The importance of strength and conditioning, or athletic development as GAA teams refer to it, has exploded in the GAA in the last few years.
Every single GAA team in the country will have their own tailored programmes, and most GAA players that have a realistic aim of making a senior team, be it club or county, will be spending time in the gym.
Our games, particularly football, are so physical nowadays that a skinny player has to be absolutely amazing so as not to be brushed off the ball, or to even contest for a ball.
They have to have something innately special.
If they can add strength to their build, it can provide them with the crucial step-up they need to bridge the gap and make that crucial step-up.
We see it in so many of our skinnier build of players, that once they add this extra bit of commitment, and in turn, add some extra body mass to themselves, their game just takes off.
We've seen the transformation the likes of
Conor McManus,
Michael Fitzsimons and many other players have made, and the extra size really added to their game.
As a skinny minor, McManus didn't even make the Monaghan team, now he's one of the most feared forwards in the country.
Kildare half-forward Dave Slattery gives huge credit to the work he does in the gym in his avoiding of injuries but also in his ability to compete with bigger players.
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"I have not been injured to a great extent but anytime I have been, I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge. Mobility, flexibility, and activation exercises have allowed me to gain an insight into improving body functionality along with potentially sustaining the longevity of my playing career," he said in a detailed and
informing interview with Lenne Moore fitness recently.
Indeed, this commitment to an athletic development plan has lead to him putting on valuable size and condition.
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Slattery has been impressing for Cian O'Neill's men so far this year. He still looks relatively thin framed on the pitch, but his explosive running combined with his ability to take a hit, due to his solid build is key to his approach.
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It's a story that gives hope to all of our naturally skinny players, that if you put in the hard-work in they gym and off the field, you realy can make a breakthrough.
Slattery also places
huge value in his diet, which goes hand in hand with this approach of giving your body it's best chance to succeed.
