CHILDREN are severely missing out out on important exercise during the lockdown.

So says Ulster GAA coach Dominic McKinley. The Antrim man works as a hurling coach in schools and he has seen first-hand the change in mood among the children who are not able to get their coaching while schools are not open.

He said: “Children need the coaching. They need the exercise. They need to get back out and play. I have seen it myself, when we went back into the school (after first lockdown) they couldn’t wait to get back out to play. It is important for them.”

The current restrictions mean that schools are not open and children have to be home-schooled, or in some cases they are taught virtually.

McKinley understands why the restrictions are in place, but his concern is that the children are not getting the exercise that they need.

“Of course we understand the restrictions of the lockdown and why they are in place. But there still needs to be space to allow children to get out and play. Everyone knows the reasons why the restrictions are in place.

“When you see their smiling faces coming out to play you realise that they really need to play. We saw that in the five weeks that we were back in school coaching. It helps them, but it also helps their teachers.

“If you get them out to play and hurl then that takes a bit of energy out of them.”
McKinley said that opportunities to increase the amount of playing time that children get should be looked into.

“It could be done. The difficulty would be getting them into smaller groups, but that could be organised. There are people with experience who could do that.

“It is something that should be looked at. It is important for their mental health.”