AS it was my father’s birthday on Sunday (happy birthday Desy), I thought I’d drag him to the Louth County final and we followed that up by watching the Down County final on television. I had also taken in the Donegal final the day before on TG4. My wife, Marie, thinks I need to take […]
DECLAN McCOY: Knowing when it’s time to step away
IN the modern GAA, it has become increasingly more common to see clubs go for outside managers. In fact, at senior level I would wager a guess that 80
DECLAN McCOY: Running the rules
BEFORE I get into this week’s article, I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Armagh players and management for an amazing year. Croke Park was up there with anything I’ve witnessed and my three young children, Ethan, Cian and Odhrán, have had a brilliant first year following the Orchard men. On to the […]
DECLAN McCOY: WIN OR LEARN
WHEN you are involved in Gaelic football, or any sport for that matter, you have to contend with the fact that losing comes with the territory. This can be a difficult concept as nobody plans to lose. Hours, months and years are dedicated to winning. However, once you find that balance of not accepting defeat […]
DECLAN McCOY: Build a squad, give youth a chance
I’M a great believer in getting young players into the senior team as early as possible. There are a few reasons for this approach, some by choice and others by necessity. When a manager is trying to build a team, they should really focus on building a squad. To demonstrate this point, if you are […]
DECLAN McCOY: Splitting the difference still leaves clubs short
THE split-season could be the beginning of the end of the clubcounty player. Firstly, before we begin, I must declare that this is an opinion piece not a prediction, I never make predictions and I never will. Secondly, my experience on this issue is exclusively from a club manager’s perspective so I accept that this […]
DECLAN McCOY: Be moderate with sweeper-keeper experiment
WHEN we consider the fact that Gaelic football has been played for over 130 years, it is mind boggling that tactically it’s very much in its infancy. As recently as the mid-nineties it was standard to play 15 versus 15 and the best team usually won. Then us ‘Northerner’s were blamed for bringing in the […]
DECLAN MCCOY: Selection boxes, gutters and pre-seasonitus
ALL clubs should currently be well into the dreaded pre-season. Traditionally this has been the most despised part of the year for players for three reasons. One: they have spent the previous three weeks eating selection boxes for breakfast and washing it down with Coke and Pringles. Two: January means cold weather and gutters. Three: […]
DECLAN McCOY: The importance of having free-takers
IN the modern era, the game has developed a mantra of possession at all costs. This has heightened the emphasis placed on the importance of free-taking. Defensively teams are getting bodies back behind their 50 and offensively teams are taking less shots from outside the scoring zone and are actively coached to draw the opposition […]
Declan McCoy – Managing Team Expectations
Declan McCoy explains the difference between a quantitative and qualitative approach to training.