Off Season Training Ban Under Fire
Talking Balls Comments
Speaking at the Speaking at the recent Sporttracker International Multi-Sports Conference Flanagan was scathing in his assessment of the November/December collective training ban, introduced for the first time last year.
He believes that controlled, managed training is better than leaving palyers to their own devices:
“Players, if they are not managed, they have no idea what sort of training they should be doing. I would hope that the GAA would review it.”
“I don’t get this one at all. We are asking players to start competing in the O’Byrne Cup in Leinster followed by the league, followed by the championship. We start training on January 1 and the first match is January 3.
“When do you train? When do you do these things like function and screening, strength and conditioning, medical assessment? They are doing all that while playing games.
“I have been talking to some inter-county managers this year and they have said that they are suffering loads and loads of injuries. Why? Because they are doing all that while they are playing games week in, week out, and with their club as well.”
Previously with the Kerry team, Flanagan explained they met once a week in a controlled training environment.
“One session. That was done in Castleisland where we had a track, a pitch, physio room, weights room, aerobics room so I could do anything I wanted with players. That session would last two and a half hours.
“It was a lovely session in November. We had fellas coming back from club, from injury, lads on a break coming in for a cup of tea. I could manage their training. Now I don’t see them for two months.
He also dismissed suggestions that GAA teams train more than athletes in other sports.
GAA teams, he pointed out, train together for no more than four to six hours per week and, at this stage of the summer, that falls to three hours maximum.
“That is very little time to get things right. As trainers and coaches in an amateur sport, we are under far more pressure than those in a professional sport. Everything we do is absolutely critical in those few hours.”
