Level 3 and kids

obi604 · 06-10-2020 1:33pm #1

In regard to training for under 6,7 and 8 type ages.

Will this be allowed with level 3 lockdown?

threeball · 06-10-2020 5:04pm

obi604 wrote: »

In regard to training for under 6,7 and 8 type ages.

Will this be allowed with level 3 lockdown?

Yes but supposed to be limited to pods of 15

obi604 · 06-10-2020 6:20pm

threeball wrote: »

Yes but supposed to be limited to pods of 15

hmmm, so could you potentially have 4 pods of 15 separated in different parts of the pitch making 60

arctictree · 06-10-2020 6:55pm

Also, it's supposed to be non contact. That seems to be totally ignored.

neddynasty · 07-10-2020 2:04pm

arctictree wrote: »

Also, it's supposed to be non contact. That seems to be totally ignored.

Involved in U7 myself. The non-contact seems a bit vague on it's definition. I'm taking it as no games in training and no activities/drills with deliberate contact. Going to be difficult to keep a bunch of U7s into pods of 15 when they get giddy!!

obi604 · 07-10-2020 4:05pm

obi604 wrote: »

hmmm, so could you potentially have 4 pods of 15 separated in different parts of the pitch making 60

any thoughts on this?

threeball · 07-10-2020 4:12pm

obi604 wrote: »

any thoughts on this?

You can have as many as you want as long as the pods don't mix and are kept separate before, during and after training. The pods should socially distance so no contact such as matches.

Audioslaven · 08-10-2020 12:21am

threeball wrote: »

You can have as many as you want as long as the pods don't mix and are kept separate before, during and after training. The pods should socially distance so no contact such as matches.

Its hard to see how this will really work in reality. I think these rules are pure BS. It was the same with the rule before Level 3m around social distancing when not playing or training and the players marking each other tight when training.

The GAA would be better off going black or white. Either train as normal or stop. This in between **** is a head melt and just plain ridiculous like that stupid health survey app that goes nowhere and offers nothing. It is not even a tracing mechanism

threeball · 08-10-2020 11:03am

Audioslaven wrote: »

Its hard to see how this will really work in reality. I think these rules are pure BS. It was the same with the rule before Level 3m around social distancing when not playing or training and the players marking each other tight when training.

The GAA would be better off going black or white. Either train as normal or stop. This in between **** is a head melt and just plain ridiculous like that stupid health survey app that goes nowhere and offers nothing. It is not even a tracing mechanism

The whole thing is scutter. Kids can go to school, 25 to a class indoors and play soccer in the yard at lunchtime but going training is somehow a threat. Its all over the shop because PC nonsense prevents NEPET from actually telling us where the real issues are and tackling those rather than going after the low hanging fruit.

neddynasty · 09-10-2020 10:03am

threeball wrote: »

The whole thing is scutter. Kids can go to school, 25 to a class indoors and play soccer in the yard at lunchtime but going training is somehow a threat. Its all over the shop because PC nonsense prevents NEPET from actually telling us where the real issues are and tackling those rather than going after the low hanging fruit.

You can pick out individual parts of the restrictions and compare them and they don't make sense. They're never going to be perfect. All the restrictions are aiming to do is reduce the number of contacts a person has, especially for non-essential activities.

I think managers of kids (ages 6-9) GAA teams will take 1 of 3 approaches

Pay lip service to the restrictions i.e. break the group into pods and continue on as normal within the pods.
Try to follow the restrictions as best they can with pods, non-contact training and social distancing and do their best.
Decide the restrictions are impossible to implement correctly and since it's near the end of the year and weather is getting poor then call a halt to training a few weeks early this year.

CiarraiAbu2 · 09-10-2020 10:22am

Would ye not just wind up for the season at this stage, weather is getting bad at this stage anyway.

Akabusi · 09-10-2020 10:26am

That is what we decided to do. Normally during winter we have the Kids sessions indoors, that is not an option now.

rpurfield · 09-10-2020 11:17am

Most kids teams finish up around Halloween anyway, well we generally do so I would say a lot will just put a halt to it now.

LuasSimon · 09-10-2020 11:33am

CiarraiAbu2 wrote: »

Would ye not just wind up for the season at this stage, weather is getting bad at this stage anyway.

