Kerry high performance chief McGahan has 'serious bugbear' with minor football
Athletic Kerry Head Mcgahan Of Photo Brendan By Moran/sportsfile Performance Jason
Kerry GAA High Performance Manager Jason McGahan has expressed senior concern with the U-17 age grade for minor competitions, claiming some players simply aren't ready.
The Armagh man said the current age limit, which has been in place since 2018, is a 'serious bugbear' and is fast-tracking players into adulthood.
McGahan was speaking on to host Quirke who stepped down as a Kerry selector in August following three seasons in the position.
McGahan, who has been working for Kerry GAA since 2019, will continue in Jack O'Connor's backroom as a strength and conditioning coach for 2025 alongside Arthur Fitzgerald.
In a wide-ranging interview with Quirke, McGahan revealed his unease around the current minor age grade.
"This is one area that, Jesus, it's something I've got a serious bugbear at the minute with the whole...well, within Gaelic football at the minute, it's around the age grade of U-17s," said McGahan. "For me, and even of late I've spoken to boys in Croke Park about it, I just feel that these athletes aren't physically and mentally prepared, or ready for it.
"That's not just me looking at it from a strength and conditioning point of view. I'm looking at it from an education point of view, a welfare point of view, from a psychological point of view, I'm looking at it from a growth and maturation point of view, I'm looking at it from a sports science point of view and I'm looking at it from a coaching point of view. I do believe that these athletes aren't ready for it.
"If you look at it at the minute, some of these athletes haven't even finished their U-16 development out yet. And in some cases they haven't even finished their U-15 development out."
McGahan said the reality is that by being called into a minor squad, 'you're being labelled an elite' and he noted that some players who graduate the minor ranks are then often brought straight into U-20 setups.
"We still think in our heads of a county minor and (traditionally) you tend to think they're young adults, that they're 18," he said. "But you tend to forget some of those lads are only 15 and 16."
PhD graduate McGahan also spoke about his current work drawing up a high performance model for Kerry GAA. He said he is two years into it and making solid progress with the aim of applying the model to all teams 'from the top down'.
Kerry GAA currently caters for over 600 players across all its teams, in both codes, and has 135 staff, mainly volunteers.
"You've heard a lot of stuff bandied around about philosophies and beliefs and legacy and the All Blacks, but what the All Blacks do doesn't mean you can do it in Kerry," said McGahan. "There's no point trying to enforce that on something else. What really has to drive it is the vision and the internal motivation of the people within Kerry."
* The full interview with Jason McGahan on The Mike Quirke Podcast is available on Spotify. Quirke is asking listeners to donate to the Tir na nOg Childrens Foundation, which was set up by Kerry woman Louise Quill. See http://bit.ly/4fypLSh