Decoupling issue dominates talks on changes to Minor Grade

The GAA’s decision to switch the Minor grade from U18 down to U17 and U21 to U20, has been a contentious issue from day one across the country.

Sure, it has allowed players to concentrate on their studies without exams and championship clashing as it had done in the past (particularly at inter county level), but that hasn’t stopped counties from calling for the ages, especially minor competitions, to revert back to U18.

That is something that the GAA Age Grades Taskforce has investigated and a change back to the traditional age group is set to be discussed at the next Congress.

However, their recommendation for this change comes with one big caveat. Those aged 18 or younger could no longer play adult football.

That new restriction on underage players, has become known as decoupling, an issue which led to possible changes back to U18 being discussed at length by club delegates at this month’s meeting of the Louth County Board.

“There is no perfect solution to this issue” admitted Louth GAA’s Development Officer Derek Crilly when speaking exclusively to the Democrat about which route was best the scenario, the retention of U17 or an U18 competition that stops players getting involved with adult matches.

 “I think club’s hands are sort of being forced a little bit by this ‘decoupling’ which is coming down from the GAA Taskforce. It is that part of the debate that is putting people in difficult situations.

“There were loads of good conversations at the last county board meeting, which allowed everyone to get their views across, as there is so many different perspectives to look at. But I think that led to some great debating.”

While the prospect of returning to the traditional minor grade is what the motions at next year’s congress will ultimately come down too, it is this idea of losing these players from Senior football that tended to be the most debated part of the changes.

For some of the smaller clubs, they rely on this influx of minor talent to keep their main teams ticking over, particularly those plying their trade at the Junior level.

You only have to take a look at the recent Junior finals to see how decoupling could have a disastrous effect on teams at this level. 14 players were 18 in those ties. Should decoupling become mandatory, none of them could’ve feature. That would be a disaster for Stabannon and Glyde.

Crilly of course played in both the final and the replay. He saw these guys up close. The idea of  so many talented individuals missing out on a day like this has made him reflect on whether the proposed changes are the right call.

“If this was just about going back U18 and the players could play Senior, I think in most cases people would be happy. Yet I’d have some concerns as when you are 18, you could play senior, then your high performers come under pressure being involved with 18’s, 20’s, Seniors. All sorts of football.

“Now that is a minority, you still have to think about the other lads, who are maybe not ready for Junior or Senior football. This is really splitting people to be honest.

“I’m not sure if this scenario is fair, but I’m sure the taskforce has good reasoning for suggesting this decoupling come in. But to say 18-year-olds cannot play adult football, to me it is a bit unfair, and it is just putting more clubs under pressure.

Of course, those having such rigorous debates are far past the age of worrying about Minor Football. This was not lost on the former Louth county star. In his eyes, it is the players themselves that need to be asked how they feel about the changes and if they think that it is the right call.

At the end of the day it is the younger members of the GAA who will be impacted by the changes, no matter what the final decision is following the 2023 National Congress in February. Crilly has called on all clubs to speak with their players before then making motions for the Louth Convention next month.

“I encourage clubs to speak to their players, especially those sides who have a large group of 17-year-olds. What are they thinking about doing next year? It’s great some clubs have such a pick of young talent, but please talk to them, see if an extra year of minor will keep the players involved.

“I think it is a good thing that we are all talking about this now, but it is the young people, lads who are actually at that age that will give us the answer.

“We could all have our own views in our head, what is best for us, but it is about those 16-, 17- or 18-year-olds players. They’re the ones who need consulting on this issue and I encourage clubs to do that.”