Cork Minor Hurlers 2025

[JimmyBarrySmurph]

Ah, youre just stubbornly thick then.
Grand so

You ok hun!!
Read my comments in the last week on this forum.. Please quote where I’m supporting posters that are criticizing the management. If you can’t directly quote me then please be man enough to apologize to me and withdraw your abusive comments. That’s if you are a man enough

 

[Vladimir The Bear]

Would next years minors be considered strong?

I was just scrolling on Instagram earlier and some lad had clips of a Cork v Clare U16 game on it.
I know little or nothing about either team but the Cork team looked very impressive in the few clips I saw.

 

[Field1]

Would next years minors be considered strong?

I was just scrolling on Instagram earlier and some lad had clips of a Cork v Clare U16 game on it.
I know little or nothing about either team but the Cork team looked very impressive in the few clips I saw.

It's impossible to know really. They have a good team alright but probably considered not quite as good as this year. It's so difficult to judge with minors, tipp were one of favourites this year and didnt win a game.

 

[JimmyBarrySmurph]

It's impossible to know really. They have a good team alright but probably considered not quite as good as this year. It's so difficult to judge with minors, tipp were one of favourites this year and didnt win a game.

All kids so very difficult to say really.
This year was a poor outcome considering the talent in the squad. These Rookie managers aren’t doing the business for Cork hurling overall are they.

 

[Corkonian1]

Vlad and Field1

I know someone who was involved with Cork U-14's 2 years ago and I understood from talking with him they had 3 development teams on the go which became 4 regional teams for the Tony Forristal and Sonny Walsh tournaments. It was very much 3 teams at U-15 last year, I saw the Cork 3rd team lose to the Galway 2nd team by 6 or 7 points and was thinking a 3rd team was too much and the squad needs to be more streamlined even with development in mind. The guy I know rated the 1st team at U-14 very highly but he thought they had slipped a bit at U-15 last year, yet I heard they only lost 1 game in the 1st half of last year and that was to Tipp whereas this years minors lost quite a few at U-15. The guy I know is no longer involved but keeps an eye on this years U-16's and rates them highly, with Callum Coffey and Sam Ring playing for the U-16's v this years minors he believes they are more likely AI winners next year than this years minors were ever going to be in 2025. There are a few players from the U-15's who could also make a difference for the minors next year.

JBS

I don't think this years minors were ever considered AI champions before the Munster Championship, however they were a vast improvement on last years squad and management. They did very well to win Munster and then Callum Coffey not starting the AI semi-final due to lack of match fitness after injury was a huge loss. The 4 week lay off was also not handled that well, playing the Cork U-18's which was last years minors wasn't near enough to keep the sharpness in the players.

 

[Killyoursons]

Vlad and Field1

I know someone who was involved with Cork U-14's 2 years ago and I understood from talking with him they had 3 development teams on the go which became 4 regional teams for the Tony Forristal and Sonny Walsh tournaments. It was very much 3 teams at U-15 last year, I saw the Cork 3rd team lose to the Galway 2nd team by 6 or 7 points and was thinking a 3rd team was too much and the squad needs to be more streamlined even with development in mind. The guy I know rated the 1st team at U-14 very highly but he thought they had slipped a bit at U-15 last year, yet I heard they only lost 1 game in the 1st half of last year and that was to Tipp whereas this years minors lost quite a few at U-15. The guy I know is no longer involved but keeps an eye on this years U-16's and rates them highly, with Callum Coffey and Sam Ring playing for the U-16's v this years minors he believes they are more likely AI winners next year than this years minors were ever going to be in 2025. There are a few players from the U-15's who could also make a difference for the minors next year.

JBS

I don't think this years minors were ever considered AI champions before the Munster Championship, however they were a vast improvement on last years squad and management. They did very well to win Munster and then Callum Coffey not starting the AI semi-final due to lack of match fitness after injury was a huge loss. The 4 week lay off was also not handled that well, playing the Cork U-18's which was last years minors wasn't near enough to keep the sharpness in the players.

Thanks for this. Great to hear the optimism for next year.