It’s mostly strength and conditioning for our under 6s and 7s during the winter and a monthly beep test to ensure home workouts are been followed .
This will ensure there will be plenty of Paul Mannions and Ciaran Kilkenny’s in the years ahead when Dublin are going for twenty in a row !

CiarraiAbu2 · 09-10-2020 11:34am

LuasSimon wrote: »

It’s mostly strength and conditioning for our under 6s and 7s during the winter and a monthly beep test to ensure home workouts are been followed .
This will ensure there will be plenty of Paul Mannions and Ciaran Kilkenny’s in the years ahead when Dublin are going for twenty in a row ![/quote

Wouldn't be surprised with some coaches out there.

Just a matter of interest for coaches out there at what age group do ye become competitive this is a pet hate of mine and wish the GAA would do something about it.

threeball · 09-10-2020 11:49am

CiarraiAbu2 wrote: »

LuasSimon wrote: »

It’s mostly strength and conditioning for our under 6s and 7s during the winter and a monthly beep test to ensure home workouts are been followed .
This will ensure there will be plenty of Paul Mannions and Ciaran Kilkenny’s in the years ahead when Dublin are going for twenty in a row ![/quote

Wouldn't be surprised with some coaches out there.

Just a matter of interest for coaches out there at what age group do ye become competitive this is a pet hate of mine and wish the GAA would do something about it.

Continuing training for me is nothing to do with competitiveness. I coach both football and hurling. Football you can drop for a couple of months and pick up where you left off. Hurling you stop for a few months and it takes a month when you get back just to get back to where you were. In Winter from 8s on wards we would do alot of skills work. In the summer we let them play their match at training interspersed with a few drills but winter is where you lay the foundations. Personally I couldn't care less if they didn't win a game until they were minor (apart from their own self esteem), my philosophy would be all about developing all the skills as if they have them they'll do well anyway. The kids themselves are competitive from 8 and it annoys them when we try to take competition out so we do competitive skills sessions which they enjoy far more.

LuasSimon · 09-10-2020 12:06pm

Under 12 is plenty of time if I was asked to be competitive.
A friend at works son went to a under 6 or 8 Gaelic football open evening for a large south side club in Dublin last year . 118 children turned up so not surprisingly the club couldn’t cope and held trials over two evenings with sixty players selected and the other 58 failing to make the cut and that was the finish of his sons Gaelic football career .

threeball · 09-10-2020 12:19pm

LuasSimon wrote: »

Under 12 is plenty of time if I was asked to be competitive.
A friend at works son went to a under 6 or 8 Gaelic football open evening for a large south side club in Dublin last year . 118 children turned up so not surprisingly the club couldn’t cope and held trials over two evenings with sixty players selected and the other 58 failing to make the cut and that was the finish of his sons Gaelic football career .

Under 12 for the kids to be competitive or for the coach to be competitive? The kids will be competitive from the get go, the problem is coaches being competitive. Personally, I think if your going in there having a focus of winning championships before they're at least 16 then you shouldn't be coaching that age group.

threeball · 09-10-2020 12:21pm

LuasSimon wrote: »

Under 12 is plenty of time if I was asked to be competitive.
A friend at works son went to a under 6 or 8 Gaelic football open evening for a large south side club in Dublin last year . 118 children turned up so not surprisingly the club couldn’t cope and held trials over two evenings with sixty players selected and the other 58 failing to make the cut and that was the finish of his sons Gaelic football career .

Is there no smaller club he could go to where he'd be appreciated? People always get drawn to the big name clubs. Its Dublin, its not like driving 20kms to the next club when you're down the country.

The Lost Sheep · 09-10-2020 12:28pm

LuasSimon wrote: »

Under 12 is plenty of time if I was asked to be competitive.
A friend at works son went to a under 6 or 8 Gaelic football open evening for a large south side club in Dublin last year . 118 children turned up so not surprisingly the club couldn’t cope and held trials over two evenings with sixty players selected and the other 58 failing to make the cut and that was the finish of his sons Gaelic football career .

