Lone Shark wrote::
Regarding the "pick" as you put it, you have a lot of potential players in your catchment area. These players might not be presenting themselves for training at the start of the year, but that doesn't mean that you should just wring your hands and despair. Incidentally I stress I'm not indicating any lack of effort on an individual basis here, however I'm wondering if there really is the will in the club at the highest level to recruit and strengthen by adding depth.
In the Doons and Croghans of this world everybody plays. As a result the club becomes central to the community, and feeds off that. Edenderry GAA has some strong counter distractions but I keep going back to the point that if I moved to Edenderry your club wouldn't have a place for me in any team. I've no doubt I'd be welcomed to training etc., but come match day I'd be getting the worst deal of all - expected to show up or else be accused of having no interest, and then wear 25 for the hour, being asked to warm up twice and then sit down again.
You can't foster a club spirit if lads don't get to play. They don't feel equal to other club members, and they go and play OWL div 5B soccer.
This might seem like a lot of work with no obvious benefit, but invariably a few lads will improve for the training, and move up to the Junior A panel and freshen that up. You might get a few lads who apply themselves well, and that attitude then might buck up a few more talented but less motivated lads higher up the tree. Above all it means that the talk of Saturday night in the pub is Edenderry GAA, not OWL soccer or Leinster Cup rugby.
Now in terms of getting these bodies, have you actually looked for them? Ye're town is full of exiled Dubs come down looking for housing, yet how many have actually transferred to the club? I'm not talking about the lads that played senior for Lucan Sars or Na Fianna before this, but the lads who used to play junior division six and the like? Have ye a plan for posters around the town telling them where to go? Have ye contacted all the lads that got lost between minor and adult to tell them that if they feel like kicking a ball without being expected to take it ridiculously seriously the option is now there? Have ye gone up to a gang of lads that ye don't recognise in Cullens pub on a Friday night asking them if they want to kick ball that weekend? Have ye gone up to all the young parents that drop their kids off at under 10 training asking them if they feel like playing themselves?
If ye have done all this, then fair play and I accept that the situation is a lot worse than I thought. However I know that in Ferbane little or no effort is made to encourage participation, so I assume Edenderry is the same.
Some very fair points there Lone Shark - I think the club have been unfortunately very slow to recognise this but there does seem to be hope for the future.
We have in place an excellent young chairman & committee that have identified what needs to be done and they have put in place a club development plan to promote the games further in the town.
There are a number of objectives that include fielding 3 adult football teams & increasing memebership by 30% (15% hoped to be provided by new residents).
Go to http://www.edenderrygaa.com/ for further details of the Club Development Plan
