HOW YOUR COUNTY CAN WIN SAM MAGUIRE, TALITAN CUP OR LIAM MCCARTY
Updated: 4 days ago
Nothing is impossible, we have walked on the Moon & some county players are now using the same vibration platforms astranouts used to build back up their muscle after losing it in space. I was first introduced to it when a lecturer of mine who worked for Nasa biomechanics department mentioned them. That is the reality of todays elite intercounty players. In 5 years time I can imagine every injured all ireland finalist in top counties sleeping in oxygen rooms to remain fit. The top gaa players are usually between 5-10 years behind the Olympic athletes who were doing that years ago to win world championships which my own uncle was recommending to his olympians.
Unfortunately its about resources & now the top athletes now sleep in oxygen rooms. There's an elite athlete hotel next to me here where the top athletes sleep in 6 star rooms that are literally big oxygen rooms they can use as a normal hotel room. Its why the most funded athletes & Countries win the most medals as they can eat, sleep & train in oxygen rooms with stationary bikes & treadmills etc all hooked up to sports science equipment for testing as if its just another day at the office. The reality is that working out 3 times a day in between a days work & social life is realistic & ill elaborate on how that's possible in article.
Firstly its about mindset & trying to be the best you can possibly be in every single minute of the day, in every single interaction you have & every single full rep you complete with no short cuts. The top coaches also have a great way of confronting a problem they see coming down the tracks in the most polite assertive way possible, they will pull athletes aside and privately tell them if they want to stay on the best team they cant take short cuts because if you take short cuts in training then you wont run for the team when you're exhausted and if you wont run when everyone is watching then you definitely wont run when no one is watching. You cant cheat your way to your Vo2 max.
Secondly your group & individual goals must be realistic as if you've been knocked out of Talitan cup in a first round hammering there is no point in telling a team your aim is to win the Sam Maguire in your first year, in 5-10 years that may be possible if you bring in the best people in the Country with you but its got to be about gradual realistic progressions while working 100% for your realistic goal first with everything you've got. All any individual can do is give everything they've got to one goal at a time & changing bad habits isn't easy for them which is why the top counties already have a major advantage. Kerry don't take short cuts at the moment, however in their drought of all Irelands in the 90s plenty were taken, moreover if you or your team continue to take short cuts then the best people wont work with you. I wouldn't waste my time on a team that was out drinking every weekend & I cant understand any "athlete" that drinks alcohol every weekend, don't get me wrong even the best drink when they have something to celebrate after a big triathlon win or marathon you couldn't blame them but you couldn't take any "athlete" seriously if they were drinking every weekend or even once a month, you've got to dedicate your whole life to completing your goal which again must be realistic although very challenging, players can and should go to pub to play pool, darts, eat food & do some work on laptops however as soon as drinking alcohol enters their mind, their standards drop which leads to standards dropping in everything. Celebrate big events like a child's healthy birth, a graduation, a major promotion or major championship win like Olympic athletes but if you're drinking regularly you're not to be taken seriously in my opinion.
Thirdly players need to be around elite people in an elite working environment where everyone has major goals, everyone treats people with respect from the chairperson of the county to the bin man, all of them deserve respect & you shouldn't tolerate anything less. I don't fully agree with the centres of excellence as although they bring elite people together they're not realistic for time management & getting to work from & to where as the universities are & if the county wants a centre of excellence it must be next to the university which are of course centrally located in biggest towns for population convenience with majority of the players able to work from there or using that university at some stage. How do the best olympians on earth do it I get asked all the time ? Well, I've done their routine myself for a few months and loved it, its very realistic to go for a 90 min cycle in morning finishing at the university, hop in the shower & go to lecture or library, eat 10 minute study breaks, go for a 45 minute or 1 hour swim at lunchtime, back into lecture or library for 4 hours and go directly to gym for 90 minute weights session or 90 minute athletics or whatever your sport session is at 6pm while eating protein consistently in 10 minute breaks through out the day, finally finishing with more work or study in evening time. How's it possible ? because everything is within minutes walk of each other or hopping on campus bus, drive for 2 mins to gym & at 10 or 11pm closer to midnight for me as i still prefer getting up at 7.45am due to sun up everywhere in winter or summer in ireland & uk. At 11pm or 11.30 for me its realistic to go for a quick pint non alcoholic :) on way home with colleuge one or 2 nights a week or on Friday night, you don't even have to leave the campus as high class pub is there where you're guaranteed no trouble.
