Planning for success

Almost 15 years ago Meath hammered Tyrone in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final at Croke Park. At Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim last Wednesday night, the Tyrone influence was strong as Meath u-18 chairman Brendan Dempsey put some flesh on his ideas for getting Meath teams back to the top table. 'Building for the future' was the theme for an innovative evening which may reap some rewards across the spectrum of GAA clubs in Meath in the not too distant future. The evening was almost like a re-union of some of the legendary names of the past. Going back to the '60s there was Pat Reynolds, who found himself in good company on the panel that asked the questions which comprised Gerry McEntee, Robbie O'Malley and current coaching officer Brian Carberry. Add in former players of the calibre of Bernard Flynn, Mick Lyons, Martin O'Connell, Colm Coyle, Colm O'Rourke and Tommy Dowd. It all reflected positively on the huge amount of goodwill which these former players have for Meath. Over 200 enthusiasts packed the Barbican Suite at Knightsbrook forum where the 'panel of experts' comprised former Tyrone player Peter Canavan, Niall Laird of Club Tyrone, Kilkenny Co Committee secretary Ned Quinn and Kilkenny trainer, former Laois footballer, Michael Dempsey. "Tonight could be the start of something new for Meath, we need to strengthen our links with schools, broaden our coaching base, look at our under-age structures," commented Dempsey. "We also need to look at our funding in the framework of a Club Tyrone-stype structure, hopefully we can build a new future for Meath based on what we learn from tonight," he added. PETER CANAVAN "I'm not trying to tell you what to do, I'm just telling you what we do in Tyrone. "We have 53 clubs, five hurling, the rest are football, there are five full-time football coaches and two for hurling, a total of seven, all employed by Co Board. "The number has been built up gradually over the last 15 years and the coaching posts are filled annually, the current coaches have to apply for their job which is an 11-month contract paying about €13,000 annually. "Obviously, that means that those seven individuals have other part-time jobs as well." FACTS Tyrone GAA have organised successful summer camps for football with seven per week over a six-week period while the official GAA Cul camps looking after hurling. There are also 12 Ulster Council-appointed coaches working in Tyrone and they also assist with the summer camps. Development squads operate at u-14, u-15, u-16 and u-17 levels. The squads convene eight sessions annually, this does not include trials at the selection process or blitz-style competitions. In comparison to Tyrone's 19 full-time coaches, Meath appear to be the poor relation with only three full-time coaches according to coaching officer Brian Carberry. NIALL LAIRD "Tyrone were beaten by Meath in 1996 and we realised that we had to do something to improve matters. "Our initial target was to raise £500,000 for the county team, it took us until 2000 to achieve that. "It's important how we package things, how we present the image of Club Tyrone to attract the members who pay an annual subscription. "The small things matter, you have to make sure that a positive image is portrayed and that anything that's organised for the county players recognises their achievements." FACTS Niall Laird is a businessman, a graphic designer. He has been involved with Club Tyrone since it was established in 1995 as the Millennium Initiative. The main aim of Club Tyrone is to raise funds for the GAA in the county and to support initiatives which will enhance and improve the image of football and hurling locally. Club Tyrone is a sub-committee of the Tyrone Co Board. Club Tyrone contributed £270,000 to the Tyrone Co Board in 2009, the target they set was £250,000. Possibly, the equivalent of Club Tyrone in Meath might either be the Friends of Meath or the Meath Supporters Club. MICHAEL DEMPSEY "Our games are getting faster, strength, power and speed are hugely important. "Strength can help reduce the possibility of injuries, weight training is appropriate for children under proper conditions and supervision. "It's vital that the child can understand the instructions and what he is actually required to do. "A stronger player has better movement and it is possible to introduce a gradual strength-training regime for under-age players with some fairly straightforward routines. "Young players should be assessed before they start training, the initial sessions should comprise a preparatory programme for more serious training. FACTS Seven counties are now involved in this type of training with under-age teams. Meath is not one of them. NED QUINN "We introduced the concept of development squads in the mid-1990s, but we wanted to avoid any form of elitism. "To achieve this we invited each of our 40 clubs to send in three players, that gave us 120 players in each squad, u-14, u-15 and u-16. "We realised that only a handful of players would make the inter-county grade, but we took the view that the rest would take something back to their respective clubs. "We put a lot of emphasis on schools and we try to work closely with them. "We try to provide tickets for games for all the teachers who are involved. "We have two full-time coaches and a lot of volunteers, which includes form All-Ireland-winning players who are now putting something back into the game. "We have 24 former inter-county players involved with our teams and coaching. "They don't get paid, we provide them with some gear on an annual basis and two free Leinster SHC final tickets plus an option to purchase All-Ireland final tickets if we are involved. "We get feedback on an annual basis from the coaches. "We used to miss out on players, particularly from junior clubs, but that doesn't happen now, to the best of my knowledge. "Coaches do not move up from year-to-year with teams as we would be anxious to avoid too much familiarity. "We have no competitions lower than the u-14 grade." FACTS Kilkenny has about half the population of Meath. Under-age teams in Kilkenny, football and hurling, play from seven to 14 games annually. If a minor is on a club adult team and there is a fixture clash, both club games will go ahead, it's a choice for the club to make about using the player. The dates for the adult club championship fixtures are scheduled in advance, regardless of the success or otherwise of the county team.