When players overtrain, and aren’t enjoying themselves, injuries can happen

At what point did the craic get officially taken out of GAA?

I was speaking to a friend this morning who told me his manager handed him this ultimatum – If you don’t attend training you won’t be playing.

Something we’ve all heard, right? Well, let me put some perspective on that. It’s the second week in January, my mate’s club team is a second division side that is collectively training together FIVE days a week, and he has had to put a move to Dublin to move up the career ladder on hold because he’s afraid to lose his place on the team.

Madness.

I’ve talked to a half dozen boys from some of the top clubs in Ulster over the past day to ask what they’re at with their clubs. The response? Nothing.

Their clubs – the highly successful ones – are letting their players get themselves in shape before coming together in mid-February. That’s how it should be at minimum!

Empower players to paddle their own canoe. If they aren’t fit by the start of the season it’s on them!

There’s a mindset amongst coaches that “If they can get THAT fit and they only started training twice a week in the middle of February imagine how fit we can get if we train five times a week from January!” Power trips and poor coaching are a bad combination.

I’m all for men training hard and putting the time in to see the results, but they shouldn’t have to sacrifice their careers, their families, their friends and their social life for it. Never mind the thanks they get for it.

It’s time to find a balance.

This is a plea to coaches as much as players, especially at club level. Put the focus back on the players, give them the responsibility to decide how much time they can dedicate to training at this time of year. Crack the whip come Championship, no doubt, but make sure your team can still look at each other by the time that rolls around!

Every team have the ones who want to be there will be. The guys who want to train hard will train will do it anyway. Just like every team have the boys that don’t like training.

They’d be bluffing anyway, only with every extra session they bluff through their love of the game dies a little more.

GAA at its best is the greatest game on earth. It’s time we stopped sucking the life out of it and breathed some back in!

If you want more help with fat loss, diet or training don’t hesisitate to contact me through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @PGthePT or log on to my website www.pgthept.com