Players asked to choose one sport or the other - Opinions

Yeah I've experienced it loads.

I played rugby in a club in a catchment area where there would have been 4 or 5 GAA clubs. I played GAA until about age 20 too. Loads of lads liked to play both, the GAA club didn't like us having other interests, soccer as well. Soccer or rugby didn't mind us playing other sports. I think the lads in the other gaa clubs got similar hassle but mine was the worst.

I stopped gaa because of the constant nonsense. They asked me to play again over the years but had lost interest. Apparently similar ultimatums happen to underage players today. They think they own you, club before everything else. Get stuffed.

I guarantee you if the lads stick to their guns it will be fine, it'll probably come down to whether the player is any good or not.

GAA clubs can be parochially toxic at times.

I don't have any experience to offer I'm afraid but if it's happening within your own club, I'd advise meeting with the football management team in your own club and see if you can work something out.

With the other 2 clubs, it's understandably going to be more difficult since they have no ties to your club whatsoever and no motivation to help you. Again, probably the best thing you can do it try to meet the other clubs and see if you can work out something so that the pressure is not being put directly on the players to choose

Thats ridiculous . Football and hurling are under the same umbrella and unless youre intercounty it is surely manageable to coordinate both codes.

The GAA president is quoted today as saying that a dual club isnt an inconvenience (regards to scheduling etc) rather its something to be aspired to. I'd be very temped to suggest that a letter to HQ naming and shaming could be in order.

It would go down exceptionally badly with the club most likely should they get a nice letter from HQ asking them to facilitate hurling but feck it, if you were to feel that you cannot get the thing advanced then whats there to loose.

Slight tangent but with the one club model due to be universal very soon, clubs are going to have to have policies to work out pitch allocation but also the Camogie / LGFA coordination will need to be laid out much clearer for dual players and the football hurling is no different so should be part of the same discussion.

If a kid was a track runner, their coach would tell them they were going nowhere if they weren't going to train properly for it.

If a kid was a Cyclist, their coach would tell them they would never win races if they weren't going to focus on it.

If a kid was taking part in an MMA fight the night before a big Boxing match, their Boxing coach would likely think it impacts their performance.

So why is it that some GAA coaches think kids should be training and playing two different sports at the same time?

The Hurling club here is being just as selfish as the football clubs, I bet they are more interested in getting the good players than they are about player welfare.

Kids or adults, the point still remains, you aren't going to be as competitive as you could be if you are doing two sports at the same time. Do you really think the boxing coach is going to be happy about the 30yr old man taking part in MMA the day before his boxing match? Of course he won't be, and he is going to tell the boxer exactly why it is a problem.

You are trying to steal players away from another club and are complaining that they are trying to protect themselves.

If you can attract players away from football then grand, but you should be focusing on the players who are unaffiliated or who actually want to change, not trying to piggy back on the players already committed to a team.

Nobody bats an eyelid when a rower focuses all their energy on training for that, they don't complain that the rower should also be cycling competitively every weekend as well.

Now you are back to player welfare.

But you are the one who wants the players to compete in two sports simultaneously, the other manager does not. Which is better for player welfare?

If they are adults then they are allowed to make their own decisions, they aren't slaves. You just don't like that their decision would be to pick the football.

But that doesn't change that they should be choosing, it is better for them to focus on one.

A lot of kids play multiple sports at the same time and can do it successfully. Pressure shouldnt be ever put on an underage athlete to chose one sport over another - doing do is a child welfare issue in its own right. Kids should be free to choose. Some kids will dabble in multiple sports. Some kids will prefer to concentrate on one. The majority of kids will only ever play recreation sport. Underage coaches who think they're in the Senior All Ireland, Premiership, 6 Nations etc. Probably shouldnt be coaching underage athletes.

Personally I think playing more than one sport at underage level produces a much better, more skillful athlete in later life.

No need to be so precious about an opinion that you have to start throwing out insults.

Your problem is that you cannot see that they are making that choice of their own free will. They could choose hurling over the football if they wanted to. You don't want them to have to choose because it suits you better that way, even if they perhaps should focus on one.

If there are Hurling/football matches fixed the same weekend how are other clubs dealing with it as no doubt your club is not the only club with lads who play both?

I think you're missing the point. Its up to the player to decide how much time they want to dedicate or whether or not something else in their life, whether it be another sport, pasttime or occupation (many are tiring) is worth doing, even if it impacts on their performance. Player choice, not pressure from a coach.

Here's a question - do GAA coaches such as yourself ask players who do manual labour or have jobs which mean they cant make every session to change jobs? I bet not.