A year of upheaval could be upon Irish hockey, with the endgame approaching for a proposal which could change the face of the elite club game here.
Chief among these is the potential move to a “full” Irish Hockey League, an issue currently dividing opinion among coaches, players, managers and committee members alike in the four provinces.
Many of the arguments that preceded the introduction of the current IHL in 2007 – cost, player movement and competitiveness are among the big buzzwords – are back in vogue as Irish hockey bids to plot the way forward.
Having knocked around various ideas, the IHL working group will this month ask those affected in each province to attend forums and make their voices heard on a possible full IHL, outlining a vision of what such a competition might look like.
The full details of such a venture can be found here but the basic outline is a 12-team, 22-game, 16-week competition, which would take the dozen best sides in the country out of their provincial leagues. SFH canvassed the opinions of club members in Munster and beyond to test the waters.
“Munster clubs would benefit in obvious ways,” says Cork C of I forward Stephen Sweetnam. “The level of competition would increase for all. I’ve no doubt that as a result of this, you’d see more Munster players in the international scene.
“Hockey is a unique game in that there are very few skills that are hard to learn – it’s the repetition and consistency that marks out a top side from an average one. Mistraps, movement, pressing, marking and tackling are all automatically done better in the face of greater competition. A full IHL would allow the national coach influence how the country produces players and the skills and attributes he looks for, as the playing field would be levelled.”
The notion of Munster sides improving in a full IHL is backed by 19-year-old Irish international Peter Brown, a product of Banbridge in Ulster but now plying his trade with UCD.
“It’s a good idea because it would be consistently competitive, and would give teams from Munster more of a chance to improve,” says Brown. “There are structural problems, especially in Ulster where the league is arguably a two-horse race; you’re waiting weeks for a competitive match that might decide a season.”
[pullquote]”Hockey is a unique game in that there are very few skills that are hard to learn – it’s the repetition and consistency that marks out a top side from an average one. Mistraps, movement, pressing, marking and tackling are all automatically done better in the face of greater competition. A full IHL would allow the national coach influence how the country produces players and the skills and attributes he looks for, as the playing field would be levelled.” – Stephen Sweetnam, Cork C of I[/pullquote]
Jason Lynch is a Munster man playing in Ulster with Lisnagarvey having also enjoyed stints in the Belgian and German leagues, who backs the sentiments of his Irish international team-mate Brown and former C of I club-mate Sweetnam regarding competitiveness and improvement of standards, also pointing out that it would help bridge the gap to the EuroHockey League.
“The best teams in Ireland aren’t playing each other enough on a regular basis,” offers Lynch.
“In Ulster, the league is split into the top five and bottom five; this hasn’t changed since I started playing my club hockey here. While there is a chance that one of the bottom teams can pull off a result against one of the top teams, this season’s results show that this is happening less and less. An All Ireland League would solve the issues of heavy defeats and the lack of regular competitiveness.”
Sweetnam makes some intriguing technical points on the difference between Munster and national competitions and the impact it has on the players, issues he believes a full IHL could solve.
“In Munster, the lopsided nature of games means poor habits get rewarded, whereas in national competition they will be the very thing that costs you.
“For example, in Munster it is often safer for the midfield to allow the opposition defence play the ball into midfield unopposed, then engage in a tackle. The thinking is that the superior player will win the ball nine out of 10 times. However, nationally, it is quite the opposite. Defensively, we go from not being pressed to months on end to being pressed extremely hard.
“The need to completely revamp your game in light of new competition is very challenging and make momentum hard to build.”
It’s not just among players in the men’s game that there is appetite for change. Cork Harlequins’ Irish international centre-back Cliodhna Sargent makes no bones about the fact that the current IHL structure – with games shoe-horned into five weeks at the back end of the season – doesn’t go far enough.
“Consistently getting a good standard of games will improve both clubs and players, and prevent clubs at a lower standard in provincial leagues from suffering heavy defeats,” says Sargent.
“At the moment we have a month of these, but the point of the IHL was to provide high-quality games throughout the year, so only having a month of them doesn’t achieve this. It also means there’s a lot of expense for players in a short period of time.”
Not everyone thinks a full IHL will be a bed of roses, however. YMCA’s Warwick Armstrong is one of a number in opposition from the smaller top-tier Leinster clubs, especially those without their own facilities. He claims there “are no pros” to a full IHL.
[pullquote align=”right”]”Consistently getting a good standard of games will improve both clubs and players, and prevent clubs at a lower standard in provincial leagues from suffering heavy defeats.” – Cliodhna Sargent, Cork Harlequins[/pullquote]
“Without sponsors, a club cannot afford it, period. I would hope all teams will oppose it, but I fear the likes of Pembroke, UCD and Three Rock – who have the facilities, bar etc – will not.
