Coaches cannot leave the same kids on the sideline “week in, week out”, The Hard Shoulder presenter Kieran Cuddihy has said. 

Over the past week, the show has been inundated with the stories of parents whose children are receiving little or no match time despite their love for sport. 

“There’s no simple solution,” Kieran said. 

“And I would be very wary of listening to anybody who tells you there is a simple solution. 

“There’s quite obviously a balancing act - particularly when it comes to the teenage years. 

“You’ve got the importance of inclusivity on the one side and then you have the reality that competition does begin to matter and winning and losing does matter. 

“They have to learn resilience and that’s part and parcel of sport in the way it’s part and parcel of life. 

“But I would say this; the solution - whether it’s one thing or a multitude of things - it cannot involve the same kids being left on the sideline watching the same players play every match week in week out. 

“That cannot be the solution and that is happening all too often.” 

2K50KEA Children, sport and winner by girl soccer player on field team sports victory with little champion group. Fitness, training and football practice by

One listener, Mary, got in touch to say that her son was ready to quit hurling and that she had seen children crying on the sidelines because of a lack of game time. 

“Since she [Mary] was on air, she has received dogs’ abuse online,” Kieran said. 

“People who don’t know her and don’t know her son but heard her on the radio are getting in touch with her on social media to tell her that her 13-year-old son needs to ‘Man up’ or ‘Train harder’ or  ‘Pick a different sport’ or ‘Stop whinging’. 

“That is despicable behaviour. I want to say that right at the start. Despicable behaviour. 

“If you hear a story of a 13-year-old child; somebody who loves Gaelic games… but who is  never picked ever and they come home in tears to their parents and they are despondent and disappointed and dejected to the point that they’re going to give up the game that they love. 

“If you hear that story and your reaction is to say the kid needs to cop on and learn a bit of resilience - that says an awful lot more about you than anyone else and none of it is good. 

“So if that’s your reaction, you want to take a long hard look at yourself, I would suggest.” 

Speaking to The Hard Shoulder on Thursday, Minister for Sport Thomas Byrne described a lack of match time as a “child welfare issue”. 

“A kid who week in week out  at age 14 is not getting any game time at all, in my opinion that is a child welfare issue,” he said. 

“The Children’s Officer or the Welfare Officer in the club should be looking at that in that particular case. 

“I cannot see how that’s justified in any way.”

Main image: Split of children playing football and Kieran Cuddihy.