THIS article has its genisis in Paul Curran’s thought provoking column of last week and subsequent discussions with football development mentors in Dublin.

I agree wholeheartedly with Paul's broad sentiments that (1) Dublin grossly underachieve in football, (2) that our expectations for success are low (satisfied with one All-Ireland SFC every decade or so as opposed Kerry's four this decade), and (3) over the last 30 years our success in winning All-Irelands is abymsal (Both Meath and Laois have won more minor All-Irelands and Meath have won four senior All-Irelands compared to Dublin’s two).

Indeed Paul’s call for more competitive games and structures is rational and logical. But it is not that simple. Over the last six years I have coached teams in Dublin from under-10 to junior AFL Division 10.

The surprising element is that the fault for poor fixtures does not rest exclusively with the County Board. A lot of clubs in the football leagues fail to fulfil fixtures unless they have all their ‘stars’ and will not risk losing a game under any other circumstances.

However, it is Paul Curran's misrepresentation of the development squads and his call for their abolition that irks me and which has provoked today’s response.

A glance in the Oxford English Dictionary seeking a clearer understanding of the word ‘development’ uncovers the following phrases; ‘unfold more fully’, ‘bring out all that is potentially contained within’, ‘bring out from a latent to an active or visible state’, ‘evolution, growth and maturation’, ‘advancement’, ‘make fuller, more elaborate or systematic’.

A quick scan across sports codes at teams who systematically develop their talent highlights the following; Hurling and Kilkenny, Gaelic football and Tyrone, Rugby and the All Blacks, Soccer and Brazil, Swimming and Australian and the United States of America.

So how could anyone who claims to understand sport suggest that ‘developmental squads’ have no use and should be done away with? Let us tackle the issues raised by Paul in last week’s article before looking at my observations on Dublin’s deepening footballing crisis.

> Paul wrote that: “The development squads idea came into affect about ten years ago but where is the progress?” The current football regional development squad system is only in existence since January 2006.

I know as I was at the meeting in December 2005 when 30 prospective volunteers, convened because the previous system had ceased more than two years previous.

The first graduates of the new system will be the minors team of 2010 who entered at the under-14 level. An interesting observation is that the Hurling Develoment squads were established in excess of 18 months prior to their football equivalent.

Indeed, a full-time Regional Development Officer was only allocated after the football squads were up and running. The hurling appointment was two years in situ by that time.

Objectives and priorities

What does this say about our strategic objectives and priorities? Or as Paul posed the question: “Are we actually serious about Dublin football?”

An indication of the success of the new regional development system is illustrated by the success hurling has enjoyed at minor and U21 levels in recent years. But how can you measure the success of the new football system when it is in its infancy and has no full graduates?

Honestly though, Is the Development Squad approach perfect? No. Do the players benefit from its existence ? Yes? Is it evolution monitored and reviewed? Yes? Do we need to do more ? Yes. Will we do more ? Yes. Will it work in long run ? Yes, look at Tyrone (football) and Kilkenny (hurling) even the traditionalists Kerry (football) have started them, recognising their contribution to the success of county teams from Ulster.

Paul was right when he wrote that Development Squads should produce All-Ireland minor winning teams, but more importantly they should produce exceptionally skilled and talented footballers for future senior teams.

Kerry do not win many minor All-Irelands but they do produce enough high quality players per year. This year’s seniors Tommy Walsh and David Moran are very recent minor graduates.

> Paul Curran argued that Development Squads were: ‘Exclusive squads doing drill after drill after drill’.

> Paul's source of information is wide of the mark here or if not then it needs to be addressed. From my involvement, I would be disappointed if this was the case. At U16 level, I implement training methods that are as advanced as anywhere else, predominately skills based, conditioned small-sided games combined with physical conditioning etc. Here is a sample of a recent day-long camp:

> Warm up with ball: Punt kicking, side-step kicking, outside of foot kicking, drop kicking, low/high/onehanded catching, non dominant foot, no hand passing, side steps, dummies etc.

> Revision of skills: Scoring goals, defending, one-on-ones, ‘Seán Cavanagh side steps’, ‘Owen Mulligan dummy’, A’lan Brogan hop’, ‘Gooch hop’ etc

> Full-sized game: Super Sevens, fumble rule, three second rule.

> Conditioning and Core Stability: Press ups, squats, obliques, squat jumps, back raise, burpees, sit ups, supermans, front plank, side plank , glut bridge etc. p Developmental Stretching

> Talk from Paul Caffrey and Paul Clarke Please notice the support offered by the (outgoing) Dublin management team which if combined by current and former players would greatly assisted developmental process of the next generation of players.

Part of the review is the standardisation of the developmental process which although challenging and complex, is surmountable.

Indeed a variety of approaches are currently being evaluated. My personal preference is a skill and technical emphasis to produce excellent bi-laterally developed footballers (developing skills in both right and left feet, right and left hands).

