The launch of Mayo's strategic action plan, after last year’s senior championship disappointment, still leaves a lot to be desired as regards underage development. The selection of a few elitist players for our famed development squads will still be common practice. This leaves players who for one reason or another may not at this young age be quite as competent on the field behind. Surely it is the players who have yet to realise their full potential who need this specialist coaching.
With more club amalgamations imminent at minor level you have to wonder what the cause of these dwindling numbers is. Could it be that players are fed up of being told they are not good enough? Always having to play second fiddle to the county star. All players develop at different rates and if they give up at 16 we will never know how good they could have been at 25.
I welcome the call for the under 14 school of excellence to now be divisional and not countywide (as said in the strategic action plan ) but why can't this be the case for all ages? This way you could have a competitive county cup style set up that is currently used as the main basis for minor panel selection. This would expose more players to higher standards of coaching and football for a longer period of time, which would do nothing but aid their development. Granted county teams will have to be selected for competitions such as the Tedd Webb Cup but players who do not make the cut should not just be cut loose and forgotten about. These divisional squads could be used for training throughout the whole season and not just for county trials as in the existing set up.
I also welcome the call for the All Ireland junior championship to be taken more seriously but I am not sure bringing senior club players into the set up is the way to go about it. The county junior team could be used as a testing ground for the better junior club players to see if they could possibly have the ability to step it up to the highest level. Cork embrace the junior club player in the county scene and they enjoyed huge success last year capturing both the national football league (defeating Mayo after a lacklustre performance ) and the All Ireland Senior Football Championship.
I don't however want to be over critical of the plan. Most recommendations, in theory anyway, look like they will be beneficial. For example the academy for “high potential players” in the vital 18-22 age bracket is the best by far. Mayo's success at minor and under 21 level has unfortunately not been emulated by their senior counterparts. The question has to be asked where do these players go? This seems to be a troubled age for Mayo as regards keeping these players motivated. The academy along with the supposed mentoring programme could be the key to a better progression of successful minor and under 21 players into successful senior players
