The way it isanthony moyles

Anthony Moyles' latest contribution to ‘The way it is’ was a three-part look at how Meath football needs to be developed from within and how he believes an ‘overseer’ needs to be appointed to apply proper coaching and development structures for the benefit of Meath GAA and the return of Meath football to the ‘Meath Way’.

PART ONE
I read with great interest All-Ireland-winning Donegal manager Jim McGuinness’s recent column in the Irish Times when he spoke about the fact that the top teams playing inter-county Gaelic football were moving even further away from the rest.
His main point was that this was not down to genealogy or indeed geography, but had more to do with the tireless work being put in at school, club and inter-county level by the top tier teams.
He spoke about the fact that when he became the Donegal manager he increased the back room staff from three to 20 through a mixture of paid posts, students and people working for the experience.
He spoke of how he wrote out a list of people that he knew would contribute to the cause and basically door-stepped them into giving them funds. He basically did stuff that had never been done before in Donegal.
The debate surrounding the re-appointment of Mick O’Dowd as Meath manager was just another sideshow in a much wider problem. In trying to achieve a re-nomination Mick prepared badly and that was just not good enough.
Knowing Mick as I do he will be the first to acknowledge this, but it unfortunately smacked of a lack of preparation and at this time it is not what he needs, but as I said before, it really does not matter.
The Meath Co Board could appoint Sir Alex Ferguson as manager and it would make not a difference.
Yes, Sir Alex might get us out of Div 2 next year and even possibly get us to an All-Ireland quarter or semi-final, but have we not been there before over the last 10 years?
I was part of a team that probably over-achieved in getting to two All-Ireland semi-finals in 2007 and 2009. Could we have won the All-Ireland either of those years? Maybe, but unlikely.
Fact is we did not. Fact also is (what Fergal Lynch pointed out here last week) Meath football’s dismal lack of achievements over the last 20 years at all levels. So what of the next few years?
What possibly could happen, as happened in 2007 and 2009, is that we might get lucky or even play above ourselves some years or at some levels.
We may also just happen to get a really talented bunch of players, say for example, next year’s minor team, who go and win a Leinster, but who are followed by three or four years of not as talented a bunch.
Do we rejoice in the minor team that win a Leinster and all herald “Crisis, What Crisis?” “Meath are back” or do we face facts. What I am talking about here is consistency.
Consistency of success and achievement. How do we get it and do we have the desire to do what’s needed to gain it?
I truly believe that Meath football people are sick of the current situation.
I asked a few weeks ago who cares and I have spoken to many people either directly or indirectly involved in Meath GAA since who genuinely do care.
They want consistency.
They want Meath challenging at all age groups over many years to come.
They want to develop not only one or two strong minor teams, but consistently strong u-14, u-16, minor and u-21 teams that will feed through to the senior team.
Like a relay race, the baton should be the age group being passed all the way up the line to the senior squad.
And just like a relay race this handover should be done in a smooth, uncomplicated and professional way.
How can we be sure that this transition is completed in the way it should be?

PART TWO

In my view Meath GAA needs an overseer. It needs a person to be appointed who is not part of the Co Board or the coaching staff, but whose remit is to work with and alongside the various groups within the Co Board. 

His/her main objective will be to draw up a plan for the development of Meath GAA. This person will have responsibility for implementing and ensuring this plan is maintained.
There are lots of people within this county who are working tirelessly for their clubs and indeed the county.
Some are so busy and have been doing things the same way for years that they are, maybe, sceptical of change or maybe do not see the advantages that can be gained by trying something different.
People who are part of committees will also tell you that the original job you sign up for usually becomes a minor part of what you are actually doing on a weekly basis.
The reason for this is that roles are not clearly defined and maintained in that way.
For example, a Meath GAA under-age coach is a coach at all times. His/her role is only in coaching and nothing else.
Another task for the overseer is to ensure that these roles are clearly defined and are adhered to.
I spoke before about how Meath GAA needs to be run like a company and have a mission statement.
This statement clearly outlines what the company stands for and is trying to achieve.
Anyone who does not agree with that or who impedes the achievement of these goals should be asked to step aside.
Agendas need to be dropped.
Cliques that have formed over years need to be destroyed.
Mentalities that have festered for years need to be altered and a new way has to be found.
Everyone has to buy into the mission statement and work towards it, no matter how small an individual’s role may be.
Now, what I say sounds great, but how does it actually work.
Well, it begins with a plan. This plan could be drawn up by a select group of people.
For example one or two ex-players along with one or two Co Board representatives and the overseer.
The plan should then be presented to the hierarchy within the GAA. Be it the Leinster or Central Council, these members have already or most definitely will be in the future presented by various counties with their own plans and, as such, would know of potential areas that should be avoided and/or included.
This presentation and refinement of the plan would also be extremely important if a situation arose where the GAA may disburse funds to so-called ‘weaker’ counties based on their development blueprints.
The final plan, approved by GAA and, hopefully, part-funded by them also, can then be put into place.
Like all good plans, the follow up is even more important.
It would be the overseer’s job to make sure that every part of the plan is working as intended. For example, look at the idea of schools coaching. Children spend at least 60 per cent of their year in school.
If they play for the school football team they are generally being coached by a teacher from within the school. My question is, who coached the teacher? Maybe you get lucky and you have a Colm O’Rourke-type figure looking after your school.
I am not advocating teaching posts be given to Gaelic footballers, but what could happen is that the teachers would go to organised group coaching sessions with the Meath GAA coaching staff.
Here, they would learn not only football skills, drills etc, but also get advice in areas such as stretching, strength and conditioning and diet. Above all they would learn the Meath way of playing football.
We do not want every Meath team playing exactly the same, but it’s about time we got back to who we are and how we want to play football.

