Kilkenny GAA Thread

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-41851356.html?fbclid=Iwb21leASCBpljbGNrBIIGMWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHuW7xritFnDoC7mmHlZh87h9Miy__maC6clBUhtVYxUDlTiCWyFqdD-v5gA9_aem_rNoJFoUJzNpftMO_ERE0aA

Worth reading this. When I first saw the headline I thought it was going to be another typical Andy rant, but when you actually read the article there’s a lot in it that should concern if it’s accurate.
The big issue for me is what it says re atmosphere around development squads. Those squads are supposed to be producing players that are technically, physically and mentally ready for senior intercounty hurling. If senior management are looking at players coming through and feeling they’re lacking intensity, tactical awareness or core fundamentals, then the pathway clearly isn’t functioning as it should be

CB have another year and a half in office, can we wait that long for radical change?

Have family members involved with underage teams and its a complete **** show since fennelly left.

Hes speaking a lot of sense...

A lad in our club was on a minor 'extended' panel, and youd swear he had won 9 All Irelands the way he was going around ....

These extended panels are a bit of a sham..

Managers should have the balls to trim their panel and not have 10-15 'hangers on' around the panel.....

The fact that theres no Post Season Review is shocking .... A County Board that hasnt the balls to face facts and to lay them bare....

What the CB needs to do is get in the likes of Michael Fennelly as a Director of Hurling. Give him the authority to allocate whatever finances they have for the Hurling side of the County. We all know money is scarce in KK but we need to be allocating it to where we might get a better return in years to come.

Development squads were once the envy of the country but the process is outdated in the current age. However, scrapping them is not the answer. The answer is to evolve them to more professional standards.

If I was to suggest improvements it would be to have it more like a scouting exercise.

Throughout the year, the club management team can have files on the players and rate players from 1-5 on their abilities. E.g. striking on both sides, first touch, pace. The players wouldn't see these ratings but they would be passed on to Development squad management who would then go scout players at games and invite players into the squads for trial games.

It's up to the county squad selectors to then identify where the clubs are falling down. If a club is giving all their players top marks on first touch and then they arrive into the squads and they're only a 3 out of 5 then that should be fed back to the club with drills to improve that particular skill or attribute (e.g. fitness) and to tell them what level they want to see to be considered a 5 out of 5.

We need to see consistent improvements and that only happens with communication from clubs to squads and vice versa and constantly feeding back this information.

Sprinting training should be available to all clubs too, we've seen our lack of pace and something has to be done to teach young lads how to run properly.

Finally, regarding gear. The max any young player up to u16 level should be getting is a pair of Kilkenny shorts and socks. The ego thing needs to be addressed but how we do that is probably one of the more difficult things to do.

That's my two cents on how to improve the situation. It might not work but it's a possible solution.

are you sure about that KK?

Andy retired TJ on the show also.

The issue is that the job descriptions have changed but no one has notified KK CB. You only have to look at the Premier League and the clubs that were left behind because the people at the top didnt have vision and were only interested in their own self preservation.

The coach education does preach the development of the Fundamental movement skills and fundamental hurling skills. Unfortunately, more often than not, the egos of the club coaches takes over and it's all about winning and competition.

Nominating kids to go into development squads is still biased.

The messiah everyone is mentioning is not the silver bullet everyone thinks. There are issues there from what I've seen and heard. I'm not absolving the kk board from anything either.

Pace, agility and off the cuff imaginative hurling are lacking everywhere in kk hurling. For instance, how many lads in the county can turn on a six pence and shoot on the back foot?

I know the bigger the population means you can mine out more elite athletes of size, pace and agility- and apart from this Limerick once in a generation, that's the way the pecking order is starting to line itself up.

Development Squads for All is how I'd see it improving. 3 clubs cluster on some evenings. A, B and C assigned to each venue. You train and develop with peers of your ability and skill set.

Don't get me started on the kk senior management and the health of that dressing room environment. Lyng has to go but I don't think he will.

Michael Walsh said it right on the KCLR podcast when he said that Galway last Wednesday and Dublin on Sunday had more intensity in their play that both our two teams. Our teams might think they want to win these games but Galway and Dublin wanted it more than us and that is what is hugely dissappointing.

100%. The maximum a person, bar Treasurer, can serve is 5 years but they must be elected each year.

Andy probably needs to pipe down at this stage. His comments were passionate in the beginning but are now nothing more that controversial for the sake of it. It's just noise now.

You are right about some of the coaches on the squads. You really wouldn't put them in charge of a piss up in a brewery.

Your comments on the minor management are a bit harsh. They have gotten far more improvement out of their gang than the u20 management have.

The 06-15 lads are a big disappointment. Many have turned down the chance to get involved, presumably because they were able to get big bucks elsewhere. Some lads agreed to get involved and contributed very little. They are then very quick to go on media and criticise. Christ some of them are always on the media. It's a pity because these are the lads who would have commanded great respect. It's actually a bit late for them now. Remember next year's u14s were born in 2013 and would have no recollection of any of these lads or the great matches they played in.

there is a misconception here that Cody got one team and did everything with that squad. Not true from when Cody started to when he finished there was a diverse range of players just look down at all the winning AI photo’s and it will prove it was an evolving team although reaching its greatness mid way through.

Grand KK that makes it better