Strong call for support of coaching review in Mayo

PLANS are afoot to strengthen Gaelic football coaching structures in Mayo, with the ultimately aim of ensuring that the county continues to challenge for national titles at all levels.

At last week's Mayo County Board meeting, Crossmolina delegate Liam Moffatt called for support and positivity towards chairman Mike Connelly's initiative of reviewing coaching in the county.

The review has three strands, with one group (chaired by Sean Deane) examining schools and clubs, another group (chaired by Maurice Sheridan) looking at underage development squads, and a third (chaired by Padraig Carolan) concentrating on the 18-year to senior squad development panel.

Strongly backing the review, Moffatt called on clubs to realise the potential benefits for club and the county teams arising from it. “People need to be positive and get behind it,†he said.

The Crossmolina man added: “A startling statistic is that at present, approximately 10% of our inter-county coaches have played senior inter-county championship football for Mayo, so there's a massive need and opportunity to get that experience back into developing the game in Mayo.â€

Moffatt said the review is not geared towards seeing every coach being involved with Mayo inter-county teams but rather getting coaches of a certain standard involved at all levels.