By Niall McCoy

Earlier this month, an Ulster GAA column in Gaelic Life spoke of challenging misbehaviour of parents on sidelines at underage games. A few days later, video footage emerged of fights breaking out between adults in a Wicklow underage game.
A few times a year, such clips are shared on social issue and the question is raised – just how bad is GAA behaviour on the sideline from coaches, managers and parents?

Derry look towards silent sidelines

DERRY coach Sean McGoldrick is hoping that the introduction of silent sidelines for Go Games in the county can lead to more respectful behaviour from coaches and supporters.

McGoldrick, a member of an Oakleaf county sub-committee formed to investigate coaching frameworks that can be used by the county, believes that it’s an experiment worth trying with hopes that it can be implemented in 2022.

The coaching committee had suggested a ‘silent sideline, player talk only’ initiative be tried at Go Game level and perhaps adapted to older age groups if successful.

“I go mostly to the hurling Go Games in Derry and I don’t think there is a major problem in those age groups,” said the Coleraine man.

“I have experienced some issues in the past at u-14, u-16, maybe coaches getting a wee bit excited and losing the run of themselves and even parents towards their own players. There have been incidents with referees too. The reason we want to introduce it at Go Games is to create the culture of taking the pressure off and just letting the kids play.

“We talk about silent sideline, player talk only are there are two elements to that. There is, as I said, taking the pressure off and allowing the kids just to play.

“The other aspect is that you’re trying to develop the players by improving their communication, allowing them to make decisions on the field and you’re also hoping to develop the coaching culture by leaving the talking to half time and water breaks if they’re there in the older groups.”

McGoldrick believes the move will be advantageous to not only the players, but also the coaches as well.

“I think there is a benefit for coaches as well because if they’re so engrossed in telling players where to kick the ball, when to kick the ball, they are not really looking at the game.

“That means they are missing trends in the game and the chance to discover how to improve what they’re doing.

“This move is to encourage coaches to watch the game and then give better information in those break periods. It gives them time to think what they’re going to say in those breaks and be more analytical about it.

“A lot of coaches are parents and as parents we are all emotional when our kids are playing, so it’s to relieve that pressure too.”

McGoldrick also said that the move to a silent sideline will be crucial for attracting more referees to the county, particularly younger ones.

“The referee thing is a big thing,” he said. “There is a shortage in Derry, so one of our ideas is to develop pathways for younger referees who maybe feel that they’re not strong enough to play in teams but want to stay involved.

“The idea is to get them to referee Go Games so the two things go together. It would be a less pressurised way to introduce them without a lot of noise coming from the sideline. The two go hand-in-hand.

“The silent sidelines should allow them to develop without being heckled.”

‘More now becoming aware of the efforts involved’

ARMAGH minor manager Brendan Hughes feels that improving coaching standards in clubs is, for a number of reasons, actually leading to better behaviour on the sidelines from managers and supporters.

Hughes is the Orchard county’s coaching officer and he is happy to report that incidents in underage games in recent seasons have been few and far between.

“I don’t know if there are too many incidents of trouble coming from the sideline in Armagh, it’s nothing something that happens too often,” said Hughes, who will return as the county’s minor manager in 2022.

“There have been a couple of wee incidents but they weren’t to do with coaches coming in and trying to referee the game or anything like that.”

Hughes, who has also worked extensively in Derry GAA circles, feels that improving standards and a higher numbers of mentors involved are leading to more control on the line too.

“Coaches are getting their work done away from game days now, they’re doing all the work to prepare on the training pitch.

“The standard of underage football and hurling in the county is on the rise. When you look at the minor finals in Armagh this year, u-17 games, they were all good games.

“The clubs are all moving in the right direction. They’re educating young fellas and girls on how to play the game and the day of the match is just the time to show that.

“Different people being involved these days gives them ownership of the thing. It also gives them a different viewpoint and now clubs are having more and more people involved in the coaching of teams.

“The clubs continue to hold the whole thing together and during the pandemic a lot of people saw what GAA clubs actually do.

“People who were maybe on the periphery are now getting involved in clubs and understanding the work and effort that goes into coaching teams and getting young boys and girls ready.

“Those young players are coming up now wanting to be the best that they can be. It’s good and healthy, it’s away from trouble, and I think that sort of positivity can influence behaviour on the line from supporters and coaches and all those people.”

Ultimately, according to Hughes, ensuring controlled sidelines owes a lot to self-policing from clubs rather than punishment at county board level that arrives after the event.

“The county are offering games and that’s what the players want, the club wants and the parents want.

“If the coaching is good, you tend to find that if someone is comfortable in what they are doing there are no issues.

“Even in games when the stakes are high in recent minor finals, there weren’t any issues.

“There will always be a bit from supporters but that’s beyond the control of the club and the control of the persons running the team.

“Most people are happy to see the players on the field trying their best.”

Oakes: Important not to overreact to a few incidents

DOWN coaching officer Karl Oakes feels that over-the-top responses to a very low amount of incidents is not the way to go when dealing with sideline misbehaviour.

Footage earlier this month from a Wicklow underage game went viral and led to questions about the behaviour of supporters and coaches.

In the clip, groups of adults are seen fighting on the pitch with Wicklow GAA calling the scenes “totally unacceptable.”

Oakes said that incidents will always occur but are very much infrequent, and he feels that initiatives like ‘silent sidelines’ are perhaps a step too far in trying to control things.

“We tried it here as part of our Go Games structure and it worked fine, but personally I don’t like it,” he said.

“I don’t think it achieves what it wants to achieve and it addresses a problem that is very much in the minority.

“It’s a blunt instrument being used to address the issue and as a coach it’s a very odd experience. It’s probably odd for the kids too if you asked them.

“If it came in every weekend I don’t think coaches would buy it.”

For Oakes, the bigger problem lies with the competitiveness that exists in underage football.

“There is an issue and that’s about the want to win. That’s more of an issue within clubs.

“They don’t see these age groups as developmental, they just want to win games.

“What we’re trying to do is a cultural thing about the environment at these levels. To win is secondary, it is about development. I know sometimes it’s important and you want to breed that winning habit but when coaches get too focussed on winning some of them lose the plot.

“If you’re coaching an u-9 team or an u-11 team, or an u-13 or u-15 team for that matter, and they’re solely focussed on winning, things will spill over.”