Cork’s current development squad programme is second to none, according to the county’s head of coaching and development Niall Twomey.
As parents of players in football and hurling development squads between U14 to U16 have been asked for €100 to assist in covering operational costs, Twomey has pointed out the payment is voluntary.
With transport and food costs spiralling and venues also having to be hired as well as the likes of the strength and conditioning and psychological supports supplemented, Twomey and high performance manager Aidan O’Connell explained to parents last November that they would be asked to make a contribution if possible.
In the context of players already receiving free maths grinds and discounts on other study supports, Twomey is satisfied a lot of parents are agreeable to making the donation.
“I would be fairly sure that the product we provide for our young players matches, if not betters, any other development squad programme in any other sport or code,” said Twomey, who has been in the full-time role since 2023.
“I’d be confident of that because I know the people we have appointed and the environment they have is 100% positive. If you took a straw poll of the parents of the 200-odd players we have involved in this, I would say 98% would come back with a positive experience.”
Twomey, who won two senior county football titles with Bantry Blues, has a budget he must stick to. At the same time, he wants to marry that with best practice and resources.
“I can’t be a financial drain for all the operations we do from coaching workshops to Go Games and Cúl Camps. It’s about breaking even. We have to be efficient and I’ve looked around. My own kids have played soccer and hockey and in those sports there is that academy fee and it’s at least three, if not four times as much as what we request.
“Aidan O’Connell and I met with every parent last November and explained what was ahead, introduced them to the coaches and underlined the philosophy that the club comes first. It’s about making them better players but before that good citizens and helping them to deal with adversity.
“Our operations budget for coaching and games from Croke Park has gone up simply because we have extra staff. We have 15 full-time staff in the games co-ordinator/development roles and each has their region and tie-in with the clubs and schools coaching. We have seven games promotions officers in the bigger clubs, the likes of Ballincollig, Douglas, Fermoy, Mallow, Carrigaline. We have 22 full-time staff.
“The budget we get from Croke Park doesn’t cover the scope and scale of everything that we do in Cork GAA. We’re living in the real world and I’m looking at other sports and we’re applying the same template.”
The online maths grinds offer, which would otherwise cost €300, has been a success with the players. “For any Cork player involved with a development squad or any member of their extended family who is doing the Leaving or Junior Cert, they have access to it,” explained Twomey.
“We’re providing that free of charge for every player and it’s not just for when they are involved: if they step away they still have access to that. It’s an open-ended offer and it comes back to our concept of developing the player as a person through education.
“People look at the €100 fee. The cost of buses has gone up 20% in the last 12 months. If you have a squad of 30 going to Galway or Dublin, you need to provide catering to them and you can imagine the costs involved there. Yes, we are a voluntary organisation but we want to have a certain standard for these players.”