As GAA debates its underage player development model, Clare’s success story highlights the importance of prioritising skill and retention over winning, amid ongoing concerns about player welfare and system efficacy.
Every close season, the same argument returns to the GAA: are development squads helping young players, or harming them? The debate has sharpened again after several experienced voices, including Glenn Ryan and Colm O’Rourke, warned that county development structures can create false expectations for children and parents alike.
That concern is not new. A GAA review in 2018, chaired by Michael Dempsey, spoke to more than 1,000 stakeholders across all 32 counties and examined thousands of data points. The group concluded that too many counties were allowing winning to dominate underage structures, even though the stated purpose was to help players improve. Brian Cuthbert, who sat on the committee, said the association needed to shift the emphasis away from results and towards education for parents, coaches and players.
Clare hurling is often cited as a county that took that message seriously. After a heavy defeat to Cork in the 2021 Munster minor championship, the county overhauled its underage system. Former senior manager Donal Moloney brought in a large coaching group and invited in former Ireland under-20 rugby coach Noel McNamara, whose advice was to retain as many players as possible for as long as possible. That philosophy has led Clare to run large groups at each age level and to avoid early splitting of teams into first and second string sides.
Paul Mannion, one of Clare’s coaches, said the focus is on skill development rather than results. He said the county does not prioritise winning at under-14 level and tries to keep players in the system through their teenage years, rather than discarding them after an early setback. In Clare’s case, that approach eventually delivered: one group reached a Munster minor final and later age groups went on to win an All-Ireland title or reach an All-Ireland final.
Yet the picture across the country remains uneven. One coach in a leading football county told the article that his own development squad had become too big to offer meaningful coaching and was intruding on club football. He said he saw no clear developmental gain for players who spent only a few months in such a set-up, and argued that some coaches treated the system as a route to bigger jobs rather than as a player pathway. He also said parents could turn rejection into a damaging experience for children who were not ready for it.
The scale of the issue is considerable. The article said that, using 2025 figures, more than 11,500 players were involved in development squads from under-14 to under-17 level, supported by over 1,300 coaches and 2,200 games. The GAA has tried to bring more consistency through its Thrive development programme, which is intended to promote a player-centred model and to connect academy work more closely with clubs and schools. Jack Cooney, who was appointed national player pathway lead in 2024, said the aim is to help coaches understand the player in front of them and to build work around technical, tactical, physical and psychological development.
Even so, Cooney acknowledged that not every county has adopted the same standard, and the concerns about overbearing parents, misplaced ambition and the pressure to win at all costs continue to surface. Clare’s experience suggests that development squads can work when they are properly resourced, clearly explained and focused on nurturing children rather than ranking them too early. The problem, as the article makes clear, is that too many others still miss the point.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
