It might sound like an obtuse enquiry but the coach of the Scotland national team has framed the question to illustrate his argument about the importance of the sport in rural towns and villages all over the country.
That shinty enjoys a rich heritage has never been in doubt. Yet it is perhaps a consequence of its claim to predate the recorded history of Scotland that it is considered a relic in certain, more urban, quarters of society.
Not that many of those critics would be brave enough to offer such an opinion to McNeil, an imposing former prison officer steeped in a game brutal enough to cow even the most hardened city dweller. Now employed by the Highland Council to help young people back into work, he sees the influence the sport can wield among communities in thrall to its appeal.
"I've long said that clubs don't appreciate what they are doing for the people round about them and I don't think they get enough support for that," the 48-year-old says. "I've suggested to some of them that they consider becoming charities because they are doing so much throughout all aspects of lifestyles but they just don't realise it.
"I'm always banging on to the senior players about how much kids look up to them and how they might be the only father figure they have. Think about it; not only are young guys mixing with an older generation and learning good traits from them, but a lot of the old boys are tradesmen and make these young lads their apprentices. Those who don't get taken on end up with another company because they see a disciplined kid, who is dedicated to his sport and has something about him. Shinty really is more than a sport in these communities."
McNeil's conviction is not limited to off-field matters. Now in his third year as national coach, he has noted a significant improvement in the technical and physical capabilities of his players, and a swelling of the talent pool thanks to an increase in the number of youngsters taking up the sport. That, he explains, is a consequence of clubs belatedly seizing the initiative by going in to primary schools and teaching the game to those who will one day populate their first team.
Such an approach is in contrast to McNeil's own introduction to the sport as a child in his home town of Roybridge.
"My old headmistress was from Edinburgh and knew nothing about shinty, but wanted to learn about the local ways so started teaching us all," he recalls, before recounting a career that included captaining Fort William to their first Camanachd Cup success before managing them to the trophy on three further occasions during his three-year tenure.
That success earned him the national job but, after two years in which he missed the cut and thrust of the club game, he accepted an offer to become involved with Glenurquhart and has co-managed the side in recent months.
"It's to keep my hand in as much as anything else," he says. "Now the players are guinea pigs for my drills. There is no shinty manual as such – if you asked a senior player the mechanics of how he did something, the chances are he wouldn't be able to tell you because it is all instinctive – but I'm keen to make the coaching of the basics uniform across the sport and develop new techniques."
Technique has been very much part of McNeil's thoughts in recent weeks as he prepares his side for the annual shinty/hurling contest with Ireland. A sporting and cultural exchange that dates back to 1896, the showpiece previously alternated across the Irish Sea each year with the hosts afforded the advantage of playing their own code. However, the introduction of hybrid rules and change to a two-legged tie in the past few years has altered the dynamic, even if the use of the goals and ball particular to hurling have enabled the Irish to win the last three meetings.
The Scots, however, are quietly confident that they can triumph in the first of this year's two matches, tomorrow at Bught Park in Inverness, to set themselves up for the second leg next Saturday in Ennis, County Clare.
"It can't come soon enough," says McNeil, who will while away the hours by attempting to get a handle on the byzantine scoring system. "You could say it's stacked in their favour but I believe if we get a dry surface, and the rules regarding contact are applied correctly, we are a match for them because they know if we get the ball down and play they will struggle. The games are towsy and physical but they are great spectacles and we'll go out there and give it a right go because my thinking is always that it's better to live one day as a lion than the rest of your life as a lamb."
'HAVE you every met an unemployed shinty player?" asks Drew McNeil. It might sound like an obtuse enquiry but the coach of the Scotland national team has framed the question to illustrate his argument about the importance of the sport in rural towns and villages all over the country.
That shinty enjoys a rich heritage has never been in doubt. Yet it is perhaps a consequence of its claim to predate the recorded history of Scotland that it is considered a relic in certain, more urban, quarters of society.
Not that many of those critics would be brave enough to offer such an opinion to McNeil, an imposing former prison officer steeped in a game brutal enough to cow even the most hardened city dweller. Now employed by the Highland Council to help young people back into work, he sees the influence the sport can wield among communities in thrall to its appeal.
"I've long said that clubs don't appreciate what they are doing for the people round about them and I don't think they get enough support for that," the 48-year-old says. "I've suggested to some of them that they consider becoming charities because they are doing so much throughout all aspects of lifestyles but they just don't realise it.
"I'm always banging on to the senior players about how much kids look up to them and how they might be the only father figure they have. Think about it; not only are young guys mixing with an older generation and learning good traits from them, but a lot of the old boys are tradesmen and make these young lads their apprentices. Those who don't get taken on end up with another company because they see a disciplined kid, who is dedicated to his sport and has something about him. Shinty really is more than a sport in these communities."
McNeil's conviction is not limited to off-field matters. Now in his third year as national coach, he has noted a significant improvement in the technical and physical capabilities of his players, and a swelling of the talent pool thanks to an increase in the number of youngsters taking up the sport. That, he explains, is a consequence of clubs belatedly seizing the initiative by going in to primary schools and teaching the game to those who will one day populate their first team.
Such an approach is in contrast to McNeil's own introduction to the sport as a child in his home town of Roybridge.
"My old headmistress was from Edinburgh and knew nothing about shinty, but wanted to learn about the local ways so started teaching us all," he recalls, before recounting a career that included captaining Fort William to their first Camanachd Cup success before managing them to the trophy on three further occasions during his three-year tenure.
That success earned him the national job but, after two years in which he missed the cut and thrust of the club game, he accepted an offer to become involved with Glenurquhart and has co-managed the side in recent months.
"It's to keep my hand in as much as anything else," he says. "Now the players are guinea pigs for my drills. There is no shinty manual as such – if you asked a senior player the mechanics of how he did something, the chances are he wouldn't be able to tell you because it is all instinctive – but I'm keen to make the coaching of the basics uniform across the sport and develop new techniques."
Technique has been very much part of McNeil's thoughts in recent weeks as he prepares his side for the annual shinty/hurling contest with Ireland. A sporting and cultural exchange that dates back to 1896, the showpiece previously alternated across the Irish Sea each year with the hosts afforded the advantage of playing their own code. However, the introduction of hybrid rules and change to a two-legged tie in the past few years has altered the dynamic, even if the use of the goals and ball particular to hurling have enabled the Irish to win the last three meetings.
The Scots, however, are quietly confident that they can triumph in the first of this year's two matches, tomorrow at Bught Park in Inverness, to set themselves up for the second leg next Saturday in Ennis, County Clare.
"It can't come soon enough," says McNeil, who will while away the hours by attempting to get a handle on the byzantine scoring system. "You could say it's stacked in their favour but I believe if we get a dry surface, and the rules regarding contact are applied correctly, we are a match for them because they know if we get the ball down and play they will struggle. The games are towsy and physical but they are great spectacles and we'll go out there and give it a right go because my thinking is always that it's better to live one day as a lion than the rest of your life as a lamb."