On streamlining squads at u15, I'd be of exactly the opposite view. Cork's great strength, imo, is sheer numbers. I think the way to make best use of that in terms of finding and nurturing the best players at that age is to keep larger numbers involved, on the radar of coaches and selectors and offering them a genuine pathway upwards to u16 and minor. Rather than having squads representing all of Cork at this stage, keep to regionally focused groups (four and maybe more). Lots of matches between them, heavy rotation of teams in these matches with an eye to deciding who starts for each region come the Sonny Walsh. I presume something like this is being done at the moment, I'd hope they increase the scale and numbers of players involved rather then looking to streamline.

 

[JimmyBarrySmurph]

Thanks for this. Great to hear the optimism for next year.

On streamlining squads at u15, I'd be of exactly the opposite view. Cork's great strength, imo, is sheer numbers. I think the way to make best use of that in terms of finding and nurturing the best players at that age is to keep larger numbers involved, on the radar of coaches and selectors and offering them a genuine pathway upwards to u16 and minor. Rather than having squads representing all of Cork at this stage, keep to regionally focused groups (four and maybe more). Lots of matches between them, heavy rotation of teams in these matches with an eye to deciding who starts for each region come the Sonny Walsh. I presume something like this is being done at the moment, I'd hope they increase the scale and numbers of players involved rather then looking to streamline.

Excellent post
The u17 minor team and having to reduce down to a panel for that is working against and strength we might have in numbers.
We start with massive numbers and have to in the space of a couple of years go from 500-200-100-70-50-36-26… it’s ferocious cutting and totally contrary to any development model

 

[Henrys Fonda]

Thanks for this. Great to hear the optimism for next year.

On streamlining squads at u15, I'd be of exactly the opposite view. Cork's great strength, imo, is sheer numbers. I think the way to make best use of that in terms of finding and nurturing the best players at that age is to keep larger numbers involved, on the radar of coaches and selectors and offering them a genuine pathway upwards to u16 and minor. Rather than having squads representing all of Cork at this stage, keep to regionally focused groups (four and maybe more). Lots of matches between them, heavy rotation of teams in these matches with an eye to deciding who starts for each region come the Sonny Walsh. I presume something like this is being done at the moment, I'd hope they increase the scale and numbers of players involved rather then looking to streamline.

The u14s this year have Coiste, East, North, South/west combined in Hurling, all the panels are cut down to 30, except Coiste still on 40

 

[Field1]

Thanks for this. Great to hear the optimism for next year.

On streamlining squads at u15, I'd be of exactly the opposite view. Cork's great strength, imo, is sheer numbers. I think the way to make best use of that in terms of finding and nurturing the best players at that age is to keep larger numbers involved, on the radar of coaches and selectors and offering them a genuine pathway upwards to u16 and minor. Rather than having squads representing all of Cork at this stage, keep to regionally focused groups (four and maybe more). Lots of matches between them, heavy rotation of teams in these matches with an eye to deciding who starts for each region come the Sonny Walsh. I presume something like this is being done at the moment, I'd hope they increase the scale and numbers of players involved rather then looking to streamline.

Totally agree. From what I know this years u16s have only 45 or so in the panel split into two teams an a and b. A few lads dropped last year were brought back in so the panel isn't 100% set. I think this is wrong. Too much emphasis on winning at minor rather than developing more players IMO. U15s this year are at around 70-75 players right now and this will be cut after the summer from what I understand.

 

[Killyoursons]

Electric Ireland 2025 Minor Star Hurling Team of the Year

Electric Ireland, proud sponsor of the Electric Ireland GAA Minor Championships, is pleased to announce 15 outstanding performers from the 2025 Minor Hurling season, as it reveals the 2025 Electric Ireland GAA Minor Star Hurling Team of the Year and the Electric Ireland Minor Star Hurling Player...

www.gaa.ie

Cork with four players on the Minor Team of the Year. Deane, Brosnane and Garde were always going to get on it imo, but fair play to Heavin as well - he's a great bit of stuff but there would have been some fierce competition for that last spot in the FB line (the Waterford pair were nailed on).

Overall it looks more or less as I expected. The other Power for Waterford (Jack) was maybe a bit unlucky to miss out in the HF line.