Everyone wants to be a county minor.
Every minor hurler in Laois is going to get their chance in 2018.
There’ll be no more excuses, there’ll be no more players being left out in the cold because their clubs didn’t pick them or didn’t let them know.
There will be chaos though. That’s because the Laois county board have issued an open invitation to all hurlers under the age of 17 in Laois to go for trials as they go about picking the county’s minor team for next year.
A registration evening will take place with the team’s management next week and that’ll be followed by three trials over the following fortnight in the Laois centre of excellence.
In fairness, it seems like a good idea by the county. It’s too often you’d hear the stories of lads being screwed over because they never got the call for a trial.
Nobody will be going around Laois with a chip on their shoulder saying that they never got the chance.
At the same time though, considering the attractive proposition that being a county minor is, there could be a huge turn-out for this registration evening and these trials – the danger being that lads who can’t even make their club teams but have visions of greatness show up off their own backs and have no realistic chance of making the team.
Most young lads will be up for giving it a go anyway.
The county minor trial system has always been a debatable one. It’s undoubtedly a tough situation to go into, playing with lads who are competing against you for the same jersey and who might be selfish because of that. They mightn’t even know your name and they probably won’t pass you the ball.
Laois haven’t won a Leinster minor hurling title since 1964, they haven’t been in a final since 2013 – so maybe this open plan is what they need.
Time will tell how their system goes.