Im actually writing this in the pub after dinner & soda water :) but the environment is harder to concentrate in that the university due to the average decent blokes being around me no offence to them but occasionally there's a dropped glass & loads of cursing & although there's elite runners running by me as I'm on outside bench there's too many smokers, I no longer smoke as i did in teens not even in emergencies but ive attended no funerals lately. These gentlemen unfortunately don't inspire you to work harder where as yesterday I had loads of Phd student athletes around me who give absolutely everything to achieve their goals and have done so most of their lives, some of them are Olympians also. I don't drink and I was very fortunate my dad was a pioneer who made a point of never bringing me into pub after Ulster and all Ireland finals despite all his mates being in there we would go for chips somewhere or a walk. my eldest sister warned us away from drugs as kids & due to all this & my dad not gambling I was extremely fortunate to complete a lap of Britain visiting best casino in every region as they were the best secure (need passport to get by security) places to go for superb food and sport without actually having one drop of alcohol or placing even 1 bet :) (the casino always wins long term). It comes down to discipline & if your disciplined you can get work done anywhere however its definitely a little bit easier visiting the best universities in every region which is how I live my life & is conducive to travel & working online. I was telling a mate of 30 years this back in Ireland recently & he was amazed & humorously impressed but its not the first time, I went to a university in the middle of a stag do once as it was the only way i could get work done and be there but realistically I shouldn't have gone the second day & owe my child hood mate an apology for that. The bottom line is players cant be everywhere at the same time & although they can speak to sports psychologists online, in order for their goals to be realistic with their time management and jobs they have to be put first & therefore the universities are the most realistic places for any centres of excellence where they can also be inspired by other sports elite athletes & not be late for lectures or work in that town or city usually.
As i write this paragraph today i can see elite coaches & athletes everywhere around the university from every sport & its so inspiring with everything to look forward to for example the British triathlon team members and coaches ive met earlier & seen in pool after my own session, they chat to you with respect & when they can't talk or are on phone they always acknowledge you, Adam Peaty and the Olympic medallists that attented here have their own part of the swimming pool wall for the rest of their days & I believe I spoke to Andrew Wiffen the other day but its just an everyday occurrence that you sometimes don't even notice they're famous. Training with every fibre of their being with perfect practice & acknowledging most people they meet plus getting a days work or study done while treating everyone with respect is just an everyday normality to them, that I believe is where gaa players need to go next, to making 3 workouts a day plus a days work while having a laugh with other elite coaches or sports people within a 3 mile campus should be an everyday normality for them and the counties that make this happen will be the ones that succeed & are the most funded. However its not just about the players everything's got to be perfect, there's 100 things for everyone to get right and every thing points to the top of the mountain as Alex ferguson said, and i mentioned to my clubs assistant manager when setting him a goal of getting to final every year in 2014. It was a realistic goal, unfortunately they didn't go to the next level yet and dropped off the standards but they did reach 10 county finals in a row with my condensensed premiership program for amateur club players even being implemented in some underage teams. Robbie admitted "lowry got us over the line & then you came in". he is too humble to take the credit & is such a great club coach that I had to challenge him metaphorically knowing he would implement the program & standards which I knew he would resolve! I've soo much respect for the man & his dedication to my club I've never really told anyone but there's no doubt it seriously improved their training, When I challenged him to get every session perfect as strived to. My family were helping to pay the hundreds of pounds per week for a very good manager who oversaw sessions of under 14 standard when county players weren't there & it just wasn't good enough so after that it was 15 v 15 every session, with every scenario rehearsed with everything as perfect as it could be, that wasn't down to me that was down to robbies hard work and steely determination to give everything he could to develop players even when county players weren't there, as a result we had 7 players on county panel & could of had 10 with players abroad & injured. With 10 county players and 2 or 3 provincial players they really need to step up to the next level & set a realistic goal of winning county final most years and getting to occasional provincial final but that's a process thats done 1 game at a time & not realistic every year. Its down to Robbie and all the clubs volunteers that the club according to the national Rte commentator is now "famed" as mentioned in commentary, We could never have imagined that in 2014 so its a credit to the whole club, committee & its volunteer coaches for increasing standards so much that we are described this way. They are not quite at the level of Crossmaglen we discussed but the 2nd team are now at much higher level & with the underage & ladies still prospering as always thanks to Adam, Paddy & Ciaran. You have to implement coaches who know how to win at the highest level & have the best interests of the club at heart, they are really getting the best players in to help underage & those players are only too happy to give back to the club that raised them.
