Prompted by a series of Tweets posted from his Twitter account, Des Curran joined Ger Gilroy and Kenny Cunningham on Tuesday's OTB AM to expand upon two deeply negative scenes he witnessed at underage football this weekend.
2 forgettable experiences at DDSL U10 games this w’end. Managers refusing to give decisions against their own teams. Hearing from players what was said on opposition sideline. 9 yr olds accused of being too soft and the list goes on. Win at all costs mentality alive and well.
— Des Curran (@Desicurran) April 7, 2019
My assumption was that these coaches would have done Child Protection and Welfare courses to affirm that at this age it’s all about creating a safe and happy environment for these KIDS to play in but that all seems to go out the window when the whistle sounds..
— Des Curran (@Desicurran) April 7, 2019
"To a certain extent it was [an eye-opener]," Curran stated, "but you hear stories."
"It wasn't any parents, it was actually coaches on the opposition team that had arrived.
Attending two U-10 games over the course of a weekend, Curran was shocked at the manner in which young players were treated by those directly charged with ensuring their safety and enjoyment.
"I got a Tweet from someone involved in a different league who said one of his players, a young lad with red hair, and he could hear parents on the opposition line calling him Bosco and things like this for the entire game," Curran stated in reference to the response his initial concerns generated.
"Someone also said to me that you can't be praising kids all the time as coaches, they have to learn at some stage.
"But, are you better off screaming at an eight-year-old because he didn't run back, or are you better offering an explanation to them as to how they could do it better?
"The two best underage coaches I've seen in the last few years, you wouldn't actually hear them on the sideline, and still they get their message across.
"I do think there's this thing as well from what I've seen anyway that maybe it's a badge of honour for certain coaches or certain clubs to be playing top division and they don't want to be seen to be losing games.
"It's not meant to be about winning or losing at this age."
Recalling one particularly troubling scene, Curran experienced first-hand a troubling indictment of an ill-approach to underage football.
"We'd a team that came out here maybe three or four weeks ago," recalled Curran of an U-8 match in which one of his younger children were playing, "and there were two five-a-side games."
"The opposition had a goalkeeper who obviously wanted to be a goalkeeper for one team, but didn't have one for the other team.
"So, the coach ends up putting one lad in who had been playing outfield and you could tell he didn't really fancy it, but he did some good things.
"We were behind his goal and we'd give him little shouts of encouragement and he turned around and was delighted - all he wanted was a bit of encouragement.
"But he played one pass out with his feet - which they're all encouraged to do now - and it was intercepted and a goal was scored.
"Then you heard his coach. He shouted at the boy, 'You can't do that!' For the want of a better phrase, he gave him a bit of a bollocking about it.
"The poor kid's mam was only a few people up from him."
A topic that generated much discussion between Des, Ger Gilroy and Kenny Cunningham on Tuesday's OTB AM, you can watch back the full underage football chat here.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
