A staggering 40% of inter county GAA players studying at third level have had to repeat exams and one in seven has been forced to repeat an entire academic year due to the pressures of time involved in playing at the highest level. The national average for repeats is only six per cent according to figures from the Higher Education Authority.
This was one of the findings in a report published yesterday by the Gaelic Players Association looking at the support needed for students around their respective academic and sporting environments.
“While we are focussing on the specific difficulties many of our student county players face during their college years, the intention with this work is to encourage a collaborative approach to sorting out these difficulties,” said GPA Chief Executive Dessie Farrell at the launch of the report.
“We believe that by tackling issues like overlapping competition structures we will be lifting a significant burden off the shoulders of these young players who are committed to managing a difficult dual career between sport and studies.”
“However, compromise will be essential to solve the crux and we hope that the Student Report will encourage moves to initiate the necessary changes.”
Players want and need to establish professional careers outside of their sport and education is a key element in gaining employment with companies like PwC who support the GPA and have a number of inter county players on their books.
There is a high level of attainment needed off the pitch in order to compete in the workplace though and this report highlights worrying trends which need to be addressed.
The report was compiled in response to issues raised by third level student county players who are members of the Gaelic Players Association over the past two years. Other relevant stakeholders consulted for the report include academic staff, sports administrators, county and college managers, GAA college administrators and county board officials.
Other key findings in the report include:
- 55% of student county players indicated that the feel under pressure to represent their college
- 50 % report that the feel overwhelmed by their commitments
- 40% revealed they would like more time for their sport, 51% more time to have a part time job
- 56% more time to devote to their studies and 61% more time for family and friends
- 55% are experiencing financial difficulties
The report lists a number of proposals to alleviate the problems, including:
- Restructuring fixture programme between January and March to avoid overlapping competitions
- Examine changing U21 grade to U20 in football and hurling
- Removing colleges from pre-season inter-county competitions
- The establishment of GPA representation on the GAA Higher Education group to facilitate engagement with key stakeholders such as managers and educators
- Initiate education fundraising campaign to increase support for those who need it most
- Support the GAA’s development of player welfare mentor position at county level to help manage training and playing commitments of student county players representing multiple teams
Education is a key component of the GPA’s Player Development Programme. The players body has distributed 430 scholarships – valued at €374,000 – to undergraduate and post-graduate county players to date in 2015.
Image Credit: Inpho.ie