Its the same at county level, absolutley everything has to be perfect, smooth transitions from dressing room to pitch to physio room to sports psychology phone call, its about the highest standards in everything you do, in every interaction and every blade of grass cut with respect to all human beings on your path. My county should have a realistic goal of getting to a provincial final every year & winning the occasional one until they gather enough experience to get to next level of all Ireland semi finals etc. Its a 5 to 10 year journey to an all Ireland final and win depending on your starting point. However if the county comes together just like my club & gets everything right I'm confident we can make that famous golfer eat his own words in the coming decade :). I'd be using his words to motivate players for every training session as its won on training pitch & "long night runs before all the lights are even turned on" to quote the greatest boxer of all time. Nobody knows everything but setting the highest standards in everything you do is the starting point for winning in every sport including golf. As long as you're seeing great effort and progress you can forgive a few bad moments but if there is a pattern of inconsistency and bad standards like that famous golfers county you've got to have a talk or walk away as it will be a waste of your time. Goals must be realistic and measurable while also very challenging, I'd be urging the county players of all levels to visualise SAM outside this cheeky golfers house in the coming decade, It will take a huge effort from every club, every official & player to bridge that gap to the top teams, however everything adds up to the extra 20% or so needed & if they can keep this excellent manager by flying him down from ulster (a former full back of mine is a pilot ;) ) or taxiing him they will keep the momentum going unlike 2004. A succession plan must be put in place also to get another all Ireland winner in if he is called to his home county. Ger brennan has proved all ireland winners have the know how to implement winning policies in every county & my own county must not let this momentum fade, winning breeds winning & the county board needs to plan for the coming decade & do everything possible to hire all ireland winners over the senior team & underage. Winning also runs in families & its no coincidence theres 2 brothers on the team coming from a famed hurling family, they play like they were born to run around Croke park as their father non chelontly popped over points, thats the normality the county needs to get to where popping over an equalising point in last minute of final is just an every day occurrence. That happens when you hire people who've been there & done it day in day out. there's a lot of links on the current team to fathers, uncles & brothers playing previously as that winning mentality & habits become natural & transfer from hurling, football etc
It doesn't matter if youre going for the provincial title, talitan cup or the county title it all starts with high standards in everything you do every minute of the day and every interaction you have. You've got to create an environment of elitism that is fun, enjoyable, very challenging but also realistic with plenty of banter in the changing rooms and you've got to be willing to take that banter plus give it or there's a bit of inequality there. Everyone should be treated the same but with respect as the man that cuts the grass you can't train without and he or she is the foundation of the club. I've been treated brilliantly in most clubs but clubs with bad policies just don't progress especially when they tolerate players running the club when they tend to take the easy route, they go backwards as the best coaches will only work with the best people. There has to be a culture of hard work and respect to everyone or you're on a hiding to nothing as that divides a team and a club. Some counties have fallen at that hurdle even at half time in an all Ireland when the pressure is on, on the pitch you must fight for every inch but in the changing room at half time is not the time to for a blame game, you've got to call out players if there is a lack of effort but never for a mistake, correct the mistake but don't disrespect the player or coach. The worst clubs this happens too all the time as they all blame each other without respect instead of giving everything for each other on the pitch they use more energy fighting at half time literally wrestling. There has to be a protocol for that and the best coaches already have players informed of what happens if someone does this that or the other, every single scenario on and off the pitch is planned for in every session and match, all 35 players know who is control and who speaks first, who the team leaders are when captain speaks, when vice captain speaks when goalkeeper speaks when full forward speaks etc. every second of half time is crucial and is the winning and losing of the game for management in tight games. There's a great example of this in Clare's all Ireland win after Davy fitz made a mistake & all the players gathered around him in changing room telling him not to worry that they will all up the intensity in second half
I captained a team to a County final and we made the wrong decision on winning the toss of coin as it was agreed with management, for almost all of our games playing with wind in second half worked for us but when your a big underdog you need a big start which settles the nerves so I would always advocate for going with wind in first half if you're a big underdog as you've got to be going in at halftime within a point or so or ahead because if your 8 points down or 13 under new rules then the game is over as you're already the underdog & need to go for their throat so to speak in the first minutes. Moreover I wouldn't be letting my captain give the last speech on pitch either unless you've cleared the speech as there may be 1 point you disagree with that gets a man sent off or a goal chance not taken if he or she is contradicting your orders of go for goal if its on but only if its on, don't force it, a bird in the hand is better than 3 in the bush in my opinion.
