Football....a game for athletes?

corny

Its long been an opinion of mine that pace and agility are everything in inter county football. There seems to less and less room for lads who don't measure up every year. Being agile/quick creates more time and space for you on the ball and gives your opponent less time and space when you're marking him. Thats massive when you break it down over 70 minutes. For example you might see one or two players beaten by a dummy solo or clever movement etc but the amount of times you see players beaten by pace/power dwarfs that.

Its no coincidence that Dublin are the benchmark. Every time i see them play i see them physically best the opposition and its almost always the difference between the sides when it gets tight. Some might take this a sleight on the talents of the team. As in an acknowledgement of their physical superiority is tantamount to saying they aren't as skilful as the opposition. I don't see it that way. The way i see it the game prioritises these abilities above all else and having them is the defining factor and should be celebrated. You wouldn't sneer at Usain Bolt because he's faster than everyone else. You'd celebrate it because thats the name of the game. Jack McCaffreys pace, Brian Howards agility, Ciaran Kilkennys stamina etc.....thats the skill and thats what makes them effective doesn't it?

Powerhouse

corny wrote: »

Its no coincidence that Dublin are the benchmark. Every time i see them play i see them physically best the opposition and its almost always the difference between the sides when it gets tight.

That's just the halo effect really. There is no obvious way of measuring the relative physical capacities of two teams who are in a really competitive situation in an All Ireland final maybe or some game where the teams are close to equal. You are assuming that one who wins has the greater physical capacity but they win because they score more which may or may not be attributable to being fitter and stronger than the opposition. To say physical conditioning is "almost always the difference between the sides when it gets tight" is a wild assumption.

Any top level field sport is a sport for well conditioned performers. This does not define Gaelic Football.

PARlance

Still room for the odd 19 stone Full Forward in Junior B.

blanch152

corny wrote: »

Its long been an opinion of mine that pace and agility are everything in inter county football. There seems to less and less room for lads who don't measure up every year. Being agile/quick creates more time and space for you on the ball and gives your opponent less time and space when you're marking him. Thats massive when you break it down over 70 minutes. For example you might see one or two players beaten by a dummy solo or clever movement etc but the amount of times you see players beaten by pace/power dwarfs that.

Its no coincidence that Dublin are the benchmark. Every time i see them play i see them physically best the opposition and its almost always the difference between the sides when it gets tight. Some might take this a sleight on the talents of the team. As in an acknowledgement of their physical superiority is tantamount to saying they aren't as skilful as the opposition. I don't see it that way. The way i see it the game prioritises these abilities above all else and having them is the defining factor and should be celebrated. You wouldn't sneer at Usain Bolt because he's faster than everyone else. You'd celebrate it because thats the name of the game. Jack McCaffreys pace, Brian Howards agility, Ciaran Kilkennys stamina etc.....thats the skill and thats what makes them effective doesn't it?

I think you have got it wrong. To be able to execute the skills at pace takes a higher level of skill. How often do you see a mediocre inter-county player slow down and steady himself before taking a shot? Answer: All the time.

Cormac Costello scored a point of incredible skill against Galway where the ball was transferred from hand to foot at pace and kicked over the bar. No ordinary player could do that.

Con O'Callaghan turned his marker in the All-Ireland final with a fantastic solo and created a goal for Niall Scully. All carried out at pace with fantastic skill.

Jack McCaffrey travels the pitch at pace without taking too many strides, soloing and leaving players in his wake. Is that not skill?

Paul Mannion back in his own full-back line just seconds after kicking a point and expertly dispossessing an attacker. Is that not skill?

Skill at pace wins games more than skill for show that's slow.

Fann Linn

PARlance wrote: »

Still room for the odd 19 stone Full Forward in Junior B.

With 20 major in the back pocket.

djPSB

Michael Dara McAuley winning 'Footballer' of the Year was a clear indication that the game has become an athlete's game.

The man can't kick a ball.

blanch152

djPSB wrote: »

Michael Dara McAuley winning 'Footballer' of the Year was a clear indication that the game has become an athlete's game.

The man can't kick a ball.

I'm a Dub supporter and I have to admit that everytime he plays we have a sort of bingo for when he kicks the ball first.