Does under 12 really need to be competitive? Surely better start at under 13/14 and keep u12 and primary school with go games/total fun emphasis...
Why would a club have to hold trials at that age. Surely they could find way to have all play. Its non competitive.

rpurfield · 09-10-2020 1:25pm

LuasSimon wrote: »

Under 12 is plenty of time if I was asked to be competitive.
A friend at works son went to a under 6 or 8 Gaelic football open evening for a large south side club in Dublin last year . 118 children turned up so not surprisingly the club couldn’t cope and held trials over two evenings with sixty players selected and the other 58 failing to make the cut and that was the finish of his sons Gaelic football career .

That's madness, at 6 to 8 everyone should be encouraged. Kids develop at different speeds so there should be no need for streaming or trials at that age

threeball · 09-10-2020 1:56pm

rpurfield wrote: »

That's madness, at 6 to 8 everyone should be encouraged. Kids develop at different speeds so there should be no need for streaming or trials at that age

They probably had no interest in taking that many kids so decided to pick the ones with the best aptitude at the moment and if they miss a diamond in the rough so be it. Clubs like that don't really care about player development anyway they just overcome that deficiency by sheer weight of numbers. And if that doesn't work they'll draft in players from outside the county. They're closer to soccer clubs than they are GAA clubs.

Cavan_King · 11-10-2020 6:30am

From my club, I’m finding it depends on the trainers. Some trainers don’t really want to be there and so have used the restrictions as an excuse and quit training yesterday or even via a text during the week.

I coach a girls team and a boys team, both non competitive. With the boys, I plan to go until the end of November if possible. They already missed enough football this year and some if them will be playing competitive next year at 13s next year.

With the girls, they are a bit younger but I still hope to get until at least Halloween out of it.

If anything, I’m hoping to try and extend the year and not curtail it as they had no football from March until the last week of June.

We had training yesterday morning and plenty of parents were very thankful as they said their kids need to do some kinds of sports while this is ongoing,

rpurfield · 11-10-2020 2:18pm

threeball wrote: »

They probably had no interest in taking that many kids so decided to pick the ones with the best aptitude at the moment and if they miss a diamond in the rough so be it. Clubs like that don't really care about player development anyway they just overcome that deficiency by sheer weight of numbers. And if that doesn't work they'll draft in players from outside the county. They're closer to soccer clubs than they are GAA clubs.

Fair point. I'm involved in our U12 team and we've about 25 on a good day. I can't get my head around turning lads away but then I'm also conscious we'll probably lose a few lads in the next couple of years anyway. Different dynamics in a big city club

neddynasty · 12-10-2020 11:06am

Cavan_King wrote: »

From my club, I’m finding it depends on the trainers. Some trainers don’t really want to be there and so have used the restrictions as an excuse and quit training yesterday or even via a text during the week.

I coach a girls team and a boys team, both non competitive. With the boys, I plan to go until the end of November if possible. They already missed enough football this year and some if them will be playing competitive next year at 13s next year.

With the girls, they are a bit younger but I still hope to get until at least Halloween out of it.

If anything, I’m hoping to try and extend the year and not curtail it as they had no football from March until the last week of June.

We had training yesterday morning and plenty of parents were very thankful as they said their kids need to do some kinds of sports while this is ongoing,

We're finishing up next Saturday with U7 Camogie. We'd usually go until the end of October but the weekend after is a bank holiday (numbers are always down) and then it's practically November. We were allotted a 9am slot for the pitch due to COVID so it's pretty cold for them at that time. It's also an earlier start than they have for school so getting them out of bed and on to a cold damp pitch is less appealing as the weeks go by.

Last Saturday, we managed to maintain the pods but there wasn't a hope of keeping social distance within the pods. We did our skills & drills and replaced the matches with fun games.

C.O.Y.B.I.B · 12-10-2020 11:47am

I manage u12 girls both Football and Camogie and we have upped our training with matches being off . We normally train until mid- December and then take a month off and that's the at for most juvenile teams in my club.

With regard to Covid , we have all along and continue to stick to all guidelines with seperate pods and non contact. I think it's perfectly workable if everyone does the same , even matches should be continuing.

On the competive front , u12 is still GoGames , leagues don't start until u13 for us which is when it will get a bit more competitive although this year was supposed to be our grading year , that hasn't happened with the uncertainties.
I can't imagine turning anyone away and I think that there should be a place for everyone of all abilities right through Juvenile years .
What playing GAA does for the confidence and mental and physical health of children at that age far outweighs any trophies .

obi604 · 15-10-2020 8:00am

We can’t visit houses or even gardens from tomorrow. Will gaa kids be allowed train?

