Head start may be false start in title race

Ian O'Riordan looks at attitudes towards early-season training

Now that last night's draw is out of the way the 2006 championship is at least tangible. There are roughly 26 weeks until it the starts, and roughly 45 weeks until it finishes. If teams start getting out even just twice a week from now on that's a lot of time to practice, make things perfect - to go faster, higher, stronger.

In sport, like in life, there's probably no harm in getting a head start. Yet, depending on which manager you listen to, it's either too soon to start back training, or not soon enough. Those who swear by the "less-equals-more" philosophy will happily put things off until Christmas - or even early 2006. Those who prefer the "no-pain-no-gain" philosophy have already marked out the laps and set the first targets.

On Thursday, Paddy Crozier got together for the first time with the Derry senior football panel. He told them about his plans, the work required over the coming months. Crozier was recently appointed as the successor to Mickey Moran, and already he's put together a 35-man panel. They'll have their first formal training session tomorrow morning.

"Club football has finished up in Derry for a while now and I think every player has had enough of a break," says Crozier. "And I actually feel they're ready and want to get back into it. We'll start with one night a week from now to Christmas, and as well as that they'll be doing weight training individually."

Tomás Ó Flatharta is also starting into his first term as Westmeath football manager. He's already put together a 33-man panel and they've been training collectively since last week. Although it's almost two months before their first competitive game, Ó Flatharta believes that in Westmeath's case an early start is the best policy.

"It's a whole new beginning with us, really," he says. "We're after bringing in about 10 or 12 new lads, and I think it will take a bit of time for them to adjust and get used to the new training. It's a step up from club level, even in the amount of time it takes. So just for their own sake I think it's a good idea for them to get used to it now.

"We'll be working on a combination of new things at training. Obviously, it's about getting to know the new players, but you also want to start the weights programme. And we would be doing some physical training as well. Some weeks we'll be out two nights."

Crozier and Ó Flatharta certainly aren't alone in their training philosophies. Laois manager Mick O'Dwyer is also putting his panel through their pre-season paces. New Meath manager Eamonn Barry is staging trial matches and intends starting collective training next week, while Monaghan manager Séamus McEnaney already has his panel out three nights a week.

It may not be a clear divide, but for every manager who believes in collective training at this time of the year there's probably one who doesn't. Tyrone manager Mickey Harte has taken the less-equals-more philosophy to a whole new level, and even at the peak of the championship doesn't get his players together more than twice a week.

Hurling managers John Allen of Cork and Conor Hayes of Galway are holding back on pre-season training for obvious reasons, but Paul Caffrey is also adopting the more cautious approach with the Dublin footballers.

While there are arguments for and against such an early start to county training sessions, the issue goes beyond stealing any advantage for the league and championship. Niall Moyna is head of the health and human performance at DCU, and also coaches the college's Sigerson team.

"I would ban collective training before Christmas," says Moyna. "It defeats the purpose of having a GAA calendar. I know the national league has become so important to a lot of teams, such as Monaghan, who are so eager to stay in Division One. But I don't know if amateur players can sustain that. A lot of counties are only running their under-21 championships at the moment. A lot of those lads are playing with their college teams, and are now expected to be out as well with the county. That's actually abuse.

"I think it's better to put the emphasis on the players and let them do some work on their own. But there is still this attitude that unless the training is collective it's a waste of time. We have to change that mindset. To be fair, the GAA is gradually being populated by some very good coaches, especially at the top. They've a great understanding of what's involved, and realise that more is not necessarily better. It's more about quality than quantity."

The GAA haven't been ignoring the issue, however, and last year set up a work group to examine player welfare, including the potential for over-training. Former Dublin football manager Dr Pat O'Neill acted as chairman - and found there was a growing awareness of the risks involved in training too much, too soon.

"One of the main recommendations did involve over-training," says O'Neill. "It's a particular problem in the 19-22 age group. In many instances they can be representing club, county and college in football and hurling.

"Personally, I don't think teams need to be out from now until next August or September. And I can't see the rationale in doing physical fitness training at this stage. That was somewhat stymied in the older days because the National League was going on at this stage and that prevented too much heavy training too soon. The vacuum that's been left there seems to have opened it up for this situation.

"From the sports medicine point of view it is recommended that players take that break. It doesn't mean they shut down the engines completely - they can do some cross training or cross sports. I still think the rest and recovery periods are being overlooked, but I think the problem has lessened in that managers are more aware of it. It has been highlighted in some of the more recent coaching conferences. And I think there is a will to deal with it."

Moyna believes the responsibility for proper training structures doesn't just rest with the managers: "I've a group of players at DCU in the prime of their life. Every time we test them they're in the top-five percentile for their age in terms of aerobic fitness. So if a county manager has a young player under the age of 23 he doesn't need to be doing collective training at this time of the year.

"But then many managers are caught in a very difficult predicament, because county boards are putting unrealistic expectations on them - especially the new ones. Some of them may not even last the year now.

"I think there are two problems with that. The majority of the county managers that come in this year will not converse with the previous management team. They'll start as if the team has done nothing for the past few years and go at it hell for leather. There's no continuity there, and no progression.

"I think every county should have an exercise scientist now, someone qualified in strength and conditioning, and when a new management does come in then he or she can tell them where they're at and they don't go back to running 40 laps of the pitch a night.

"But I know the managers are caught in a difficult situation. If I was given two years to make an impression with a county then I mightn't be too concerned about what happens in year three. And that's the attitude a lot of them take. So there is a tremendous onus on the county boards here as well, because they are putting managers in a very difficult position."

For Ó Flaharta, the reasons behind getting back with Westmeath are not without rationale. "Of course, it all depends on how you went in the championship. Obviously, the teams that were there until the end would have done a lot more training over the summer, and would need more rest.

"I think the teams like Westmeath that have been out since July would be ready to return by now. Whether or not they've had enough rest because of all the games they've played with their club is another thing, but I would think that a lot of county teams would at least be back in the gym at this stage.

"I felt it was time to put a training panel together. That's where we're at right now, and will continue with that until the end of December.

"We're out the first Sunday in January for the O'Byrne Cup and into the league after that. So we'd like to have the players in better condition at that stage so we can tackle the league."

Pre-season training

Tyrone Model

Manager Mickey Harte won't restart collective training until after Christmas, and not just because his team had such an exhaustive run to win the All-Ireland football title.

Harte is one of the founders of the less-equals-more philosophy. Even when the team do get back in the new year they'll average only one night a week during the league. The players are given a weight-training programme.

Dublin Model

This month the Dublin panel underwent a fitness test at DCU. The players were divided into four groups and were given individual gym-training programmes. The senior panel won't train collectively until Christmas.

Westmeath Model

Manager Tomás Ó Flatharta has put together a 33-man panel and has started collective training. They'll meet one or two nights until Christmas, with players carrying out a separate weight-training programme.