Why Senior Club Standards Are the Sleeping Giant of Gaelic Games Development

Why Senior Club Standards Are the Sleeping Giant of Gaelic Games Development

By David Hare

In recent years, a lot of energy in Gaelic games has gone into improving our development squads — and rightly so. The quality of young footballers and hurlers coming through at U15 and U16 has arguably never been better. But are we missing a key part of the puzzle: our adult club environments?

We’re producing technically sharp 15- and 16-year-olds, only to return them to senior club environments that vary hugely in quality. Many clubs are doing exceptional work — structured, ambitious, and full of driven coaches and players. But there are still too many where training numbers are inconsistent, standards are low, and a “take it or leave it” attitude can set in.

If we send our best-developed young players back into that kind of setup, we’re not pushing the needle forward. We’re not closing the gap on the Kerry’s, the Dublin’s, or Limerick hurling — we’re just hoping things will click into place. And hope is not a strategy.

What the IRB Got Right

One model we could borrow from is what the IRB (now World Rugby) did during recent World Cup cycles. Recognising that certain countries were perennial cannon fodder, they started sending high-level coaches — people like Graham Henry — into those systems to coach the coaches, raise standards, and build internal belief.

It worked. The 100–0 score lines started disappearing. Portugal, Uruguay, Georgia — all began to hold their own. The same logic applies here. We need to coach the coaches at senior club level and treat clubs not just as feeders but as high-performance hubs in their own right.

Invest Where It Matters

We pour enormous resources into getting kids technically sound and physically primed — only to return them to senior setups where training can be optional, structure is loose, and feedback is minimal. That’s not good enough. Yes, some clubs are already getting it right — but if we want to raise standards across the board, every club should be resourced to succeed.

Every GAA club should have access to proper facilities: good pitches, mobile goals, a reliable stock of balls and sliotars, and a modest but functional S&C space. It doesn’t need to be flashy — just safe, practical, and led by someone competent. What’s essential is engaged coaches, clear standards, and a repeatable, structured system.

For every €100 we spend on development squads, we should be spending the same on senior club development. Not just equipment and S&C — though that’s important — but upskilling coaches, setting standards, and improving how adult teams train, prepare, and review their performances.

We have to make sure the kids we develop are returning to environments that will stretch them, not stall them.

Start With the Willing

I wouldn’t roll this out countywide right away. I’d pick 2–3 clubs who are clearly interested and ready. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Start there. Build case studies. Get buy-in. And as results start to show, other clubs — even the sceptical ones — will take notice.

If a club is already ahead of the curve? Great. Help them climb even higher. But this initiative is really for the middle — and the bottom — of the club landscape. Because if we don’t raise that floor, we’ll never raise the ceiling.

Here’s how a support system could function at county level:

• Assign a Club Development Officer to 2–3 senior clubs ready to grow — with expertise in S&C, tactical coaching, and cultural leadership.
• Run monthly coaching clinics, where adult club coaches are trained in the latest performance methods.
• Share common frameworks for conditioning, injury prevention, tactical analysis, and load management.
• Build a shared knowledge base and progression model for clubs — not just players.

The goal? Create club environments that players want to stay in and grow with, not ones they tolerate while waiting for a call-up.

Senior Club as Development Accelerator

It’s time we stopped seeing senior clubs as static or slow-changing. With the right support, they can be powerful accelerators of development. They’re where habits solidify, where leadership develops, and where young players either become senior contributors — or fade out.

Fix the senior club landscape, and we don’t just improve the county team. We improve the sport from the ground up.

Strong senior clubs build strong counties. Let’s invest where it counts.