‘Stress under surface’: unspoken pressure of commitment to GAA

‘GAA Grind: Stress under the surface’, a project by Coláiste Mhuire trio Daire Fagan, Milltown, Alex Markey Archbold, Mullingar and Conor Seoige, Mullingar overseen by teacher Eva Acton, attracted a lot of attention, laying bare the feelings of young athletes in the GAA who often face gruelling training schedules that leave them under pressure at work, at school and in their personal lives.

"This is a huge part of all our lives," said Daire, explaining that between them, the three play seven different sports, including GAA.

However, he continued, behind the exhilarating matches, the roaring crowds and the honour of representing one’s county or home club, participation in the GAA can bring stress, financial strain and mental health challenges.

He said that in the course of their research, the team found that GAA players find themselves under enormous pressure and the aim of the project was to look at ways of reducing the burnout and over training.

Alex explained that the idea for the project came about when all three were suffering from various injuries, including back injuries and pulled hamstrings. They realised they weren’t fully sure what foods they should be eating and what exercises would help them.

"We decided to dive deeper into the pressure and stress on people who play GAA and how it challenges things like relationships, school, work and other commitments. Jobs are lost over how time-consuming it can be to be a part of a team," he says, revealing that their research shows that 50% of GAA players feel under constant pressure and stress to perform and that 88% spend up to 1-5 hours travelling between matches and training, which is leading to financial stress.

Significantly, according to Conor, the players they interviewed for the study agreed with them on the issue of stress and pressure, but the coaches disagreed. Conor plays a phenomenal seven sports and stresses that the purpose of the project was not to have a go at the GAA but to draw attention to the fact that during Junior Cert year, for example, the requirements can be too demanding for students who are intent on putting their all into their exams.

In his experience, not all involved on the training or management side understand the pressure students can feel while trying to accommodate the competing interests of sport and education.

The feedback the team received from young GAA players prompted the three to set up a new website called Performance Plus, which has multiple features such as dietary plans, guides to stretches to help prevent injuries and a novel feature that provides meditation and organised planning to keep track of all training and matches – all part of a mechanism for reducing the stress.