Now is the winter of their discontent

GAVIN CUMMISKEYtalks to four prominent inter-county managers to get their take on the training ban

KEEP OFF the frozen pitches! We are deep in the zany, two-month moratorium imposed on inter-county panels. The ban on collective training was brought in to protect players from themselves – and the demands of year-round training.

Running from November 1st to January 1st, the official GAA off-season has been in place for two years now and has caused controversy at every turn. Here are the current alternatives: go and train with your club or adhere to a strict conditioning programme (on your own). But under no circumstances is there to be any congregating in the vicinity of a ball. Unless the inter-county man takes up another sport.

It is due to be significantly amended at next April’s annual Congress when a new arrangement based on a phased introduction of the moratorium – depending on when teams made their championship exit – will be put to delegates.

Common sense is the most notable absentee in the current system, according to the inter-county managers contacted by The Irish Times, who remain bound by the blanket ban during November and December.

“I would feel sorry for first year managers in particular,” said Séamus McEnaney, as he embarks on his second season with the Meath footballers. “I found the November, December period to be very difficult for me last year. You need to be learning about your players in a collective environment.”

There is a general suspicion that several squads gather in some remote outpost of their county, the boys of summer masquerading as some Junior B panel with woolly hats pulled low and collars flapped high to cover chiselled features that may reveal their identities to passersby. Nothing to see here, folks. The wink-and-nod culture ensure that the policing of this law is almost impossible anyway.

John Allen finds himself in a frustrating predicament. Away from the inter-county scene since the Cork hurlers lost the 2006 All-Ireland final, he is only permitted to convene Limerick hurling practice next month.

“I appreciate the idea and the rule was introduced with good intentions but I think it should be optional, especially for the counties that are knocked out of championship in July. I know that something like that is coming in but the sooner the better to give the manager a chance to do some real preparation. And, anecdotally, there are the stories of teams training.”

The counties that don’t partake in such clandestine activity are already weeks behind their competitors come New Year’s Day.

Also, the All-Ireland finalists happily go into winter hibernation. “Our county board is strict about it,” claimed Tipperary football manager John Evans. “They don’t want to see collective sessions or a bill for anything as it is the off-season. And John Evans is certainly not going to travel up to Tipperary and get some guys into some backward place just to break a rule.”

This perceived lack of fairness has sparked a rethink of the enforced off-season. We asked the managers for their solutions.

Evans has been sprinkling magic dust, gathered in The Kingdom, across all Tipperary age grades for four years now. Evidence that his potions have had effect came with Tipp’s marvellous All-Ireland minor final defeat of Dublin last September.

“I have been roaring from the rooftops for the last two years that you should be able to go back training three months after losing your championship,” said Evans.

“It is a logical solution. When we got promoted out of Division Four it was the work we did in October, November, December that brought us to that. The top teams don’t want to train in November, December because they have done enough work in the previous 10 months.

“But for the other counties it is putting the cart before the horse. All you can do is look at potential new players in their club games. You presume and hope, which are the wrong things to do, that these guys are going to be able to step up to the mark. But you don’t know until you work with them.”

Jason Ryan is a young, progressive football manager who has guided Wexford to two Leinster finals and an All-Ireland semi-final since taking charge in 2008. Like many other inter-county bosses, Ryan has borrowed from professional rugby’s strength and conditioning programmes, tailoring them for the Gaelic footballer.

“We look at the professionalism of rugby teams as a guide to preparing,” he said. “But another problem is lads going to go off to play soccer and rugby at this time of year. They love playing sports at high intensity. If we don’t give them structures the danger is we will lose them.”

Many panels, like Wexford and Meath, also put on boxing exhibitions. Part fundraiser, part serious, either way it is guaranteed to reduce body fat percentages. The Wexford footballers will be trading blows with their hurling brethren on December 15th in White’s Hotel. Billy Walsh, Irish boxing high performance coach, has been involved in an advisory capacity.

Still, it is not football training.

“We are playing Meath in the O’Byrne Cup on January 8th and basically asking our players to perform when they are not going to be ready,” Ryan added.

THE VIEW FROM THE SIDELINE . . . .

John Evans

(Tipperary football manager – fourth year)

1) What can be done to prepare a team in November and December?

“We put our guys on gym programmes. When they come back in January they are tested. There is nobody not working.”

2) Has it worked?

“It doesn’t work at all. You’ll have an idea of 20 of your panel but the last 10 is a choice between 15, 20 players. You are putting these guys on programmes and you don’t know if they are going to make your panel because you can’t work with them.”

3) Alternative to the rule?

“I have been roaring from the rooftops for the last two years that you should be able to go back training three months after losing in your championship. It is a logical solution. When we got promoted out of Division Four it was the work we did in October, November, December that brought us to that.”

John Allen

(Limerick hurling manager – first year)

1) What can be done to prepare a team in November and December?

“Strictly speaking you are not supposed to be training as a group other than laying out strength and conditioning programmes. If you are to follow out the letter of the law, you are prohibited from training, but anecdotally there are stories of teams training.”

2) Has it worked?

“I appreciate it was introduced with good intentions, especially for younger players in college preparing for Fitzgibbon after already playing a long season. The problem is fringe players in particular are being judged on their performances in the Walsh Cup and Waterford Crystal without having done that much training. It’s not the greatest ruling in my eyes.”

3) Alternative to the rule?

If everybody was to follow the letter of the law it would be okay. Most teams should be going to mid-July, so if you are starting in January it should be possible to have a team ready for top-class action with that amount of training. I just think it should be optional.

Jason Ryan

(Wexford football manager – fifth year)

1) What can be done to prepare a team in November and December?

“We look at the pre-season put in place by professional sports in Ireland, like rugby, because we are expected to perform at a professional level come the summer.”

2) Has it worked?

“It has affected our preparation – end of story. You could argue the case that for the Kerrys it is not going to be that much of a hindrance. But for teams like Wexford we need to generate momentum from the very start of the season.”

3) Alternative to the rule?

“Some counties have so much more money than others. That’s frustrating so at least make the off-season rule a level playing field.”

Séamus McEnaney

(Meath manager – second year)

1) What can be done to prepare a team in November and December?

“We run boxing tournaments and we give lads a weights programme, testing them every six weeks. But it is difficult to prepare for the start of the season with so little time.”

2) Has it worked?

“Inter-county footballers by their nature keep themselves in decent shape so they won’t be too bad. In fairness to the GAA they realise it is not working and are going to try fix it.”

3) Alternative to the rule?

“The lay-off depends on when a team is out of competition. I agree that teams out in May and June should be allowed back training in November. The players need break time but it must be done correctly and fairly.”