PREPARATION in the week leading up to a championship plays a crucial role in determining team performance on game day. Competitive teams invest countless hours in training with the goal of peaking at the right time for championship, which is the business end of the season. From a physiological standpoint, players can typically achieve two […]
PATRICK MORRISON: The play-off push
August 13, 2024
IN American sports, they split their competitions into two parts with the first part being called the regular season and the second part called the post-season, more affectionately known as the Playoffs. Every team in each sport (baseball, basketball or gridiron) will have realistic and attainable goals for their franchise. The better teams, as well […]
PATRICK MORRISON: Box out
July 22, 2024
By Patrick Morrison IT was back in the early nineties that I first experienced the game of basketball. As a tall primary six student I was afforded a place on the school basketball team. We were coached by Jimmy McKee (Pearse Ógs) in the Christian Brothers PS and competed in a few competitions throughout the […]
DECLAN McCOY: Rip it and run
July 20, 2024
By Declan McCoy THERE’S only one place to start this week’s article and that is to say a massive well done to Armagh on reaching the All-Ireland final. Whilst we haven’t yet got over the line, we sometimes take for granted the brilliant days out Geezer and the players have given us over the last […]
SHANE RICE: How anaerobic speed reserve can get your team championship ready
July 10, 2024
THE ASR method is something I have researched over the past 18 to 24 months. Combining MAS and MSS is a much more accurate way of conditioning and profiling the players for the championship ahead. I would only use ASR for the summer, mainly because I find it difficult to find true MSS in the […]
STEVEN POACHER: Donegal’s tactical evolution
July 8, 2024
SO we are down to the final four of the All-Ireland Championship and not too many would have predicted that Louth would have stayed in the championship longer than Dublin (albeit one day) although it’s disappointing for Leinster to have no representation in the last four. Ulster have two sides involved, Munster one and Connacht […]
JOHNNY McINTOSH: Bucking the trend?
July 3, 2024
I THOUGHT it was brilliantly refreshing that Offaly won the All-Ireland U-20 Championship. It was a brilliant occasion with some brilliant hurling, and they look like a team that have totally broken the mould. They’re a small, light, athletic team, they’re not full of lads who are all six foot plus. Adam Screeney is the […]
PATRICK MORRISON: Be coachable
July 2, 2024
“The best skill that I ever had was that I was coachable. I was like a sponge, and aggressive to learn. Being ‘coachable’ means being humble and vulnerable enough to know you’re not perfect. It means being open to honest and constructive feedback, even if it is tough to take. Being ‘uncoachable’ includes behaviours such […]
JOHN McMAHON: Facilities v Personnel
June 26, 2024
OVER the last 10 years, the development and growth of club facilities around the country has exploded. The addition of new gym facilities for most clubs now has become the norm with state-of-the-art equipment, layout and buildings. Serious investment, time and expertise has been utilised within clubs to deliver these high-quality facilities for their teams […]
STEVEN POACHER: Parents must become positive role models
June 20, 2024
LAST year, big news emerged from Croke Park that the GAA is taking out the competitive element out of games and blitzes for hurling and football for u-12, in a bid to make the sport more inclusive, forgiving and ultimately more focused on participation and enjoyment. There was a mixed response to the news, with some GAA […]