Pushy parents don't help schoolboy talents
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I was thinking to myself last week what Irish players who I played against at schoolboy level are
currently playing their football in England. To be honest, I couldn’t think of one. When I was
playing underage football for my local side Swords Rovers during Kennedy Cup year (Under 13), I
was selected for the NDSL Academy squad to take part in the five day long tournament in Limerick.
I remember being very envious of the DDSL squad that hammered most teams that particular
year. Many scouts representing English and Scottish clubs attended the tournament to cast their
eyes over emerging talent. More than 90% of the DDSL squad went on trial overseas with quite a
number of them being signed subsequently by English and Scottish clubs. However, I cannot think
of one player who made the grade and continues to play in either the English or Scottish Leagues.
I remember one particular player who played on that particular DDSL squad who I considered to
be the best player I had ever seen play at that age. His name was Stephen Guinan and the pace and
talent that young kid had was frightening. Every club in England wanted him. But I heard he gave up
playing at 18.
I suppose you are wondering why I am writing an article like this. Young talent in this land, I feel, needs to be nurtured and encouraged at all stages of their development. Many talented schoolboy players fall in with the wrong crowd. They start smoking, drinking and in this day and age even do drugs at 14 and 15. There are other kids who are pushed by their parents to become footballers at a very early age when their child hasn’t even matured yet. Some of these parents are living their own dreams and push their children into moving from their home club to one of the big-named clubs in Dublin where they think the boy has a better chance of being “spotted”. Quite a number of lads from the country sign for Dublin based clubs on this basis. And of course there are the kids who prefer to sit-in on their Playstation or Xbox to going outside and having a kick about with their mates. Football becomes a chore for young kids these days. They show a lack of respect to their managers and parents and think they only have to turn up for games to improve as a player. I feel educating these youngsters on what must be done to become a Professional Footballer is a must. So what do we do in order to help these kids reach their full potential? Should the FAI be doing more? To be honest, I feel the FAI are doing a lot to assist the development of young players with their regional Development Officers and their elite academies all around the country. Perhaps, we could take note of the FA in England who appointed Gareth Southgate as Head of Elite Development and make a similar appointment here. The current DDSL Kennedy Cup manager, John Devine, springs to mind for this role in our country. A man that has worked within the environment of coaching kids with real talent is needed for the job and I think John certainly comes under that category. Wim Koevermans is doing a great job as International High Performance Director but I feel we need somebody to work closely with the local clubs in the country in nurturing young talent.
Of course, parents will always try to get the best out of their children but some just go too far in their quest for their son to be the next Robbie Keane or Shay Given. Unfortunately, nothing can be done about this as they are their parents and it is sometimes difficult to change their opinions. Advice from former players who played schoolboy soccer in Ireland and subsequently enjoyed a successful career in England would be very welcoming though.
As I said earlier, there are no household names that I played against in schoolboy football currently playing in England but there are a number playing in the League of Ireland today. Richie Ryan, our current Premier Division Player of the Year was a member of that DDSL team that played in the Kennedy Cup. Other players are Chris Deans and Cathal Brady of Longford Town, Brian Gannon of Drogheda United, Brendan Clarke of Sligo Rovers and David Cassidy of Shelbourne. These are players who may not have hit the heights of the English Premier League but certainly are making a career in Ireland out of the game.
Finally, my charity golf classic is taking place on Friday week, the 27th May and there are still places available for any fan wanting a round of golf when there are no games on that day. My email address is conanbyrne.zambianmissions@gmail.com for anyone interested.
I suppose you are wondering why I am writing an article like this. Young talent in this land, I feel, needs to be nurtured and encouraged at all stages of their development. Many talented schoolboy players fall in with the wrong crowd. They start smoking, drinking and in this day and age even do drugs at 14 and 15. There are other kids who are pushed by their parents to become footballers at a very early age when their child hasn’t even matured yet. Some of these parents are living their own dreams and push their children into moving from their home club to one of the big-named clubs in Dublin where they think the boy has a better chance of being “spotted”. Quite a number of lads from the country sign for Dublin based clubs on this basis. And of course there are the kids who prefer to sit-in on their Playstation or Xbox to going outside and having a kick about with their mates. Football becomes a chore for young kids these days. They show a lack of respect to their managers and parents and think they only have to turn up for games to improve as a player. I feel educating these youngsters on what must be done to become a Professional Footballer is a must. So what do we do in order to help these kids reach their full potential? Should the FAI be doing more? To be honest, I feel the FAI are doing a lot to assist the development of young players with their regional Development Officers and their elite academies all around the country. Perhaps, we could take note of the FA in England who appointed Gareth Southgate as Head of Elite Development and make a similar appointment here. The current DDSL Kennedy Cup manager, John Devine, springs to mind for this role in our country. A man that has worked within the environment of coaching kids with real talent is needed for the job and I think John certainly comes under that category. Wim Koevermans is doing a great job as International High Performance Director but I feel we need somebody to work closely with the local clubs in the country in nurturing young talent.
Of course, parents will always try to get the best out of their children but some just go too far in their quest for their son to be the next Robbie Keane or Shay Given. Unfortunately, nothing can be done about this as they are their parents and it is sometimes difficult to change their opinions. Advice from former players who played schoolboy soccer in Ireland and subsequently enjoyed a successful career in England would be very welcoming though.
As I said earlier, there are no household names that I played against in schoolboy football currently playing in England but there are a number playing in the League of Ireland today. Richie Ryan, our current Premier Division Player of the Year was a member of that DDSL team that played in the Kennedy Cup. Other players are Chris Deans and Cathal Brady of Longford Town, Brian Gannon of Drogheda United, Brendan Clarke of Sligo Rovers and David Cassidy of Shelbourne. These are players who may not have hit the heights of the English Premier League but certainly are making a career in Ireland out of the game.
Finally, my charity golf classic is taking place on Friday week, the 27th May and there are still places available for any fan wanting a round of golf when there are no games on that day. My email address is conanbyrne.zambianmissions@gmail.com for anyone interested.
