|
Replying To ElGranSenor: "You want players being able to play what they see from an early age but that's what I would fall decision-making rather than tactics (Although this is me getting into word games territory)
It's like young players playing rugby in New Zealand being taught to read the defender so that they run at them if they see a soft shoulder or else they fix the defender and give the pass instead, the hurling version of stuff like that is the decision-making that should be worked on in development squads" That is the difference between the very good and the elite in all sports. The ability to make good decisions under pressure, or indeed instinctively doing the right thing without consciously making a decision at all.
This can only be achieved through reputation and confidence. My wife is a pretty decorated martial artist and they would say to perfect a kick they have to do it 10,000 times.
Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 4628 - 29/07/2026 13:33:15
2687994
Link
0
|
|
Replying To Doylerwex: "I think 40 years is a bit harsh. It's hard to take that we haven't been in a final but we've had some good teams as well.
I'm not going to harp on about the nearly stuff but we shouldn't totally disregard it either.
We need to be objective about our performance, figure out when and what we've done right and try to do that more often.
What will hurling look like in 5 years time? Let's think about how we can try to do that now." I say 40 years because we won a Leinster Minor title in 1985 and we've only won one since
Some would say apathy is seen in the stands at matches and in declining attendances but I would say apathy has more to do with the lack of hurling being done by kids outside of training sessions (And there not being enough training sessions as well)
Although maybe what I call apathy is what another poster described as "going through the motions"
That's a good description of us right now, there was outcry in Kilkenny when they came 4th but I don't think there was a comparable reaction here and we were even worse than them, suppose we've just become too used to mediocrity down through the years
ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1464 - 29/07/2026 13:57:11
2688002
Link
0
|
|
Replying To ElGranSenor: "I say 40 years because we won a Leinster Minor title in 1985 and we've only won one since
Some would say apathy is seen in the stands at matches and in declining attendances but I would say apathy has more to do with the lack of hurling being done by kids outside of training sessions (And there not being enough training sessions as well)
Although maybe what I call apathy is what another poster described as "going through the motions"
That's a good description of us right now, there was outcry in Kilkenny when they came 4th but I don't think there was a comparable reaction here and we were even worse than them, suppose we've just become too used to mediocrity down through the years" This is the point. No hurler will improve if they never see a hurl and a ball between sessions, which is where parents come in. Do they encourage? Do they get out and practice with their child?
My father said to me that at every age group underage in the club its the same parents year in year out. Others "I'm too busy" - do you think the parent coaching the team isn't busy?
Like the Kinnerk report is all well and good but does every single item in there have a delivery date based on which questions will be asked if not delivered? Are there supports to get the items done? Have we got the right people in the right position?
Like, I remember when George O'Connor and Paudie something came to the clubs on a routine basis, we all had heard of George but the coaching was supposed to be really good. Do we do this sort of thing any more? Do we coach the coach, observe the coach and help the coach get better and drive things on that way? Who is actually driving Wexford coaching at the moment at a club level?
StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 2147 - 29/07/2026 15:00:30
2688022
Link
0
|
|
Replying To ElGranSenor: "You want players being able to play what they see from an early age but that's what I would fall decision-making rather than tactics (Although this is me getting into word games territory)
It's like young players playing rugby in New Zealand being taught to read the defender so that they run at them if they see a soft shoulder or else they fix the defender and give the pass instead, the hurling version of stuff like that is the decision-making that should be worked on in development squads" Decision making is the term Id us at a micro level, in an individual one on one scenario, or an individual player analysing his own options.
Tactics is the term Id use at a more macro level, team level.
Agree, what's in a word?
But the point remains valid, the more 15 aside games you play in a training situation where you can freeze the game and point out where an individual player or team is going wrong, and the more team shapes you can get the lads to have to play in and against, the better both their individual decision making, and collective tactical decisions should become.
For this we probably need more award 2 level coaches involved with our squads.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20384 - 29/07/2026 15:21:04
2688031
Link
0
|
|
Replying To Doylerwex: "I think 40 years is a bit harsh. It's hard to take that we haven't been in a final but we've had some good teams as well.
I'm not going to harp on about the nearly stuff but we shouldn't totally disregard it either.
We need to be objective about our performance, figure out when and what we've done right and try to do that more often.
What will hurling look like in 5 years time? Let's think about how we can try to do that now." Id like to think we could be trend setters rather than trend followers in 5 years time. I think thats where we need to get to.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20384 - 29/07/2026 15:22:21
2688033
Link
0
|
|
Replying To wexford2012: "To quote Kobe McDonald about supporters "You give the crowd energy, they'll give it back to you" - its the same in Wexford, defeats and most especially collapses have sapped morale.
