GAELIC GAMES: Ian O'Riordan on how some of the top teams are questioning the value of sun holidays except for those who've actually won something
Something strange is happening to the GAA squad holiday. Besides the dream of winning the championship, it was until so recently a cherished reward for every player (and manager) around the country, and a reliable spur on those cold winter nights when Croke Park seemed a world away.
Has it suddenly become a curse? Right now all those county heroes standing at check-in lines of airports around the country probably don't know it, but there is something afoot. Call it reverse psychology, or perhaps the new trend in motivation. It is the "we didn't take the holiday" option.
It started as a minor footnote to last year's list of holiday destinations. While the then All-Ireland football champions Galway were tucking into their Thai cuisine, and their hurling counterparts Tipperary were taking in a South African safari, it was mentioned that Kilkenny, then Leinster hurling champions, had stayed at home to train.
It will also be recalled that Armagh, too, took a slightly different option. They'd planned a holiday, but it would be closer to the championship, and decidedly different. Instead of lying on sandy beaches, their new manager Joe Kernan would take them for a week's intensive training and team bonding in the Spanish resort of La Manga. At the time it was controversial, but as it turned out it worked wonders.
Of course it could be mere coincidence that Kilkenny and Armagh were the teams to achieve All-Ireland success last September, but there is a trend starting nonetheless. This year, perhaps also by coincidence, but perhaps by fate, the Galway footballers and Tipperary hurlers are staying at home.
Tipperary may have surrendered both their Munster and All-Ireland hurling titles, but as Connacht football champions Galway would be as entitled as any county to their time in the sun. For manager John O'Mahony the idea of the GAA team holiday being cursed is a little far-fetched, although he does accept that time away at this time of year can be a double-edged sword.
"I wouldn't say it was a question of us not deserving a holiday," he explains. "It was more because we had been on the road for the last two years. We were in Thailand last year, and Cape Town the year before, so I suppose there was only one way to go from there, and that was to stay at home.
"And even though we had won the Connacht championship, we felt from our point of view that in previous years the holiday was a really good holiday when we had either won or at least contested an All-Ireland final.
"But of course we hope to be going away again this time next year, when we might have something to celebrate."
O'Mahony knows that time away in January can delay or inhibit preparations for the upcoming league, and in some cases even the championship.
"It does mean that the serious training doesn't begin until the end of January. With the league now coming up so early in February the preparations would be inhibited somewhat.
"Having said that, you will have a great experience from a bonding point of view. In Galway's case, the holiday was a chance for the players and their partners to all get to know each other. The players are well used to being together, but their partners not as much, so that would always be another advantage.
"And the teams that usually do go on holidays would have had an extended run in the championship, so they wouldn't be missing out too much by having a break at this time of the year. So I think there are slightly more benefits to a holiday than downsides."
It would be difficult to deny either Armagh or Kilkenny a team holiday this year, even if it means putting league preparations temporarily on hold. So last Thursday Armagh left for a fortnight's vacation in Mauritius, while Kilkenny have chosen a 13-day trip to this season's number one hot spot - Cape Town - starting next Thursday.
There is little chance, however, of Kilkenny manager Brian Cody allowing the trip to interfere with his team's league preparations. They'd already returned to training prior to Christmas, and he's making no secret of his desire to defend the league title. Kilkenny are also intent on winning All-Ireland titles back-to-back for the first time in 10 years.
"We will lose January because of the holiday," he says, "but like last season, we will be trying to win every game. I never went with the idea of not wanting to win the league. It helped us unearth a few new players last year, and I see absolutely no negatives to winning it again."
The Dublin footballers are also on their way Cape Town next week, from January 9th to the 19th, and will share many of the same excursions as Kilkenny. They'll also share the city for a few days with old rivals Kerry, who have been enjoying the guaranteed sunshine and sandy beaches since the New Year.
Kerry manager Páidí Ó Sé yesterday joined his panel for the second part of the holiday, but was happy to let his players totally loose for a few days, and well away from any thoughts of football.
"Well, it is more or less a relaxation period," he says, "and I'm not a believer in pushing the players in any way when they are trying to relax. We will do some little bit of training, some walking and some talking, but not a whole lot.
"What we will be doing, though, is starting to get our heads right, because I accept now that the heads weren't right for the All-Ireland final last summer. That's something we'll be trying to rectify early this year."
Such lavish excursions, however, don't come cheap, and despite some funding from the county boards and the main GAA championship sponsors, most teams still rely on at least one major fund-raising event. Dublin manager Tommy Lyons called on the Leinster Council to make a holiday donation after the sell-out Leinster final against Kildare, but that was turned down.
For the record, meanwhile, here is a sample of some other holiday rewards: Tyrone are in Gran Canaria, returning later today; Sligo are departing tomorrow for a week in Lanzarote; and Donegal leave today for a week's skiing holiday.