“If we qualify, the expense alone – travel, food for visiting teams, match programmes etc, can’t be managed. We have to do this for IHL days at the moment, and the support we receive from the Irish Hockey Association is terrible regarding promotion. We generally lose money from an enormous amount of effort put in,” he says.
“On the other hand, if we don’t quality, we will find it hard to keep our top players, as they will want to be involved in it if they wish to realise an Irish international dream.”
Armstrong feels an over-emphasis on the national side has come at the expense of the clubs in recent years, and reckons a return to emphasis on interprovincial competition would be a better bet to increase competitiveness.
“Everything is for the national team; trying to play 18 games in less than six months to accommodate them, injuries because of this… last season we had 13 league games played by Christmas. People are giving up because there is too much hockey.
“There has been no thought behind the last few years; we see things happening in countries like Belgium and Holland and we just try to do the same things without a thought for the people that run hockey – the clubs.
[pullquote]”There has been no thought behind the last few years; we see things happening in countries like Belgium and Holland and we just try to do the same things without a thought for the people that run hockey – the clubs.” – Warwick Armstrong, YMCA[/pullquote]
“I agree that the standard needs to improve, many of our best players play abroad and we have to rectify that. I suggest we look at the cricket model; they are trying to get Test status but the domestic game is not strong enough. They have created provincial teams that play in mini tournaments – I feel this is a step we should look at. Get the best players from Leinster, Ulster etc involved but allow the foreign players come back to play with their home province too.”
Ronan Pelow of Corinthians is another who is sceptical, questioning the impact and placement of a full IHL in the IHA’s recently-released four-year strategic plan and warning of the dangers of over-focus on the top end of the sport.
“The benefits to elite players are important, but they make up a very small proportion of hockey players and aren’t the only gig in town,” says Pelow. “For the purists who only want to watch top-level hockey, they might experience heaven. But like any high, it will be short-lived as the rest of hockey will implode.
“The danger to clubs cannot be overemphasised; I’m absolutely convinced that if this idea is given credence it will be the death knell for so many clubs, and ultimately the sport itself.
“Were this being considered when hockey was expanding and men were clamouring to play, then I might be open to persuasion. A full IHL will split our clubs in two – with no hope of breaking into it, the best players will migrate to the IHL clubs. Why would a non-IHL club promote their best players, only to then lose them?”
Sweetnam isn’t blind to the issues faced by the Leinster and Ulster clubs, pointing out they are unlikely to benefit as much as Munster ones, as “both leagues offer clubs great competition and an excellent route to international recognition. Furthermore, this is achieve with reasonable travel and playing costs.”
[pullquote align=”right”]”The benefits to elite players are important, but they make up a very small proportion of hockey players and aren’t the only gig in town. For the purists who only want to watch top-level hockey, they might experience heaven. But like any high, it will be short-lived as the rest of hockey will implode.” – Ronan Pelow, Corinthians[/pullquote]
He added: “Basically, If you were to score the leagues out of five stars currently, you would probably say Munster is a two-star league, Leinster is a four-star league and Ulster much the same. A full IHL would represent a five-star league. So the jump for our clubs would be huge, but the jump for Leinster and Ulster would be hard to justify given the cost and commitment needed.”
Despite supporting the IHL concept, Sweetnam and Sargent both find flaws in the argument for it, with the former honing in on cost while Sargent thinks the increased travel could be a problem in terms of getting players to commit.
“If the teams were made up of 20-somethings who had disposable income it might be more manageable, but it’s kids, college students and the 30+ bracket who are dominating the squads,” says Sweetnam.
“Those people don’t have the money to spare, not least the time. In my eyes it’s the biggest problem by far, and unfortunately doesn’t seem to have an attainable solution.”
Lynch provides the main voice on the other side of that debate. He “just doesn’t buy into the fact that clubs couldn’t afford such a venture”, reckoning that a couple of annual fundraisers could cover the costs.
“It would mean five day-trips to Dublin and one potential double weekend in Cork for Ulster clubs, with the remainder of the games being played in Ulster,” he argues.
“I played in the German national league last season – it’s a much bigger country and you’ve to travel a lot further so there’s no reason why we couldn’t have a national league in Ireland. When I told the guys at Krefeld that we didn’t have one they were shocked.
“Of course there will be opposition to the idea. Any new idea that is put forward people will always look to the negatives instead of all the positives. Those against the idea need to open their minds and see the bigger picture. At the end of the day it should be what the players want, as we’re the ones that are going to be playing in it.
