward from under-8 to under-12. Would it not be time to look at under-14 to under-16 level?
We need to change
I am sure that the people in Bord Na nOg will come up with lots of reasons to tell us all about the hard work they are doing and no doubt some are, but we need to change and set new goals for the future of Limerick GAA.
Last week the County Board called time on the likes of Eamonn Cregan, Bernie Hartigan and others going into national schools.
They may have reasons for that, but it's very poor timing given the state of hurling in this county. I have witnessed the work these people have done and the schools involved will be at a loss. New people have recently been employed and they may now have their work load increased.
There is so much work to be done that it will take some time to get around to it all. To make changes in the GAA takes time and many vested interests have to be looked after.
Mike O'Riordan is the new full-time secretary and his work in progress tray will be full for some time.
Within a short time of taking over he has managed to get all the adult championships sponsorship as well as managing change at the Gaelic Grounds.
I do hope he will, over time, get the support from all other officers to build a new platform for our games. We can have many fine fields and venues, but our future lies in looking after our young players. The GAA is so much a part of all our lives and if it needed to be confirmed to me I saw last week just how much good will there is for Gaelic Games in this county, but it appears some people fear change.
Email to a friend
Print this page- First drift karting facility in Europe is ready to take off on outskirts of Limerick
- Newport gun victim is mourned at funeral in Limerick city
- Man appears in court following County Limerick drugs seizure
- Protest march in Parteen over preferred route of relief road
- Luxury eight-bed home in Adare now on sale for €1.9m
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Limerick
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 7 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 8 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South