When you're sitting with winners the conversation is also different & winning habits are discussed all the time, if you're working or studying in a bad environment you've almost got to gee yourself up to get into the zone where's as when you're walking into a highly motivated and professional environment with people from all sports working consistently at a high level it just comes naturally as nothing demotivates you & there's so many intelligent conversations going on from phd students finishing their doctorates to a person outside the library window running around the campus trying to break a running world record in training, or coaches planning out a 4 year Olympic training cycle. Its soo unusually elite that you never see anyone even smoking outside anywhere on campus & if you do, you can be guaranteed they will have a world class attitude. I'm not sure about some of the counties centres of excellence will you get that in as with the greatest of respect to some of the county board committee they are not at the natural sports psychology level of the athletes from other sports or even lecturers in every subject as its performance psychology & just used to get best of ones self. I know for a fact henry shefflin lived in waterford i.t library when he was studying there & while being in the university of limerick would have inspired him more it would have been totally against his time management to go back to Kilkenny 30 minutes from Waterford away just for a physiotherapy session or even a training match as henry used his study breaks to practice his frees. if kilkenny, waterford & tipperary all have their centres of excellence in or on the university campus it will save the players hours and hours of traveling time per week. cork & kerry can use the cork campus, limerick and clare would use limerick it along with the Olympians, galway and sligo would use galway as would roscommon. donegal would use ulster university along with derry and fermanagh. dublin, kildare westmeath and meath would use a dublin or kildare university and longford carlow, offally would use midlands university etc. louth armagh and down and cavan would use queens university but bottom line is that if youre a county player from cork studying in ulster you should have a pass to use their centre of excellence and vice versa in cork for ulster intercounty players although most will go to the nearest top university. The ideal scenario is to use both however I would concentrate on getting the foundations right first & that's the clubs as without the clubs there is no conveyor belt.
My own county is doing everything possible to raise funds for a centre of excellence when there is already a centre of sporting excellence at the Counties University with Olympians there and for the time management of the players should be using the local university as its only a 35 minute drive from the other side of county but its also where the best physiotherapists, biomechanics experts with phds, physiologists & sports scientists are with top people in every field there. Furthermore the conveyor belt foundations are the clubs and I strongly feel the funds should be setting the right foundations first, getting county standard gyms in clubs, good pitches equipment etc as there is no point in having a brilliant facility if the conveyor belt for players stops turning, that conveyor belt is the clubs. There's no reason why county training cant be held at the regions university and will help everyone's time management even as far as dropping their kids into library for studying in a safe environment as they train in gym or university pitch. It also inspires the next generation of players to watch them train and they will have far more watching them at the university than at a centre of excellence in the middle of nowhere. even meeting coaches from other sports will help players and management where ideas are exchanged over coffee. the national centre for fitness training headquarters is in limerick university and its there for a reason because everything they need is all around them. I understand why county boards are trying to get centres of excellence but the people making these decisions are not experts in sport or sports facility planning nor have many of them even played county sport or sport to an elite level with respect to them. There seems to be a drive in their own interests to create jobs for the boys that are really not needed, for the boys to have a place to go and smoke while overlooking gaelic football, camogie and hurling. However the most important people in this are being overlooked, that's the players and it will only drive players away from sport if they have to drive 50 mins to a facility in the middle of nowhere or other side of county even if they're the most motivated player in the county time affects every man and eventually the travelling will take its toll and they will take a year out every 5 years or retire early. Ministers of government for time management have drivers driving them around, these players will need drivers to do the same so they can catch up on work in the back seat if they have to drive far from their work to county training facilities.