However its misplaced positivity, its reassurance that a corner was about to be turned, only for it to lead to more of the same, that has lead people to feel 'had' and while many still care, more have switched off.
I find myself wondering maybe the rot has gone too deep, maybe we will need an even greater crisis (like happened Offaly) to wake us from our slumber.
When you hear the likes of Des Mythen - selector under Keith - bemoaning a lack of effort, a happiness to have the Wexford top and swan around, content to have the status of a Wexford hurler but not willing to put in the effort to really achieve their potential.
The current trajectory offers no real confidence that change is on the horizon. Where is the urgency, the leadership, the drive?" If we can develop more hurlers at the required level for modern Senior intercounty from a young age then competition for places should drive standards.
It all has to start at the start, we've been too long looking for sticky plaster solutions to our problems.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20384 - 29/07/2026 15:25:10
2688035
Link
0
|
|
Replying To wexford2012: "To quote Kobe McDonald about supporters "You give the crowd energy, they'll give it back to you" - its the same in Wexford, defeats and most especially collapses have sapped morale.
However its misplaced positivity, its reassurance that a corner was about to be turned, only for it to lead to more of the same, that has lead people to feel 'had' and while many still care, more have switched off.
I find myself wondering maybe the rot has gone too deep, maybe we will need an even greater crisis (like happened Offaly) to wake us from our slumber.
When you hear the likes of Des Mythen - selector under Keith - bemoaning a lack of effort, a happiness to have the Wexford top and swan around, content to have the status of a Wexford hurler but not willing to put in the effort to really achieve their potential.
The current trajectory offers no real confidence that change is on the horizon. Where is the urgency, the leadership, the drive?" Tbf, if it does get fixed, it'll still take a long time to bear fruit
I get your point about maybe something like relegation maybe getting people to finally wake up but at the same time, it could go the other way and further demoralise people
ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1464 - 29/07/2026 21:55:56
2688089
Link
0
|
|
Replying To StoreysTash: "This is the point. No hurler will improve if they never see a hurl and a ball between sessions, which is where parents come in. Do they encourage? Do they get out and practice with their child?
My father said to me that at every age group underage in the club its the same parents year in year out. Others "I'm too busy" - do you think the parent coaching the team isn't busy?
Like the Kinnerk report is all well and good but does every single item in there have a delivery date based on which questions will be asked if not delivered? Are there supports to get the items done? Have we got the right people in the right position?
Like, I remember when George O'Connor and Paudie something came to the clubs on a routine basis, we all had heard of George but the coaching was supposed to be really good. Do we do this sort of thing any more? Do we coach the coach, observe the coach and help the coach get better and drive things on that way? Who is actually driving Wexford coaching at the moment at a club level?" I think your point about a young hurler needing their parent to go out and practice with them is pure and utter nonsense and I've seen many other posters saying the same so I'm not going after you specifically btw. Encourage, yes by all means and that should be a given but if a young lad has enough interest in the game and being the best version of himself then they can do that with 3 items, a hurl, a ball and a wall. My own father was a workaholic and it didn't stop me from practicing every day on my own to try and improve. Blaming parents is just passing the buck in fairness. Kids nowadays have so much more choice of things to do and sports to play but any players success is down to their own personal drive and commitment to hurling, end of story.
YellowShadeOfPurple (Wexford) - Posts: 88 - 29/07/2026 22:23:19
2688094
Link
0
|
|
Replying To YellowShadeOfPurple: "I think your point about a young hurler needing their parent to go out and practice with them is pure and utter nonsense and I've seen many other posters saying the same so I'm not going after you specifically btw. Encourage, yes by all means and that should be a given but if a young lad has enough interest in the game and being the best version of himself then they can do that with 3 items, a hurl, a ball and a wall. My own father was a workaholic and it didn't stop me from practicing every day on my own to try and improve. Blaming parents is just passing the buck in fairness. Kids nowadays have so much more choice of things to do and sports to play but any players success is down to their own personal drive and commitment to hurling, end of story." In fairness, I don't think anybody means that parents have to go out and hurl with the kids themselves. It's more a case of parents should at the very least encourage the children to practice, and if the parents can find time to practice with them, then so much the better.
It's the sort of parent that doesn't care if the child never practices and is instead content to leave them on PlayStation or YouTube or Snapchat all day long that's the issue.
