Galway hurling icon Iggy Clarke feels for under-pressure modern players
Movember partners with the GAA and the GPA to launch the ‘Movember Ahead of the Game’ campaign at Croke Park in Dublin. In attendance are Ahead of the Game facilitators, from left, Iggy Clarke, Saoirse McCarthy, Domhnall Nugent, and Mary Kate Lynch. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Galway hurling icon Iggy Clarke admits his 'heart goes out' to young GAA players nowadays as they are often under 'enormous' pressure.
The former All-Ireland winner, a therapist, is one of 22 current or former county players who will help roll out the new 'Movember Ahead of the Game' campaign.
The GAA/GPA backed initiative will target teenagers, as well as parents and coaches, to help them better understand mental health and to build resilience through a series of interactive workshops.
The target is to engage 10,000 participants in 200 GAA clubs across the 32 counties by next May.
Clarke and 21 others, including Cork camogie All-Star Saoirse McCarthy and Kerry hurling duo Martin Stackpoole and Conor Bohane, have been trained to lead the workshops.
Speaking at the Croke Park launch of the campaign, Clarke noted the various challenges that exist for young GAA players nowadays, particularly county players.
Four-time All-Star Clarke said: "I feel the pressure on young players is enormous. When I look back on the '70s and '80s, I think we had a very easy time. It was very simple in lots of ways.
"We trained twice a week, we played on a Sunday. There was no back-up, there was no mental health, we didn't even know what it was at the time.
"So when I look at players today, county players in particular, and I see what they go through, my heart goes out to them in the sense that they have total dedication, five nights a week, probably seven days a week.
"I find the commitment is enormous so you nearly have to put your life on hold and that causes a lot of pressure, it causes a lot of mental anxiety, sometimes physical anxiety.
"So I'd love to be able to ease that pressure and I'd love to be able to help young players as they become senior players, that they have that facility and that resilience to say, 'I can manage this pressure'."
