Sinéad O’Carroll and Niall Kelly are joined by Declan Bogue to discuss a change of approach to underage GAA.

Declan sets out the nature of the challenge for the GAA: the dropout rate in early teenage years and what is behind this.

An excess of seriousness and a lack of playing opportunities for some players are leading many to walk away from hurling and football at a young age. So the GAA are examining the possibility of supplementary games in a less competitive environment. How they will be rolled out will vary from one county to the next, with some battling rural depopulation and clubs in others struggling to cater to their huge numbers.

Declan gets into why there is always such a backlash to ideas which might dilute the competitive nature of underage GAA. He examines the role of helicopter parenting in kids’ sports today, and the role of coaches who can sometimes take an overzealous approach.

Sinéad stresses the need to find the balance between nurturing all young players and providing an outlet for the competitive nature of many.