ANTRIM U20 football manager Hugh McGettigan says the GAA should revert back to the old U21 grade to avoid current fixture clashes with schools and universities football and feels the older grade is a “better bridge” to senior football.
Speaking ahead of Antrim’s Ulster U20 quarter-final encounter with Derry this weekend – which has been switched to Dunsilly – McGettigan doesn’t believe the U20 grade can function properly at this time of year.
Already there have been major rows between the schools and universities sectors and county panels, with Derry U20 boss Mickey Donnelly describing the situation as a “battlefield”.
Derry still managed to come through unscathed against Fermanagh in their preliminary round clash last weekend despite not having their MacRory Cup players available to them.
McGettigan said: “If you’re playing schools football that’s all you should play. You shouldn’t be playing development squads. That’s the way it should be. If they’re going to put the competition on at this time of year they’ll have to change the age group.
“They would have to go to U21 and that would take the schools completely out of the equation.”
McGettigan, a schoolteacher at St Mary’s, Glen Road, did not pursue any Antrim players currently involved in schools or Freshers’ football.
“You have to respect what the universities are doing and you have to respect what the schools are doing. If you don’t do that, then you’ve a problem.”
He added: “We worked along with the universities as best we could. We didn’t stop any of the players playing for their university or school but it made our season harder. We cut down on our training which I thought was decent… but decency is in short supply in this world!”
Antrim lost to Tyrone and Louth in the pre-Championship round robin, the Leo Murphy Cup, but recorded a win over Down.
The 2018 MacRory Cup and Hogan Cup winners from St Ronan’s, Lurgan Jamie Lamont, Luke Mulholland, Mark McAfee and Adam Loughran help backbone this year’s Antrim U20 team – players that were coached to those twin glories by Saturday’s opposite number Mickey Donnelly.
McGettigan also feels that in order to fully develop younger players and prepare them for the rigours of senior football, they should not play senior until after U21.
“You’re going to get people talking about Sean O’Shea and David Clifford from Kerry. [But] Are they not the exception?
“The rule is generally U21 players are going to be in the senior squad but they’re not going to necessarily be in the team.
“Now, senior managers will complain that they’ve lost players. If everybody follows that you don’t play senior inter-county until after U21 you have not ready-made players but players who have the right strengths and attributes.”
McGettigan also feels the U20 grade doesn’t serve the players well enough in terms of trying to make that leap to senior football.
“What U20 does do is it gives these players a step up from their schools and colleges and they’ll get a feel for what senior football is going to be like. It’s a good bridge [to senior] – but it could be better…
“All we’re doing is pointing them in the right direction. The players themselves also want to make it at senior level; there has to be a pathway to make it through.”
Antrim U20s have managed to train just one night per week since the turn of the year. They lost to Down in last year’s Championship opener while Saturday’s opponents Derry have a game under their belts.