Seems a bit Strange if gaa training allowed. But then again, there is no rhyme nor reason to any of the restriction plans.

davidx40 · 15-10-2020 9:05am

Ye just wondering after yesterday's news of no more than 6 people meeting out doors can we still train ....I'm with u7 hurling ...had intended to run up to December

Tombo2001 · 15-10-2020 9:10am

The guidelines are pretty clear cut- underage training is allowed at Level 3 and Level 4, not allowed at Level 5.

One thing I wish the GAA would do is offer some advice on training kids on a non contact basis. The staple for any underage training is a drill here, a drill there .....now lets play a match. The drill is the boring bit where they learn the skill, the match is exciting part.

However all the contact stuff is gone.

Most mentors out there are parents, many of whom have never really played the game and are no experts on underage training for GAA.

It would be great if the GAA could put out a video of drills that (i) you can do with a group of 15 kids and (ii) doesnt involve them standing in a big line waiting to take their turn.

Tombo2001 · 15-10-2020 9:24am

CiarraiAbu2 wrote: »

LuasSimon wrote: »

It’s mostly strength and conditioning for our under 6s and 7s during the winter and a monthly beep test to ensure home workouts are been followed .
This will ensure there will be plenty of Paul Mannions and Ciaran Kilkenny’s in the years ahead when Dublin are going for twenty in a row ![/quote

Wouldn't be surprised with some coaches out there.

Just a matter of interest for coaches out there at what age group do ye become competitive this is a pet hate of mine and wish the GAA would do something about it.

One thing that annoys me no end is constant negative talk about underage gaa coaches.

My experience of it is that the so-called coaches are actually vast army of parents who give up their time to mentor their own child and other children's kids.

Until the age of 12, Its 70% child minding and 30% coaching.

The narrative is always of the coach standing on the sideline roaring their heads off at kids; thats simply not the case, not in Dublin anyway - its 1 in 100 or less.

The number 1 objective for pretty much any coach I've come across is to keep as many kids playing as possible, and that means first and foremost that the kids enjoy it.

As for the competitive piece- GAA is a sport where a team plays against another team,, and unless its a draw then one of the teams is going to win. What do you want here? AFAIK until the age of 10 or 11, the scores arent particularly kept for any reason.

neddynasty · 15-10-2020 9:40am

Tombo2001 wrote: »

The guidelines are pretty clear cut- underage training is allowed at Level 3 and Level 4, not allowed at Level 5.

One thing I wish the GAA would do is offer some advice on training kids on a non contact basis. The staple for any underage training is a drill here, a drill there .....now lets play a match. The drill is the boring bit where they learn the skill, the match is exciting part.

However all the contact stuff is gone.

Most mentors out there are parents, many of whom have never really played the game and are no experts on underage training for GAA.

It would be great if the GAA could put out a video of drills that (i) you can do with a group of 15 kids and (ii) doesnt involve them standing in a big line waiting to take their turn.

We had 20 at training last Saturday. Split them into 2 pods of 10 in separate areas of the pitch and in those pods we broke the 10 into 2 fives for the drills. So not much standing around. We replaced the matches with fun games like round the world, snatch the bacon and tail tag. So we still cover some of the skills/drills and then had a bit of fun too while still getting a run around. I know you can't beat matches but it worked out OK.

My view, getting any more out of the season at this stage is a bonus so no need to focus on what you can't do or that it'll all be boring with drills. If you want a bit of competitiveness to replace the matches, setup some relay races. Just have fun for the last few weeks and don't be putting yourself under pressure.

rpurfield · 15-10-2020 9:41am

I know there's risks involved but I really hope any call is balanced off against kids well being too. I know from my lads they are stuck in the bubbles all day in school, PE etc is restricted compared to before too. So there is a lot to be said for getting them out for an hour or two a week where possible for a bit of training.

Tombo2001 · 15-10-2020 9:47am

neddynasty wrote: »

We had 20 at training last Saturday. Split them into 2 pods of 10 in separate areas of the pitch and in those pods we broke the 10 into 2 fives for the drills. So not much standing around. We replaced the matches with fun games like round the world, snatch the bacon and tail tag. So we still cover some of the skills/drills and then had a bit of fun too while still getting a run around. I know you can't beat matches but it worked out OK.

