“Give them breathing space to get the Leaving cert done” – U20 lay-out not ideal in Ó Sé’s eyes

While not overly taken by the lay-out which will see the entire Championship ran off in the space of six weeks, Tomás Ó Sé is all the same excited ahead of another campaign as the Kerry U20 manager.

And little has changed a year on.

Put simply, Kerry will begin their Munster campaign on April 10 against Cork.

If they are to reach the All-Ireland final, which takes place on Saturday May 18, then they will have played six games in six weeks.

Many of their players will, all the while, be in the midst of their Leaving Cert preparations.

Ó Sé would prefer if the competition ran later into the summer, in line with the senior championship.

"There's no perfect time when to play it but why not run it in conjunction with the senior championship," asks the EirGrid ambassador.

"There's not going to be too many players playing both.

"And even if they are, play the U20 games midweek and if they're able to play Saturday or Sunday, play them away then."

"When you brought it back to 20s (from U21)," Ó Sé says, "you're bringing schools into it then.

"You're depending on younger lads. It's just fierce difficult to get to the start-line, then when you do get there, it's bang bang bang, straight through."

"At least give them some breathing space to get the Leaving cert done, get beyond that, play the championship in July," he says.

Having worked in the Offaly senior set-up under John Maughan, Ó Sé says that U20s require a different style of management.

"The fire and brimstone method doesn't cut ice," he says.

"They're just a different generation.

"Equally as committed. Probably physically more developed coming into you.

"I enjoy it. They've been so committed. Some of them are in college in Dublin, some in Limerick, but I enjoy it. Senior is on a different level, in that they spend a lot more time together."

"But the young lads to be fair don't mind the games every week," he adds.

"And once you get into the routine of it and stay away from injuries, it wouldn't be an issue.

"But it is what it is, I'm not losing sleep over it now. We'll get to the start line and see how we are after that," he says.

From a senior perspective, Ó Sé says it's difficult to get a reading on the lie of the land in a general sense, given the 'watered down' nature of the League.

But he did say that, from an Ulster perspective, the condensed nature of the season makes it more difficult for those teams when coupled with the increased number of games.

Derry, for example, could have to play Donegal, Tyrone and Armagh in Ulster before then facing an All-Ireland group stage with three more teams. That's not to mention an All-Ireland quarter, semi-final and final.

"The League has been watered down in my eyes. The teams aren't putting the same emphasis on it. We don't know what each team are at. It's very hard to call championship right now."

"That's a question you couldn't raise before, because it was a quarter, a semi and a final to the All-Ireland," he says, when asked if the season is more difficult for Ulster teams.

"Now it is.

"You're talking a League, an Ulster championship and an All-Ireland series and I think it is heavy going.

"I'd imagine that's what Mickey Harte is at, in terms of trying to build a squad, having lads who'll come on in the last 20 minutes of games. There's no doubt that it's a tougher battle for Ulster teams than Leinster and Munster teams for example."

"At the same time, I have seen it work to their benefit before. So it depends where a team is at. But the All-Ireland series is very condensed and short, so I do think it will have an effect on them."

Tomás Ó Sé was in attendance at the launch of the 2024 EirGrid GAA Football U20 All-Ireland Championship is Kerry U20 manager Tomás Ó Sé. EirGrid, the operator of Ireland’s electricity grid, is leading the transition to a low carbon energy future.