ANTHONY GORMAN says more clubs in the county should be active in the Donegal Youth League.
The Letterkenny Rovers youth team manager says that the current eight-team league should be increased and has urged clubs to focus on their youth structure as a priority.
“It leaves me quite frustrated that clubs are prepared to invest in Saturday teams as opposed to investing in the youth teams,” Gorman told Donegal Sport Hub.
“In some respects you can see why and maybe they don’t have enough players.
[adrotate group=”38″]“If they bring in three or four, maybe long-term they mightn’t be to the benefit of the club. The youth league is a step on the pathway that teams should have.”
The Donegal Youth Legaue lost Swilly Rovers on the eve of the new campaign after the Ramelton outfit, winners of the Colm Breslin Cup last season, couldn’t get a manager for their team.
Gorman said: “The Youth League should be a feeding ground for Donegal League and Ulster Senior League clubs.
“There are an awful lot of young players, who leave schoolboys football and their only option is Saturday football. You can have a 16-year-old who looks like a 14-year-old or you can have a 16-year-old who looks like a man. The bigger ones are okay, but the others need the extra step for them.”
[adrotate group=”37″]The recent introduction of the under-19 and under-17 leagues for senior clubs has had a big affect on things, particularly with both Derry City and Finn Harps taking large swathes of players out of the Youth League.
Gorman, who practically lost an entire squad at the start of last season, said: “The formation of the under-17 league certainly has diluted the standard. We haven’t lost as many, but Conor O’Donnell and Michael Gallagher were two of our main players.
[adrotate group=”70″]“You like to see players move on, but it certainly is to the detriment of the domestic league. We still have a lot of decent players there, half-a-dozen who would be good enough.”
Listen to the full interview below …
https://soundcloud.com/donegalsporthub-club-notes/anthony-gorman-views-on-youth-football-in-donegal
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