My view, getting any more out of the season at this stage is a bonus so no need to focus on what you can't do or that it'll all be boring with drills. If you want a bit of competitiveness to replace the matches, setup some relay races. Just have fun for the last few weeks and don't be putting yourself under pressure.

Tks - would these be non contact though? The group I am with is a bit older I think.....

Tombo2001 · 15-10-2020 9:51am

rpurfield wrote: »

I know there's risks involved but I really hope any call is balanced off against kids well being too. I know from my lads they are stuck in the bubbles all day in school, PE etc is restricted compared to before too. So there is a lot to be said for getting them out for an hour or two a week where possible for a bit of training.

All the feedback I am getting is that if they are not at training, they'll be at home on the XBOX, particularly as the evenings get darker.

The other thing - we've had an established group for the past 5 or 6 years, this is the first year that numbers have actually jumped.

A lot of other sports are cancelled indefinitely - they are indoor, they rely on schools for facilities and the schools wont let them use it this year etc....

On a related note - I do hope that the county councils will be a bit more flexible on keeping pitches open after a drop of rain, given that so many other sports are gone at present.

neddynasty · 15-10-2020 10:43am

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Tks - would these be non contact though? The group I am with is a bit older I think.....

We're U7 so all the drills are covering basic skills. It's all non-contact but there is some incidental contact but it's not possible to stop that. I looked at all the drills and games we've done over the year and tried to see what ones didn't have contact and, for the ones that do have contact, how can we alter them to remove the contact. As an example, for the 'Snatch the Bacon' game, 2 players are involved for each turn and previously they should compete for the ball at the end. We changed the competing bit so there are now 2 balls and whoever picks their ball up first gets a point for their team.

I took a few games from here and alerted them:
https://www.ballinteerstjohns.com/images/pdfs/Coaching/warm-ups.pdf

Tombo2001 · 15-10-2020 11:05am

neddynasty wrote: »

We're U7 so all the drills are covering basic skills. It's all non-contact but there is some incidental contact but it's not possible to stop that. I looked at all the drills and games we've done over the year and tried to see what ones didn't have contact and, for the ones that do have contact, how can we alter them to remove the contact. As an example, for the 'Snatch the Bacon' game, 2 players are involved for each turn and previously they should compete for the ball at the end. We changed the competing bit so there are now 2 balls and whoever picks their ball up first gets a point for their team.

I took a few games from here and alerted them:
https://www.ballinteerstjohns.com/images/pdfs/Coaching/warm-ups.pdf

Fair play, it needs a bit of thought.

neddynasty · 15-10-2020 5:55pm

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Fair play, it needs a bit of thought.

It takes a small bit and sometimes it'll work and sometimes it won't work at all. I've had a couple of training sessions this year that have been an absolute shambles but you try to learn from them. With the restrictions this year you just need to try things out and be prepared to fail and move on.

It's U7's we're dealing with so as long as they're having fun and the the vast majority register next year for U8, then I'll take the year as a success. If we can keep them coming back year after year then there'll be plenty of years available to help them learn the skills and improve.

Audioslaven · 15-10-2020 6:45pm

neddynasty wrote: »

It takes a small bit and sometimes it'll work and sometimes it won't work at all. I've had a couple of training sessions this year that have been an absolute shambles but you try to learn from them. With the restrictions this year you just need to try things out and be prepared to fail and move on.

It's U7's we're dealing with so as long as they're having fun and the the vast majority register next year for U8, then I'll take the year as a success. If we can keep them coming back year after year then there'll be plenty of years available to help them learn the skills and improve.

In all fairness the GAA rules around covid are BS. Even if you do the pods and do no contact training, the kids are all over each other. You try as best you can but once someone in the club gets it, its all over.
There are a few things that don't work with social distancing.. drinking beer, sports and kids.

threeball · 15-10-2020 7:49pm

Audioslaven wrote: »

In all fairness the GAA rules around covid are BS. Even if you do the pods and do no contact training, the kids are all over each other. You try as best you can but once someone in the club gets it, its all over.
There are a few things that don't work with social distancing.. drinking beer, sports and kids.