[pullquote align=”left”]”Of course there will be opposition to the idea. Any new idea that is put forward people will always look to the negatives instead of all the positives. Those against the idea need to open their minds and see the bigger picture. At the end of the day it should be what the players want, as we’re the ones that are going to be playing in it.” – Jason Lynch, Lisnagarvey[/pullquote]
“(Lisnagarvey team-mate) Jonny Bell and I have sat down for hours and discussed how the league would be structured, and how exciting it would be to play in. Those against it need to face reality and realise that, sooner or later, this will be brought in. The sooner the better, too, because beating teams six or seven-nil does nothing for us and it certainly doesn’t help them.”
*Whatever your thoughts on a full IHL are, make sure you make them heard and help shape the future of the concept by attending the IHL working group’s forum on Sunday February 23rd in Garryduff, Cork at 4pm.
“Hockey is a unique game in that there are very few skills that are hard to learn – it’s the repetition and consistency that marks out a top side from an average one. Mistraps, movement, pressing, marking and tackling are all automatically done better in the face of greater competition. A full IHL would allow the national coach influence how the country produces players and the skills and attributes he looks for, as the playing field would be levelled.”
The notion of Munster sides improving in a full IHL is backed by 19-year-old Irish international Peter Brown, a product of Banbridge in Ulster but now plying his trade with UCD.
“It’s a good idea because it would be consistently competitive, and would give teams from Munster more of a chance to improve,” says Brown. “There are structural problems, especially in Ulster where the league is arguably a two-horse race; you’re waiting weeks for a competitive match that might decide a season.”
[pullquote]”Hockey is a unique game in that there are very few skills that are hard to learn – it’s the repetition and consistency that marks out a top side from an average one. Mistraps, movement, pressing, marking and tackling are all automatically done better in the face of greater competition. A full IHL would allow the national coach influence how the country produces players and the skills and attributes he looks for, as the playing field would be levelled.” – Stephen Sweetnam, Cork C of I[/pullquote]
Jason Lynch is a Munster man playing in Ulster with Lisnagarvey having also enjoyed stints in the Belgian and German leagues, who backs the sentiments of his Irish international team-mate Brown and former C of I club-mate Sweetnam regarding competitiveness and improvement of standards, also pointing out that it would help bridge the gap to the EuroHockey League.
“The best teams in Ireland aren’t playing each other enough on a regular basis,” offers Lynch.
“In Ulster, the league is split into the top five and bottom five; this hasn’t changed since I started playing my club hockey here. While there is a chance that one of the bottom teams can pull off a result against one of the top teams, this season’s results show that this is happening less and less. An All Ireland League would solve the issues of heavy defeats and the lack of regular competitiveness.”
Sweetnam makes some intriguing technical points on the difference between Munster and national competitions and the impact it has on the players, issues he believes a full IHL could solve.
“In Munster, the lopsided nature of games means poor habits get rewarded, whereas in national competition they will be the very thing that costs you.
“For example, in Munster it is often safer for the midfield to allow the opposition defence play the ball into midfield unopposed, then engage in a tackle. The thinking is that the superior player will win the ball nine out of 10 times. However, nationally, it is quite the opposite. Defensively, we go from not being pressed to months on end to being pressed extremely hard.
“The need to completely revamp your game in light of new competition is very challenging and make momentum hard to build.”
It’s not just among players in the men’s game that there is appetite for change. Cork Harlequins’ Irish international centre-back Cliodhna Sargent makes no bones about the fact that the current IHL structure – with games shoe-horned into five weeks at the back end of the season – doesn’t go far enough.
“Consistently getting a good standard of games will improve both clubs and players, and prevent clubs at a lower standard in provincial leagues from suffering heavy defeats,” says Sargent.
“At the moment we have a month of these, but the point of the IHL was to provide high-quality games throughout the year, so only having a month of them doesn’t achieve this. It also means there’s a lot of expense for players in a short period of time.”
Not everyone thinks a full IHL will be a bed of roses, however. YMCA’s Warwick Armstrong is one of a number in opposition from the smaller top-tier Leinster clubs, especially those without their own facilities. He claims there “are no pros” to a full IHL.
[pullquote align=”right”]”Consistently getting a good standard of games will improve both clubs and players, and prevent clubs at a lower standard in provincial leagues from suffering heavy defeats.” – Cliodhna Sargent, Cork Harlequins[/pullquote]
“Without sponsors, a club cannot afford it, period. I would hope all teams will oppose it, but I fear the likes of Pembroke, UCD and Three Rock – who have the facilities, bar etc – will not.
“If we qualify, the expense alone – travel, food for visiting teams, match programmes etc, can’t be managed. We have to do this for IHL days at the moment, and the support we receive from the Irish Hockey Association is terrible regarding promotion. We generally lose money from an enormous amount of effort put in,” he says.
“On the other hand, if we don’t quality, we will find it hard to keep our top players, as they will want to be involved in it if they wish to realise an Irish international dream.”
Armstrong feels an over-emphasis on the national side has come at the expense of the clubs in recent years, and reckons a return to emphasis on interprovincial competition would be a better bet to increase competitiveness.