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3818 - 30/07/2026 10:20:15
2688124
Link
0
|
|
Replying To YellowShadeOfPurple: "I think your point about a young hurler needing their parent to go out and practice with them is pure and utter nonsense and I've seen many other posters saying the same so I'm not going after you specifically btw. Encourage, yes by all means and that should be a given but if a young lad has enough interest in the game and being the best version of himself then they can do that with 3 items, a hurl, a ball and a wall. My own father was a workaholic and it didn't stop me from practicing every day on my own to try and improve. Blaming parents is just passing the buck in fairness. Kids nowadays have so much more choice of things to do and sports to play but any players success is down to their own personal drive and commitment to hurling, end of story." I would largely agree with this and would be fundamentally worried if we throw our hands up and say its parents faIf true, then how do we change this - surely its one of the most difficult things we could try to tackle. Granted its an ideal but I think we can't build a realistic plan around it. I suggest whatever plan we have can't be predicated on this level of parental engagement.
Someone earlier mentioned the sort of coach the coaches sessions that George O'Connor and Paudie Butler used to deliver and know there were some sessions ran earlier year/late last year.
However, if the website is an organisations, including Wexford GAA, shop window, we're in trouble. I could not find anything relating to coaching on the home page, a Google search brings you to https://wexfordgaa.ie/coaching/ however the latest post on this goes back to September 2025 while when I go into coaches list it still shows Ray Harris and others no longer in role. Maybe unfair to judge based on this BUT as I say it's the shop window and if excellence is the standard we're saying we're striving for, this is certainly not role modelling it.
wexford2012 (Wexford) - Posts: 144 - 30/07/2026 11:32:33
2688135
Link
0
|
|
Replying To wexford2012: "I would largely agree with this and would be fundamentally worried if we throw our hands up and say its parents faIf true, then how do we change this - surely its one of the most difficult things we could try to tackle. Granted its an ideal but I think we can't build a realistic plan around it. I suggest whatever plan we have can't be predicated on this level of parental engagement.
Someone earlier mentioned the sort of coach the coaches sessions that George O'Connor and Paudie Butler used to deliver and know there were some sessions ran earlier year/late last year.
However, if the website is an organisations, including Wexford GAA, shop window, we're in trouble. I could not find anything relating to coaching on the home page, a Google search brings you to https://wexfordgaa.ie/coaching/ however the latest post on this goes back to September 2025 while when I go into coaches list it still shows Ray Harris and others no longer in role. Maybe unfair to judge based on this BUT as I say it's the shop window and if excellence is the standard we're saying we're striving for, this is certainly not role modelling it." Thats a very good point in an era of social media domination its where the younger generations spend a huge amount of their time .
Surely this could be an easy enough platform to promote the game letting clubs ,coaches etc promote the game sharing skills videos etc interviews whatever . Where its kept updated and maybe possible skills challenges where winners are rewarded with a prize either physical or meet a player tickets to games etc one on one coaching session etc .
Promote a skill give the tuition by maybe a county hurler etc show video examples of how its used in game situations as part of the skill demonstration
Could be anything from the simple pick up, catching to free taking, line balls etc both of these are highly skilled if u can get players practicing these skills all other striking skills will improve too i guarantee it as u have to be precise in the action . Puck outs are another area short medium long . Get everyone practicing will help in distribution and reading of the game to understand the mechanics and ur positioning this could be a skill practiced in small groups of 2 up
A moderator or admin would be needed to control content though .
Again the skills can be repeated not to run out of content but in different scenarios and situations . Ie line ball . 1 Going for a score 2 picking out player on the ground 3 picking out player on the run 4 getting the ball near a goal to create goal oppurtunity 5 into space where it can be a pre worked on set up team play etc U get the point i assume
Skills that require timeyand practice .
Get clubs to buy in and run their own in house competition and all winners are then competing in ferns possibly on a finals day . Each skill is represented by different club player . To get as many involved as possible on final skills day . Have different ages gtouis too . 10 s 11s 12s 13s 14 s
Bit of cordinating involved but if it meant more skills practice so be it . It might be worth it .