Far less risk for kids than there is at school. If someone gets it and you have to finish up then fair enough but people should try to keep active. The benefits far outweigh the risks.
There's far too much fear around and scaremongering. Yes there is a cohort of people for who the risks are unacceptable but for kids and the vast majority of young adults the risk to their health from inactivity is far greater. I saw young lads of 12 years old who came back to training after the last lockdown a stone overweight and others barely able to run. They're only getting back to normal now.

beggars_bush · 15-10-2020 8:53pm

threeball wrote: »

Far less risk for kids than there is at school. If someone gets it and you have to finish up then fair enough but people should try to keep active. The benefits far outweigh the risks.
There's far too much fear around and scaremongering. Yes there is a cohort of people for who the risks are unacceptable but for kids and the vast majority of young adults the risk to their health from inactivity is far greater. I saw young lads of 12 years old who came back to training after the last lockdown a stone overweight and others barely able to run. They're only getting back to normal now.

And yet i saw some kids outside playing in their gardens for the first time ever during covid

threeball · 15-10-2020 10:09pm

beggars_bush wrote: »

And yet i saw some kids outside playing in their gardens for the first time ever during covid

Is it the kids or the parents that are wierd in that situation. Its certainly not the majority in any case.

Audioslaven · 15-10-2020 11:08pm

threeball wrote: »

Far less risk for kids than there is at school. If someone gets it and you have to finish up then fair enough but people should try to keep active. The benefits far outweigh the risks.
There's far too much fear around and scaremongering. Yes there is a cohort of people for who the risks are unacceptable but for kids and the vast majority of young adults the risk to their health from inactivity is far greater. I saw young lads of 12 years old who came back to training after the last lockdown a stone overweight and others barely able to run. They're only getting back to normal now.

Yes I agree far less risky and parents are feeding their kids crap but what is really important now is that the kids stay in school, get educated and people stay in their jobs. Granted sport is important for mental health etc but education and money in people's pocket come first imo.

I don't see this as scaremongering because we don't know the full effects of this virus and that is a problem.

Anyway we called off our training this evening with rising cases in the area and doing training would only lead to more cases. The world is a mess with this virus.

threeball · 15-10-2020 11:32pm

Audioslaven wrote: »

Yes I agree far less risky and parents are feeding their kids crap but what is really important now is that the kids stay in school, get educated and people stay in their jobs. Granted sport is important for mental health etc but education and money in people's pocket come first imo.

I don't see this as scaremongering because we don't know the full effects of this virus and that is a problem.

Anyway we called off our training this evening with rising cases in the area and doing training would only lead to more cases. The world is a mess with this virus.

We've pretty much written off a year. Next year will be the same. I think by this stage we have a pretty good idea of what the virus is and what it can do. If we don't then a vaccine won't be worth a damn anyway and all those trials are hitting the brakes pretty hard in the last month. Oxford and J&J both halted due to unexplained illnesses in participants.
Hugging lads, drinking out of cups, pub crawls, all mental sh1t to even contemplate but it was done and was totally wrong, I just don't see the point in calling off a training session for kids. It will achieve nothing in terms of virus control.

neddynasty · 16-10-2020 9:23am

threeball wrote: »

Far less risk for kids than there is at school. If someone gets it and you have to finish up then fair enough but people should try to keep active. The benefits far outweigh the risks.
There's far too much fear around and scaremongering. Yes there is a cohort of people for who the risks are unacceptable but for kids and the vast majority of young adults the risk to their health from inactivity is far greater. I saw young lads of 12 years old who came back to training after the last lockdown a stone overweight and others barely able to run. They're only getting back to normal now.

Seen a few kids like that myself after lockdown. I'd hazard a guess their parents are the type to watch a training session from the sideline with the sunglasses on and a coffee in the hand, happy out that they've ticked the "my child is getting some exercise" box. Not in their nature to take the kids out for an hour themselves during lockdown and run around with them.

neddynasty · 20-10-2020 5:29pm

So Level 5 from midnight Wednesday and the school going kids are still allowed to train in their pods. I did not see that coming!

We finished last Saturday with the U7s based on the assumption training was going to be stopped anyway. Finished up with an hour of fun & games. We were going to finish up on the 31st anyway so only missing a couple of weeks. I don't think I'd be comfortable bringing the kids together again with the country in Level 5.

Level 3 and kids

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