“Everything is for the national team; trying to play 18 games in less than six months to accommodate them, injuries because of this… last season we had 13 league games played by Christmas. People are giving up because there is too much hockey.
“There has been no thought behind the last few years; we see things happening in countries like Belgium and Holland and we just try to do the same things without a thought for the people that run hockey – the clubs.
[pullquote]”There has been no thought behind the last few years; we see things happening in countries like Belgium and Holland and we just try to do the same things without a thought for the people that run hockey – the clubs.” – Warwick Armstrong, YMCA[/pullquote]
“I agree that the standard needs to improve, many of our best players play abroad and we have to rectify that. I suggest we look at the cricket model; they are trying to get Test status but the domestic game is not strong enough. They have created provincial teams that play in mini tournaments – I feel this is a step we should look at. Get the best players from Leinster, Ulster etc involved but allow the foreign players come back to play with their home province too.”
Ronan Pelow of Corinthians is another who is sceptical, questioning the impact and placement of a full IHL in the IHA’s recently-released four-year strategic plan and warning of the dangers of over-focus on the top end of the sport.
“The benefits to elite players are important, but they make up a very small proportion of hockey players and aren’t the only gig in town,” says Pelow. “For the purists who only want to watch top-level hockey, they might experience heaven. But like any high, it will be short-lived as the rest of hockey will implode.
“The danger to clubs cannot be overemphasised; I’m absolutely convinced that if this idea is given credence it will be the death knell for so many clubs, and ultimately the sport itself.
“Were this being considered when hockey was expanding and men were clamouring to play, then I might be open to persuasion. A full IHL will split our clubs in two – with no hope of breaking into it, the best players will migrate to the IHL clubs. Why would a non-IHL club promote their best players, only to then lose them?”
Sweetnam isn’t blind to the issues faced by the Leinster and Ulster clubs, pointing out they are unlikely to benefit as much as Munster ones, as “both leagues offer clubs great competition and an excellent route to international recognition. Furthermore, this is achieve with reasonable travel and playing costs.”
[pullquote align=”right”]”The benefits to elite players are important, but they make up a very small proportion of hockey players and aren’t the only gig in town. For the purists who only want to watch top-level hockey, they might experience heaven. But like any high, it will be short-lived as the rest of hockey will implode.” – Ronan Pelow, Corinthians[/pullquote]
He added: “Basically, If you were to score the leagues out of five stars currently, you would probably say Munster is a two-star league, Leinster is a four-star league and Ulster much the same. A full IHL would represent a five-star league. So the jump for our clubs would be huge, but the jump for Leinster and Ulster would be hard to justify given the cost and commitment needed.”
Despite supporting the IHL concept, Sweetnam and Sargent both find flaws in the argument for it, with the former honing in on cost while Sargent thinks the increased travel could be a problem in terms of getting players to commit.
“If the teams were made up of 20-somethings who had disposable income it might be more manageable, but it’s kids, college students and the 30+ bracket who are dominating the squads,” says Sweetnam.
“Those people don’t have the money to spare, not least the time. In my eyes it’s the biggest problem by far, and unfortunately doesn’t seem to have an attainable solution.”
Lynch provides the main voice on the other side of that debate. He “just doesn’t buy into the fact that clubs couldn’t afford such a venture”, reckoning that a couple of annual fundraisers could cover the costs.
“It would mean five day-trips to Dublin and one potential double weekend in Cork for Ulster clubs, with the remainder of the games being played in Ulster,” he argues.
“I played in the German national league last season – it’s a much bigger country and you’ve to travel a lot further so there’s no reason why we couldn’t have a national league in Ireland. When I told the guys at Krefeld that we didn’t have one they were shocked.
“Of course there will be opposition to the idea. Any new idea that is put forward people will always look to the negatives instead of all the positives. Those against the idea need to open their minds and see the bigger picture. At the end of the day it should be what the players want, as we’re the ones that are going to be playing in it.
[pullquote align=”left”]”Of course there will be opposition to the idea. Any new idea that is put forward people will always look to the negatives instead of all the positives. Those against the idea need to open their minds and see the bigger picture. At the end of the day it should be what the players want, as we’re the ones that are going to be playing in it.” – Jason Lynch, Lisnagarvey[/pullquote]
“(Lisnagarvey team-mate) Jonny Bell and I have sat down for hours and discussed how the league would be structured, and how exciting it would be to play in. Those against it need to face reality and realise that, sooner or later, this will be brought in. The sooner the better, too, because beating teams six or seven-nil does nothing for us and it certainly doesn’t help them.”
*Whatever your thoughts on a full IHL are, make sure you make them heard and help shape the future of the concept by attending the IHL working group’s forum on Sunday February 23rd in Garryduff, Cork at 4pm.