> It is Paul’s belief that “listening to the same voice all the way to minor” is part of the problem.

Anecdotal evidence of underage programmes in other counties such as Tyrone (Mikey Harte) and Laois (Seán Dempsey) suggests that this is the correct way forward. The example of Seán Boylan in Meath at senior level seems to suggest that stability, consistency and security of tenure aids the performance of elite teams. I personally feel that it is a strength in the system and not a weakness as perceived by Paul Curran.

I agree with Paul that Dublin football is in crisis - because:

> There is no Mission or Vision Statements. No Strategic Plan for Dublin football

Big business concepts but appropriate given that Dublin football is big business. On the other hand , the hurling fraternity have being working off their 2002 strategic document - Blueprint for Change and Success for Dublin Hurling. The strategic plan would detail the annual developmental milestones and key performance indicators (how many All Irelands etc). Dublin should never measure its success or failure at any level or grade by provisional titles.

> No operational plan

The strategic plan should give rise to a very detailed operational plan which would outline the required structures, resources and personnel required to obtain the stated footballing objectives.

> Our structures, coaching and clubs does not produce enough skilful footballers to be the best at senior intercounty level. Why ?

Coaching at nursery and juvenile level is inadequate. Less than ten per cent of players joining my development squad in 2006 were proficient with both their left and right feet. The vital years from 4-12 years of age are largely wasted on winning highly competitive leagues. Basic kicking and catching skills are neglected in pursuit of the medals, cups and mentors’ bragging rights. Developing great basic skills takes enormous time, persistence and patience on behalf of the coach and the player. In Dublin there is no real culture of selfpractice outside formal sessions and minimal parental input in skill development at home. In exceptional cases, perhaps like Alan and Bernard Brogan and Diarmuid Connolly, it does occur. We should research why some players become technically skilled.

To be fair to coaches at juvenile level, they tend to be parents who volunteer, have a child on the team, and are inexperienced.

So does a coach-education gap exist? Offering courses to time poor coaches is not working for many reasons. In fact the poor attendance at football workshops is frightening in comparison to the hurling ones. For example, last Saturday four people showed up at a goalkeeping workshop. Are we too arrogant? Do we think know it all?

> Are we actually serious about Dublin football? Perhaps not

A suggested answer is an elite mobile squad of highly-trained football skill coaches which tour the county. Look at the impact Tony Scullion (former Derry senior footballer) has made in Ulster.

Also maybe Christmas, Easter, Summer ‘Dubs' skills camps for juveniles organised by the elite mobile squad and augmented by current and former players. These camps could be segmented by skill attainment (streamed according to ability), organised regionally and aimed at children up to the ages of 12.

To augment the latter, intra-club development squads, could be established in conjunction with the relevant Games Promotion Officers for high achievers in the club setting.

> Most of our competitors have excellent training facilities.

We have none, we have a site in Rathcoole since 1996.

> Culture change away from win at all costs juvenile competition to emphasis on development

Being competitive is very important and needs to be fostered but not at the cost of football skill development. In order to learn people will make mistakes, but in highly-competitive settings juveniles are discouraged from trying new skills and techniques in case they lose the under-9 league title. Go Games which are designed to aid weak-side development have not been embraced and the weak-sided element is often circumvented in practice.

> Secondary School Football Leagues and standards

Despite having a relatively good year last academic year, Dublin secondary schools do not operate in an environment similar to Tyrone and Kerry. Up to under-16 Dublin footballers are as good as anything in Ireland. Then the gap occurs. Our competitors go into school teams which are run by exceptionally talented coaches in highly competitive competitions.

In effect Tyrone and Kerry minors are centralised in a small number of schools. Most (not all) Dublin players attend schools were they play essentially social-competitive football with little or no training. The hurling fraternity have overcome this by entering all-Dublin hurling teams and notable successes have occurred. This will not occur in football so this gap must be made up in the minor team preparation through increased activity or new structures between 16-18 years old.

> Summer Time

The clubs refuse to play during the summer for a variety of reasons. The County Board is not to blame. This puts footballers at a disadvantage as they do not train and play in the conditions in which they will compete. The suggested solutions are: (a) Increased development squad activity, (b) seven-a-side conditioned tournaments, (c) pick ‘n’ mix tournaments on a designated day throughout summer, (d) Eleven-a-side tournaments.

> How to achieve correct physical player development?

The county needs to appoint a full-time Physical Development Coach with responsibility for the development of all players in the Dublin Development System. My experience is that because of poor physical conditioning techniques (mainly running) players have poor functional movement and core stability. They also have no exposure to the bio-mechanics of running, sprint drills or indeed correct resistance training techniques (Olympic lifts etc). A similar appointment is needed for football skills.

We will leave the final word to Aristotle, he did not know much about Dublin football but he knew about a lot about achieving excellence.

“We become what we repeatedly do, excellence is therefore not an act but a habit”.

Val Andrews is Course Director of Sports Management and Coaching in the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown

- Val Andrews