“I just feel like sometimes in the GAA, we’re very uptight at times.”
It’s been a big week for former Down goalkeeper Charlie Smyth.
The 23-year-old has signed a new two-year deal with the New Orleans Saints, which will keep him with the team if he makes their 53-man roster next August.
Despite missing out on the Saints’ roster after coming through the NFL Player Pathway Program, Smyth secured a place on their practice squad and is guaranteed at least another off season, as he aims to make it as a kicker in the NFL.
Coming from the ‘amateur’ sport of Gaelic football, one would assumer that the NFL would be a significant step up in terms of effort needed and stresses on players.
However, when Smyth was asked in an interview with SportsJOE what the GAA could learn from American football, he was of the belief that it is the GAA that is too demanding on its players.
He said:
From my point of view, it’s a lot more relaxed in terms of off the field stuff. Do you know what I mean? You know, everybody’s not giving out to everybody for having a pint or something like that, do you know what I mean?
Like it’s not like that. As long as you’re producing when you need to produce, that’s enough.
I just feel like sometimes in the GAA, we’re very uptight at times. I think that’s improved over the past few years, but just for everybody, just be a bit more relaxed whenever you’re not on the field. Like there’s more to life than just football.
Let guys enjoy themselves, let guys go on holidays, you know, it’s not a big deal if they miss a training session. It just seems to be that if you aren’t seen as 100, 1000% committed all the time, you’re getting a lot stick from your friends or maybe your teammates or whatever. So just, just be more relaxed about things in general.
The commitment needed to play Gaelic football and hurling at high level has long been an issue, given its travel demands, drinking rules imposed by clubs and counties, and its overly long season, despite its amateur status.
Tyrone footballer Conor Meyler recently spoke out about on-field abuse he has received over his PhD in gender equality studies, and Smyth referenced this as an example of some of the struggles that GAA players go through, without as much support.
He added: “Because like at the end of the day, guys have jobs. They’re training 5 times a week and I read Conor Meyler he had a good article about it, about what GAA players go through.
“Like it’s a full year round of sport, so I just think that guys should be entitled to more time off and just not be as full on with it.
“That’s just my view on it and I know I’m young and I haven’t really experienced the whole inter-county scene for a long time, but I remember when I was part of it, I find it very mentally taxing now, especially for being a county player who wasn’t playing every week. Like it was tough and it affected your club football.
“And then you’re saying, what am I doing this for? Like why am I heading out of the house every single day of the week, and I’m not even enjoying it. There should be enjoyment in it. Like I wasn’t playing my best, but yeah, I just think in general I’ve a more relaxed approach on it now.”
While Smyth acknowledged that some involved in the GAA are ‘covered’, he believes that players are the ones getting the raw end of the deal.
He continued: “It seems that like the players are the ones that are suffering the most because obviously everybody else is getting covered to be there.
“Even in the club scene, there’s a lot of people getting paid and stuff, but the players are the ones that aren’t getting anything. I’m not talking about getting a wage or whatever, but I’m just saying that I think that players should be entitled to more, and I don’t know how that’s gonna happen.
“But the GAA I feel like could treat their players better in terms of even just like medical care and stuff like that.
“I don’t want to get in the ins and outs of it, and I would appreciate, you know, if that wasn’t really like broadcasted a whole lot, like you can maybe mention it just in general about the just treating players better in general, but yeah, I mean that that’s just my views on it.”
