It was a watershed moment when I was able to acknowledge that (I was done.) Just let it be, not be struggling and fighting with it and doing the extra work and physio, wondering were you going to get fit and be able to train the next night or not. I had an intensive four-year stint with a couple of serious injuries that limited my play. During that, i was able to go flat-to-the-mat, do everything I could and more in terms of rehab and physio, training, diet and nutrition all of that.
Thankfully that level and good management of the injury allowed me to get back to a competitive level for 2012, 2013. Then another setback after that again... the thought of facing into the mountain of all of that again wasn't an option. I couldn't do it anymore.
Michael Meehan, 2015.
Yesterday David Clifford played his second ever senior game for the Kerry footballers. He is 19-years-old and the most-hyped underage prodigy since Joe Canning. A Hogan Cup sensation, a minor miracle-worker, and last week a Sigerson Cup star when he grabbed 1-04 as 9/2 underdogs IT Tralee their first Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup win in 11 years.
The only issue is that yesterday was his third game in seven days. Killarney-Belfast-Castlebar. It included over 105 minutes in three days. After 17 minutes on Saturday night, Clifford started and succumbed to an inevitable injury.
On Monday, Oisin McConville revealed on the Second Captains podcast that when he coached Queens freshers against Tralee IT's freshers last year, Clifford also played through a hamstring injury and was visibly limping. He was involved with Kerry minors at the same time.
Michael Meehan was a once in a generation forward who enthralled the Galway faithful. He was a leading figure in St. Jarlath's Hogan Cup run. A leader in Galway's under-21 All-Ireland winning side and man-of-the-match when NUIG won the Sigerson Cup in 2003.
His similarities with Clifford are apt in terms of style and involvement. Meehan was a joy to behold, remarkable in terms of footwork and finishing. It was a desperate shame to see him lose enjoyment of the game due to successive injuries.
The GAA has a problem. Players are desperate for games, but within reason. The widespread love of the game drives a constant desire to participate in it. But the lack of any overarching foresight or concern for increasing early retirements, players constantly in pain due to hip issues and an inability to manage a healthy work-life balance are as evident as ever.
Annual overburdening of its adolescents and their inevitable breakdown is laid increasingly bare at this time of year. In January developing athletes are asked to contribute to multiple teams because of a fixture plan that fruitlessly fixes overlapping competitions. Inessential pre-season tournaments compound already overstretched players and the consequences are severe.
Clifford is not an isolated case. Sean O'Shea and Jason Foley played both games for Kerry and for UCC during the week. Their college team-mate, Jack Kennedy, played in that game and two games for Tipperary in a week.
David Clifford off injured in Castlebar. Not playing three games in seven days might help him.
— Kieran Cunningham (@KCsixtyseven) February 3, 2018
David Clifford gone after 17mins tonight. Four games in 10 days between Kerry and Sigerson?
— Michael Foley (@MickFoley76) February 3, 2018
In the case of the FBD League, Galway and Mayo were forced to play two games within 48 hours last month. Numerous players, including four starters for Galway, played in both. In the case of one player, he played two games in 19 hours due to club commitments. The games were on saturated pitches.
The blatant overburdening of players is not the fault of managers. They should not be expected to create a squad so large that they can field multiple teams within several days. The disdain multiple counties showed towards pre-season tournaments was laid bare this year when several managers entered no team at all.
These pre-season tournaments are increasingly a hindrance. One top inter-county side trained 15 out of 16 days in December, some of which were two-a-day sessions. Preparations for the league are hampered and players involved exploited.
I wonder how many young inter-county players are eventually going to sustain injuries in 2018 as plenty are currently being flogged playing for college and county sides with minimal break. Some playing on consecutive days on heavy pitches. This is quite prevalent.
— Shane Stapleton (@ShaneSaint) January 15, 2018
The solution is quite simple. Scrap pre-season foolishness. Dedicate the early portion of the year purely to Sigerson and Fitzgibbon, giving them the attention they deserve. Prioritise player welfare over any contemptuous commercialisation.
Otherwise, eventually, the cycle will beat the affection out of them. It'll become a chore, and the game lesser for it.
SEE ALSO: Absurd Pre-Season Competitions Shown Up By FBD League Farce
