Lots to Be Done To Bring Football in Waterford Up To the Levels of Cork and Kerry

Reading this week’s Waterford News and Star (sports section page 7) Tomás McCarthy in his report of the recent happenings at the most recent County Board Meeting has a piece on underage football and reports that Games Development Manager Eoin Breathnach revealed that there is no selectors in place for the counties under 16 team this year and also there is no selector in place for the counties under 12 and 13 panels.

That meeting was held in advance of last week’s heavy loss to Cork in the Munster Championship and I am sure having seen what happened in game despite having a management team working hard with the side over the past number of months, it could be even harder to get selectors to get involved with the panels that currently does not have anybody in charge.

Inter County panels at minor grade are now picked from players who are seventeen years or younger and in light of the heavy defeat to Cork recently you have to wonder how many if any of the players who are eligible to play in this grade again in 2019 will make the commitment to do so, and more over if they are drawn against either Cork or Kerry in the first round of the championship.

Let me say that I have huge respect for those that play football for Waterford and I have equal respect for those that take charge of the different football teams or a roll in the management teams. But if people were to opt out of playing for the county or from positions on the management team, I would fully understand their decision and back their judgement.

For those that travelled to Cork last week with the Waterford team the result must be very demoralising especially when you consider the amount of hours that they put in preparing for that game.

Here in Waterford we hear a lot about the time and energy that goes into preparing our County Senior Hurling team and indeed all hurling teams, and hear the calls to support the side in good times and not so good times, but we seldom if ever hear the same calls when it comes to the footballers who put in the same effort and maybe an even greater effort.

Maybe we don’t hear the same calls about our footballers because in the eyes of some it is not fashionable to play football for Waterford but as I have said, we must never forget that the efforts put in by the footballers is any less than what the hurlers put in.

There can be no disputing that a great deal of work has to go in to help promote football in Waterford, but is there anybody out there who can help make changes willing to do so.

At a national level in the last few years some people have made calls which would help develop football in Waterford and in a number of other counties playing at the same level as Waterford are.

There have been calls for a two or even a three tier football championship in the same way we have a five tier hurling championship right now. There can be no disputing that such a move would help promote football in the long term within Waterford, but each time such a move is made we have inter county players past and present coming out saying that they don’t want to see such a thing happen and make lots of noises about how they want to play against the best players at every opportunity.

When I hear this happen, maybe I am wrong and if I am I will hold up my hands, I can’t but feel that maybe it is some sort of a GPA thing where all players sing off the one hymn sheet, for forgetting maybe what damage counties like Waterford suffering heavy losses are doing for the game within the county in the long term.

When it comes to the All-Ireland Football Championship as things stand, no Waterford side are going to win an All-Ireland Final anytime soon. However if Waterford were to play in the second or even a third tier competition then Waterford would stand a chance of winning an All-Ireland Final at Croke Park in Football.

The current provincial style championship in football does nothing to promote football in Waterford. What does maybe a defeat well into the double digits do to promote the game and get players interested in the game if they lose to Cork or Kerry.

In Munster right now, Waterford would stand a chance of beating Limerick and maybe even Clare but might find the going somewhat tougher against the other three sides.

And right now if Waterford stands little chance of beating three sides in Munster, what chance do we have maybe in five to ten years time when young boys in their latter years of primary school or early years of secondary school right now come to play in the minor or adult grades. Is there a chance after seeing some of our present day sides suffer heavy losses decide that they don’t want to experience the same as the Waterford team did last week.

We here in Waterford can’t sit back and expect others to solve our problems when it comes to football. We have to start within the county and try and force change, which won’t be easy.

The question has to be asked whatever became of the idea of a Director of Football in Waterford. Like everything else it seems to be put on the back burner. I am sure that there is some within the county that have a vision for the development of football in Waterford who should be sounded out about taking such a position and be given a guarantee that they would be backed in whatever they come up with. And maybe the county should look outside the county to fill such a position if the need be.

To get matters improved within the county maybe instead of trying to fix things at the top of the stairs and working our way down, we should be starting at the bottom of the stairs and slowly working our way up.

Maybe instead of starting with the minor, under 21 or senior team we should be starting with the under twelve’s thirteen’s and fourteen’s.

Maybe for example we should be looking at how the Jim Power Under 14 Football Tournament is run.

I was involved in Bord na nÓg when the competition in its present format was brought into been, and at the time it sounded a great idea, but with the last few years I am beginning to wonder.

Before the competition became all Munster, the Power family and the Officers of Bord na nÓg were bringing in teams from Leinster, the likes of Wexford, Laois and Carlow, along with the other so called four weaker sides in Munster, and Waterford were able to hold their own and this level and were doing so up along through the ages, and some of the players that competed in these games helped Waterford win a Munster Under 21 title in 2003.

Maybe in the same way Jim Power a man who loved football is remembered each year, maybe the families of others who had a great interest in the development of underage football within the county could also be found and tournaments put in place at under 15 and 16 so that players can play in competitions in which the sides are perceived to be equal and all have an equal chance of winning.

As things stand with Cork and Kerry involved in competitions like the Jim Power tournament even with the counties split they are still too strong for counties like Waterford. And if this is the case with a split Cork or Kerry side, what chance would they have when they are picking players from across the whole county. When players suffer heavy defeats then you run the risk of losing them to the game forever, for because whatever people say, everyone likes to think they can win or at least compete on a level footing.

In the Dungarvan Observer each week we can read about games played in the past and often in the college’s competitions where Saint Augustine’s had teams regularly winning competitions. Right now no Waterford side look like winning one of the bigger colleges championships. Yes, I know Saint Declan’s Community School in Kilmacthomas did win a Munster Final this year, but it must be said that this was down the grades.

Maybe it might be possible with some thinking to maybe allow the Waterford minor football team to field in the Munster Senior ‘A’ Colleges Championship. Yes there would be some opposition to this happening, but I think that the stronger sides in Kerry and Cork would recognise that they would benefit from playing against a full strength Waterford side and most without any disrespect to any of the Waterford minors would be stronger than the Waterford side.

Another option open to Waterford and one that we can work on our own on is to have a specific football season.

He is often criticised and some have dismissed what he had to say without actually thinking through what was been said, but former Waterford County Board Secretary Timmy O’Keeffe over the past few years have come up with a number of very good ideas and earlier this year he proposed at a Western Board meeting to have a football and hurling season, playing football from February to June and hurling in the second half of the year.

Maybe if this was to happen, it could well help promote football in the county as there would be no crossover in the two codes which happens as things stand within Waterford and when it does, because hurling is to many the preferred game within the county will always have more time given over to it and football sides are given little is no time to prepare.

An example of this could well be after the recent two rounds of hurling at Senior, Intermediate and Junior the county senior hurlers went back training and had players who were due to play football for their clubs last weekend away from their clubs. When you see this happen, you have to wonder what chance has football in the county.