Outgoing Connacht Council president says counties should prioritise underage coaching

The outgoing president of the Connacht Council believes counties should focus on how Dublin developed their underage coaching structures over the past few decades rather than throwing money at their own senior teams in an effort to beat them.

Gerry McGovern, who is stepping down after three years in charge in Connacht, said that while money was undoubtedly a factor in Dublin’s unprecedented run of success, other counties can learn from the way they have achieved it.

And the Leitrim native also believes agreements between the GPA and the GAA regarding player costs should be parked until the impact of Covid-19 is dealt with by cash-starved county boards around the country.

"As Dublin celebrated another historical year, winning their sixth All-Ireland in a row, a lot of discussion has centred on their success, and how much they are ahead of all other counties.

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“No doubt Dublin have serious advantages above every other county; population, club strength and of course finance is also a major factor.

“While finance is a major factor, however I don’t believe it is the sole reason for success. Rather than dwelling on their finances, I believe an examination of how they have reached their present standard would be more beneficial.

"In the 70s and 80s Dublin were criticised for their poor underage structure, but the Dublin County Board took this on board and have implemented a coaching structure that has been a major contributing factor to their success.

“Some counties have adopted an approach of investing serious money, buying in expertise to work with their senior teams and try and compete with Dublin, where I believe they would be better off concentrating on the coaching structures for their underage teams, building from the bottom up, which would eventually provide top quality players to represent the county and compete at the highest level,” he said.

Cash strapped

McGovern also believes that current arrangements between the GPA and GAA over player expenses need to be revisited.

“This year the GAA, after protracted negotiations completed their contract with the GPA,” he added.

“Savings have been made, which is great, but I feel it was probably an opportunity to lay down the criteria for further savings for cash-strapped county boards into the future.

“Sometimes I wonder why the GAA need to negotiate with the GPA, should it not be a case of, as they say, he who pays the piper calls the tunes. As we are presently in the middle of a serious financial crisis, counties can no longer meet the GPA-led demands on the finances of our county boards.

“Under no circumstance should inter-county players be out of pocket for their involvement in county teams, but when we consider that over 60% of our county team preparation budget is dictated by GPA demands, I feel their influence in these matters should be paused until counties come to terms with their financial dilemmas,’ he added.