PART THREE
On the point of getting back to who we are as a football county and the way we want to play, I was watching the Arsenal v West Ham game on the opening weekend of the Premier League and noticed advertisements going around the Emirates Stadium “Play the Arsenal Way.”
This intrigued me so I checked it out. Essentially it is a course for boys and girls that began in the local community in north London, but has now expanded internationally giving the kids of all ability the opportunity to learn to play football the Arsenal way.
So what is the Meath Way?
I used to know what it is. Have we forgotten it? I think so.
We need to remind ourselves of it and then we need to coach it to the coaches, teachers and parents who will show it to the kids, who will then learn it and live it.
We need kids who are proud to wear Meath jerseys again. We need to stop talking about how bad things are in the county and instead talk of the great things to come. We all need to buy in.
So what is required to complete this plan. The workings of such a plan will take a lot more space to cover than the back page of the Meath Chronicle, but the personnel required may not.
I am not sure exactly how many posts would need to be filled, but at the very minimum I think we need the overseer along with at least another five or six full-time coaches.
I believe we have three coaches at the moment and these people are stretched too thinly.
Coaching is key and just like advising the school coaches these Meath coaches will also be advising the club coaches.
This could be done at the opposite time of the year to the schools so for example from September to December when the kids are back at school. Again geographical areas can be broken down and coaches used for group sessions over six to eight-week periods. These posts will all require full-time paid individuals to fill them.
These positions are too important to be fulfilled on a part-time basis.
They will be full-time jobs with constant feedback, upskilling and management required.
This is very much a draft idea. I do not know or have ever pretended to know the inner workings of the Meath Co Board.
What I do know though is that this will take money and maybe a lot more money than both the Co Board and indeed the GAA could contribute towards it.
I have a solution for this.
For years the ‘Friends of Meath’ have contributed massively towards Meath GAA.
Most of these contributions have come because of one thing, a love for Meath GAA and a desire to see success again.
I have spoken to a number of people and I know for a fact that if a plan was presented to them showing them how exactly their hard earned money would be utilised within the overall structure they would have no problem giving again and possibly giving more.
The old saying of ‘fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me’ comes to mind here.
Why would you expect generous, successful and honest people to keep handing over contributions without any measure of their impact.
I want to end this by acknowledging the hard work that is being done by lots of Meath people and also non-native Meath people within the GAA in Meath.
No-one is looking to rubbish your efforts or say what you have been doing over the last number of years is a waste of time.
We have to take all that effort that is there, we have to take what is being done and we have to harness it in the right way.
We have to guide it and ensure that it is being utilised effectively and efficiently.
I have thought about what makes Meath ‘Meath’ for a long time over the last number of weeks.
What stands us apart.
What makes some people hate us and others respect us.
I believe it is three words - HONESTY OF EFFORT.
The one thing I as a player and as a captain ever asked from my team mates was honesty.
Honesty in going for the ball, honesty in tracking back, honesty in your work rate, honesty in everything you do.
Mistakes will be made and it may not always work out, but if it doesn’t, you can stand there and say you can do no more.
That is what Meath people love, that is what Meath people respect and that is what Meath people are known for.
Be it on the field or in each club’s boardroom or office, let’s get back to that thing that makes Meath ‘Meath’ - HONESTY OF EFFORT.