Would have to run by co board coaching staff and not in haphazard way . And a buy in from the clubs too
Formertownie (Wexford) - Posts: 653 - 30/07/2026 12:32:00
2688157
Link
0
|
|
Replying To ElGranSenor: "Going back a good way on the Wexford GAA website but these are the underage results I can find on the website
2011s
2026 John Doyle: Wexford 11-21 Wicklow 0-05
2026 John Doyle: Wexford 1-17 Carlow 1-12
2026 John Doyle: Wexford 5-22 Antrim 1-05
2026 Arrabawn: Cork 5-21 Wexford 3-13
2026 Arrabawn: Tipp 3-25 Wexford 1-17
2026 Arrabawn: Waterford 4-17 Wexford 3-13
2026 Arrabawn B SF: Wexford 6-25 Clare 0-10
2010s
2025 Arrabawn (U15): Cork 3-15 Wexford 2-11
2025 Arrabawn (U15): Wexford 1-21 Dublin 0-19
2025 Arrabawn (U15): Limerick 2-22 Wexford 2-14
2025 Arrabawn QF (U15): Galway 1-20 Wexford 1-19
2025 Arrabawn Shield (U15): Wexford 2-24 Cork 0-07
2025 Arrabawn Shield (U15): Wexford 2-10 Cork 1-12
2025 John Doyle (U15): Laois 1-16 Wexford 0-13
2025 John Doyle (U15): Wexford 4-15 Meath 1-15
2025 John Doyle (U15): Limerick 1-24 Wexford 2-14
2025 John Doyle QF (U15): Antrim 3-14 Wexford 3-13
2025 John Doyle Shield (U15): Wexford 2-09 Meath 2-05
2025 John Doyle Shield (U15): Dublin 3-13 Wexford 2-08
2026 U16 G4: Tipp 6-18 Wexford 0-14
2026 U16 G4: Cork 4-31 Wexford 1-11
2026 U16 G4: Clare 5-22 Wexford 1-10
2026 U16 G3: Wexford 0-17 Laois 2-11
2026 U16 G3: Waterford 3-24 Wexford 1-12
2009s
2025 U16 G5: Dublin 4-16 Wexford 0-13
2025 U16 G5: Westmeath 3-16 Wexford 4-12
2025 U16 G5: Wexford 5-19 Offaly 2-27
2025 U16 G3: Wexford 4-18 Laois 4-14
2025 U16 G3: Wexford 1-19 Antrim 2-13
2025 U16 G3: Wexford 1-29 Waterford 1-10
2025 U16 SF: Tipp 4-10 Wexford 0-11
2025 U16 B SF: Galway 1-12 Wexford 1-11" Some extremely grim results there. Especially when take some the minor and u-20 results the last few years into account.Not good.
countyman2022 (Wexford) - Posts: 1067 - 30/07/2026 13:42:10
2688169
Link
0
|
|
Replying To Pikeman96: "In fairness, I don't think anybody means that parents have to go out and hurl with the kids themselves. It's more a case of parents should at the very least encourage the children to practice, and if the parents can find time to practice with them, then so much the better.
It's the sort of parent that doesn't care if the child never practices and is instead content to leave them on PlayStation or YouTube or Snapchat all day long that's the issue." Tbf, focusing on parents might be the wrong way to look at it because lads not hurling enough at home has been a problem for a long time now so it spans multiple generations, it's a county-wide issue so I don't think you can single out any one group of people
We have failed as a county for a long time now and that's in terms of lads not hurling enough at home, not enough hurling being done in enough primary schools, not enough hurling being done for long enough in the year by clubs, not enough hurling being done in enough secondary schools, not enough training sessions being done throughout the entirety of the year by development squad players, not enough good coaching at all levels, and not enough S&C work being done (Although Minors and U20s were a positive on that front this year, remains to be seen whether that continues to be the case)
If we were to fix all those, we'd consistently be up there as one of the best hurling counties year after year but for the guts of 40 years now, there has been structural and cultural inertia in the county so any fix on even one of those issues will be hard-earned
ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1464 - 30/07/2026 13:59:02
2688170
Link
0
|
|
Come on lads, young lads love their father coming out to hurl with them. I did when I was that age. Especially in smaller families like mine.
I definitely agree with ElGranSenor, school is the biggest potential area for improvement but most teacher's probably aren't interested in hurling/camogie.
It would be good to know how many male "hurler or ex hurler" or female "camogie or ex camogie" teachers there are in the county and how that relates to Rackard League say. I would bet this effort still falls on the clubs and the same parents who do all the work in the clubs?
StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 2147 - 30/07/2026 14:56:54
2688178
Link
0
|
|
Paudie Butler was the man, could not remember his name. He did great sessions back in the day. Is there anything similar any more?
StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 2147 - 30/07/2026 14:57:29
2688179
Link
0
|
|
Replying To Pikeman96: "In fairness, I don't think anybody means that parents have to go out and hurl with the kids themselves. It's more a case of parents should at the very least encourage the children to practice, and if the parents can find time to practice with them, then so much the better.
