THE Olympics ended a few weeks back and one of the common trends coming from a lot of athletes who were successful was about the importance sleep had on their performance. A number of years ago in professional soccer, news broke about Real Madrid having built and installed 81 five star bedrooms at the club’s […]
THE club seasons are in full swing across the country as championships have all commenced or they are just about to start, as is the case in Down from tonight when the first senior game takes place between Castlewellan and Mayobridge in Burren. Down clubs will play round one and two games on consecutive weekends […]
WE always hear the many buzz words associated with football teams and management teams. We hear about philosophy, culture, standards, values, expectations and many more. The majority of the time, unless you win, they are deemed worthless. For Kieran McGeeney and Armagh, this was a work in progress for a long time. Despite not having […]
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 […]
AFTER Armagh’s hugely impressive win over Derry in Celtic Park last weekend, Oisin O’Neill and brother Rian spoke about the impact the Armagh bench has been making this year. When Conleith Gilligan was appointed coach, the first thing he did was forensically examine the statistics and impact that the subs were having on games,. He felt the […]
LAST weekend Derry lost their second game in a row under new manager Mickey Harte, a situation Mickey has found himself in many of times in his managerial career. Back in 2008, Mickey left Páirc Esler having been beaten by Down and the obituaries were being scribed all across the country. Roll on a few […]
By Steven Poacher THIS Sunday we have an Ulster final that is a repeat of the Division Two National League final that saw Donegal defeat Armagh 0-15 to 0-14 in a passive enough encounter that only sprung to life with 15 minutes to go. It had looked as if Donegal were going to canter to […]
THE Ulster Championship last weekend felt like an extension of the National League – poor crowds, soft pitches and windy, wintery conditions. It was a far cry from the summer sod, when the sun is shining, the straw hats are out and the football is fast and intense. Down’s game with Antrim on Saturday was […]
IF you go to a coaching course looking for ideas on developing the punt pass you will be extremely disappointed as there is very limited material or ideas for coaches regarding the punt pass. If you go to a coaching course or witness a sample session you will see multiple games and drills that use the […]
I HAVE been asked the same question on numerous occasions recently by people who are getting into coaching for the very first time, particularly at underage level, and it is very simply ‘have you any advice for me?’ Well, apart from buying yourself some very thick skin and a crash helmet, I always reiterate the […]
