But here’s the reality: those tools, while useful at times, are not the magic fix we’ve been led to believe. In fact, the biggest misconception in Gaelic football recovery is treating it like a 30-minute ‘tick-the-box’ session, rather than a 24/7 lifestyle choice. Recovery isn’t a single session “Have you done your recovery?” is a common […]
PATRICK MORRISON: Attack, attack, attack
June 10, 2025
By Patrick Morrison STEVEN Pressfield’s 2004 novel, ‘The Virtue of War’, follows the life of Alexander the Great and his story is told through the eyes of a Hellenic-Persian scribe who was serving under him during his campaigns into India. In the novel there is a quote from Alexander himself which states: “Always attack. Even […]
PATRICK MORRISON: What’s my situation?
June 2, 2025
By Patrick Morrison THE role of the goalkeeper in Gaelic football has vastly increased over the last 25 years. The skillset of the modern-day goalkeeper has expanded exponentially as well as the levels of performance they are expected to complete their roles to. Even so, the fundamental skills and abilities that a goalkeeper is expected […]
PATRICK MORRISON: Goalkeepers must know their WHY
May 27, 2025
By Patrick Morrison AS a goalkeeper it is necessary to have a solid set of reasons as to WHY you play the position. With the levels of skill and abilities a goalkeeper needs to have ever increasing and the weight of expectation to reproduce those skills to the highest of standards on a consistent basis, […]
JOHN McMAHON: Mentally preparing for a big game
May 26, 2025
AS all GAA athletes know, a balanced diet, a good training regime and mental preparation are crucial for success in competitions. Yet, the years of daily sports regimes, the hours spent honing your training programme and a considered nutritional intake, count for little if you’re not in the right frame of mind before a big game. […]
Looking after the top six inches: Gareth Fox on the sporting mind
May 23, 2025
Hand in hand with the coaching side of the game is the mental preparation. Mental skills coach Gareth Fox takes a look at some key aspects of the championship arena. Michael McMullan picked his brain… A COMMON theme of the curtain coming down on Premier League football at Goodison Park was the fortress it became. […]
PATRICK MORRISON: Get your feet right
May 12, 2025
WHENEVER I am coaching, one of the most common questions I am asked is ‘what is the most important aspect of being a goalkeeper?’ My answer is always the same. There is no one aspect that is more significant than any other as mastery of the position needs a competent level of ability in all goalkeeping […]
PATRICK MORRISON: Go one-to-one with your goalie
May 6, 2025
By Patrick Morrison IN 2015, my first year with the Armagh team, we played a challenge game against Dublin down in the DCU sports complex. This was the first year of their five-in-a-row dominance. We had started with a strong team with a handful of our regular starters rested. Dublin on the other hand, had […]
JOHN McMAHON: Working hard or not hard enough
April 29, 2025
THE goal of training in general should be to do as much as possible, as often as possible & keep improving. Unfortunately, the reality of training is not so simple. While training does trigger positive adaptations and benefits performance in the long-term, this comes at the price of the breakdown of the body and impaired […]
PATRICK MORRISON: Become a stormbreaker
April 28, 2025
By Patrick Morrison THE English word ‘storm’ comes from the Proto-Germanic ‘sturmaz’ which means noise or tumult (mayhem/chaos). Whenever we understand the origins of the word we can fully relate to the significance of its meaning. Being true to its name, storms are of course chaotic in nature while also having the ability to create […]