It's the sort of parent that doesn't care if the child never practices and is instead content to leave them on PlayStation or YouTube or Snapchat all day long that's the issue." This is exactly my point. Yes its great if mammy or daddy can go out, but even if they can't do they encourage them to practice every day? Do they know what they were working on in training and say "you need to work on your jab lift" or whatever?
StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 2147 - 30/07/2026 14:59:42
2688182
Link
0
|
|
Replying To ElGranSenor: " Replying To Pikeman96: "In fairness, I don't think anybody means that parents <u>have to</u> go out and hurl with the kids themselves. It's more a case of parents should at the very least encourage the children to practice, and if the parents can find time to practice with them, then so much the better.
It's the sort of parent that doesn't care if the child never practices and is instead content to leave them on PlayStation or YouTube or Snapchat all day long that's the issue."</div>Tbf, focusing on parents might be the wrong way to look at it because lads not hurling enough at home has been a problem for a long time now so it spans multiple generations, it's a county-wide issue so I don't think you can single out any one group of people
We have failed as a county for a long time now and that's in terms of lads not hurling enough at home, not enough hurling being done in enough primary schools, not enough hurling being done for long enough in the year by clubs, not enough hurling being done in enough secondary schools, not enough training sessions being done throughout the entirety of the year by development squad players, not enough good coaching at all levels, and not enough S&C work being done (Although Minors and U20s were a positive on that front this year, remains to be seen whether that continues to be the case)
If we were to fix all those, we'd consistently be up there as one of the best hurling counties year after year but for the guts of 40 years now, there has been structural and cultural inertia in the county so any fix on even one of those issues will be hard-earned" "If we were to fix all those" - S&C was I understand one of the few areas to come in for positive comment in the Kinnerick report but then we find out the role has been vacant since the beginning of the year. For me this is an non-negotiable area, you can't necessarily manufacture generational players but getting this right is effort, knowhow and organisation. And we don't even have the coaching are of the website updated. Maybe not but it looks like a lack of urgency and attention to detail. The big things are made up of lots of small things. I fear we're going through the motions.
wexford2012 (Wexford) - Posts: 144 - 30/07/2026 15:46:57
2688186
Link
0
|
|
Replying To countyman2022: "Some extremely grim results there. Especially when take some the minor and u-20 results the last few years into account.Not good." A lot of those are B team results though so it's hard to know just how good/bad a result is
The Minor and U20 results aren't even that bad in the wider context of the last 40 years (Which tells you a lot about how bad we've been for 40 years)
ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1464 - 30/07/2026 17:17:40
2688202
Link
0
|
|
Replying To StoreysTash: "Paudie Butler was the man, could not remember his name. He did great sessions back in the day. Is there anything similar any more?" I have it in my head that Willie Maher does now what Paudie used to do in the past but could be wrong there
ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1464 - 30/07/2026 17:18:40
2688203
Link
0
|
|
Replying To wexford2012: " Replying To ElGranSenor: "[quote=Pikeman96: "In fairness, I don't think anybody means that parents <u>have to</u> go out and hurl with the kids themselves. It's more a case of parents should at the very least encourage the children to practice, and if the parents can find time to practice with them, then so much the better.
It's the sort of parent that doesn't care if the child never practices and is instead content to leave them on PlayStation or YouTube or Snapchat all day long that's the issue."</div>Tbf, focusing on parents might be the wrong way to look at it because lads not hurling enough at home has been a problem for a long time now so it spans multiple generations, it's a county-wide issue so I don't think you can single out any one group of people
We have failed as a county for a long time now and that's in terms of lads not hurling enough at home, not enough hurling being done in enough primary schools, not enough hurling being done for long enough in the year by clubs, not enough hurling being done in enough secondary schools, not enough training sessions being done throughout the entirety of the year by development squad players, not enough good coaching at all levels, and not enough S&C work being done (Although Minors and U20s were a positive on that front this year, remains to be seen whether that continues to be the case)
If we were to fix all those, we'd consistently be up there as one of the best hurling counties year after year but for the guts of 40 years now, there has been structural and cultural inertia in the county so any fix on even one of those issues will be hard-earned" "If we were to fix all those" - S&C was I understand one of the few areas to come in for positive comment in the Kinnerick report but then we find out the role has been vacant since the beginning of the year. For me this is an non-negotiable area, you can't necessarily manufacture generational players but getting this right is effort, knowhow and organisation. And we don't even have the coaching are of the website updated. Maybe not but it looks like a lack of urgency and attention to detail. The big things are made up of lots of small things. I fear we're going through the motions."]What if no-one wants the jobs and/or they haven't found anyone they consider good enough?
ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1464 - 30/07/2026 17:19:33
2688204
Link
0
|