Decision deferred on Go Games
A decision will be made at the April meeting of the Offaly County Board on whether to support a motion at Congress which, if passed, would see the end of traditional championships at Under 10 and Under 12 levels.
If passed the proposal would see the Go Games model being introduced at these levels.
A presentation on the proposal was made at the March County Board meeting by Micheal Martin and Liam O'Neill,
Mr Martin, a teacher on secondment to the GAA, outlined how the traditional model was 'must win' with full rules in games where subs got very little games.
He also gave delegates details of a survey of referees at Under 10 and Under 12 games in which 66.6% said they had suffered verbal abuse and 24% had been physically threatened.
Mr Martin said the intention with using the Go Games model was to 'maximise participation' and 'optimise playing standards'. He said that by introducing Go Games up to and including Under 12, all children would get meaningful playing time.
He added that the respect initiative would be an integral part of Go Games and that the emphasis would be on participation.
Mr Martin added that counties would have the option of running a mini league parallel to Go Games which would be run on the same philosophy with small sided teams.
He said the benefits were the children got more touches which helped improve their skills adding that it also gave children 'a greater level of enjoyment'.
He said small sided games meant the players had to work harder which improved overall fitness.
Delegates were shown a video clip recorded by Paudie Butler which emphasised the message that children would not get the love of the game if the emphasis is all on winning.
Tullamore delegate Fergal McKeon, a former Chairman of Coiste na nOg, said that when Go Games had been tried two years ago, in his opinion they had not been successful.
Questions were also raised by delegates with regard to how children could be suddenly switched to learning that the object of the game is winning from Under 14.
In response Liam O'Neill said that the aim was to build up 'a mass of players'. He said the emphasis should be on more children playing rather than the negative.
Mr O'Neill said that he also had to be 'brought round to the idea'. He stated that as a teacher he had simply lined up the strongest team and had done enough to win but he noted that a considerable number of players on those teams were not playing now.
St Rynagh's delegate Paddy Scales agreed that children were not getting enough playing time and as a result were 'going to other sports'. He said the Go Games model was worth trying for 'a number of years'.
The point was made that while Go Games in principle were a good idea, there were difficulties with referees not knowing the rules, the length of the periods and the difficulties children had adapting to zones.
Cumann na mBunscol representative Eoin Kennedy said that Go Games would be adopted for school's competitions. He said that it would help teach the skills which in turn would see an increase in participation.
County Board Vice Chairman Padraig Boland stated that it was ' a no brainer' and that the aim should be to increase participation. He added that other sports had introduced similar systems and noted that 'pride in the parish means nothing to a child'.
County Board Chairman Pat Teehan remarked that at Under Finals he had attended in recent years, there were panels of 22 to 25 players but only 15 got games.
He stated that by the time the players reached Under 12, panels had dropped to 18 or 19 strong and by Under 14 clubs were struggling to field teams.
He thanked Mr Martin and Mr O'Neill for the presentation and he told delegates to discuss the matter at club level and a vote would be taken at the April meeting of the County Board.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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