The new rules have changed the whole game and made it more intense and im loving the rugby hand offs when going to ground. however the new rules have totally ruined some teams thinking throughout the game & especially in the last 5 mins. Some teams are trying to force 2 pointers when they are not on, now i know Andy Moran has a strategy for that in pressing the breaking ball & intense tackling of defenders winning ball high up the pitch which lifts the crowd if you wrestle a turn over. However if you're the team that is behind especially in the last five minutes a bird in the hand is better than 3 in the bush & definitely better than 2 in the bush, prior to the all Ireland final some commentators were saying kerry could score 1 goal & 5 points in 5 mins & they were right with their scoring power & when everyone else was listening to the commentary in the last 5 mins I was analysing the numerous times kerry could of gone through for a 1 pointer but turned back out to hand pass it into a position for a 2 pointer when it just wasn't on most of the time until paidi clifford finally say's give me the ball ive had enough of this & went through for a 1 pointer. kerry could definitely have got it to a 1 point game & then the whole tactics of the defence changes plus their nerves, it should be played for the same way as a goal, take your points & the goals will come, take your points and the 2's will come because when you run through for 1 pointers it creates space outside the arch for the 2 pointers especially with the rugby hand off but it also takes 10 or 11 players out of the game but hands the defensive team the advantage WHEN THEY KNOW YE ARE GOING FOR 2 THEY PUT 2 men on your big kickers. There's a great example of this in the leinster final for a falling to ground rugby hand off after driving at the defence creating space for the best kicker
who's now unmarked. If kerry went for their 1 pointers in last 5 minutes by running at the goal they would of created chaos & brought it to extra time. David clifford almost got the 2 pointer but as the saying is here "almost is a losers mentality" which jamie Carragher wont like to hear ;), why try to manufacture something that's not on (anyone can almost do it) when you know that driving at the defence will cause chaos & get you one pointers. kerry didnt seem to have any strategy for being 4 points down in final 5 mins and although jack is 1 one the best managers in the game even he will admit that last 5 mins were a huge mistake, only in the last 90 seconds of the game, (yes I'm aware of the hooter) should you be implementing your pre practiced routine for a goal or 2 pointer when that move is not on. dropping ball into square etc, Kerry didn't seem to have a prerehearsed routine to get clifford in space for a 2 pointer either even though that is easily done when management use several sports strategies. I was very surprised they didn't have pre done routine for different scenarios, even the management of my club implemented these since 2015 which worked in finals. To force a defence open you have to use the full width of the pitch & go around them in any sport & the opposite for defending which Kerry gave mayo the advantage of by playing right into their hands except for cliffords goal.
i once played corner forward v Dublin in another competitive underage game despite being a corner back & the first six backs already named, the manager Des changed his mind midway through selector naming the team due to his insistence that I play now uninjured. His philosophy was that a good footballer could play anywhere & he was right however they have to know their role, its no criticism of Des but it had not been discussed with player & in order for a player to play well he or she must be able to visualise that role well in advance & giving them advice on what you want them to do helps, if you have a player running off you then you can just set them up for the score but the role must be clearly defined as while I won every ball sent into me I didn't have anyone running off me. And although as captain I later played in every position except midfield for my club team I had more time to visualise the role even as goalkeeper. You're going to see corner backs playing alot more at wing and corner forwards now for their tackling & ball winning ability as its now the most important part of the game, winning and turning over the ball is now the what defines the result of the games, I would be playing a corner back in-between the full & half forward line just to win breaks, turn over possession & block kicks to pass it off then to better attackers when winning ball high up the pitch creating goal chances & lifting the whole team. I definitely would of preferred that in county trial match than having to mark managers nephew who I couldn't touch due to a previous fight but I wouldn't hold that against him :) I know for a fact a corner back could play as a forward under me as id have every player knowing each others roles not just their own but it depends on the managers style of play and attention to detail. Andy moran is unique as a corner forward he is the first manager to make his team tenacious and expressive of their skills as its usually one or the other. I'm going to start doing that myself with my teams, the bottom line is its about attention to detail for every 30 seconds of game & training, travel etc. The club & county that takes that advice to its extreme will win the most.
Best wishes to all clubs & counties, just remember you make your own luck
Declan Lynch
BA honours Physical Education,
MA Sport & exercise Psychology (TC)
Personal trainer & team trainer 10 + year
Programs Directly related to 5 clubs winning multiple championships
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