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Schools GAA
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Schools
Go GA GA for GAA
By Brian
Roberts
As
2006 comes to a close, GAA officials in the Midlands, can enjoy
a record breaking year which has seen over 3500 young people
in 82 primary and secondary schools take to the Gaelic sports
field in the past 12 months.
The scheme run by the Warwickshire Schools GAA scheme, based at
Bishop Challoner Catholic School in Kings Heath, working in association
with local Warwickshire GAA juvenile board are now responsible
for GAA development in; Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester, Rugby,
Walsall and Wolverhampton - a programme which is now regarded as
the most extensive GAA project outside Ireland.
Other highlights in 2006 include 104 schools teams taking part
in 9 annual GAA school festivals, Bishop Challoner U-14 Ladies
team competing in Feile Peile Na N’Og in Wicklow in July
and Warwickshire making it to Croke Park when the Under-12 schools
development squad entertained over 84,000 fans before the Leinster
Senior Football final.
The programme run by full-time staff Declan Wall (Kilkenny) and
Eavan Mulligan (Donegal) employs student coaches from the local
teacher training college at Newman to deliver fun activities to
primary school children during PE lessons. Newman College students
and a number of ‘link teachers’ also deliver lunch-time
and after school clubs in local secondary schools with an emphasis
on technical and tactical development.
Warwickshire School GAA chiefs expect 2007 to bring more rewards
with the affiliation to Cumann na mBunscoil and the Vocational
and Colleges GAA- the primary and secondary governing bodies of
Gaelic sports in Ireland. This will provide local schools in the
midlands with regular international competition and nurture cultural
and educational links with primary and secondary schools in Ireland
and Britain. Also 2007 will see the full implementation of the
Croke Park approved ‘First, Quick and Smart Touch Go Games’ and
the launch of a unique cross curricula approach to GAA, which will
allow young people to be introduced to Gaelic sports through subjects
such as history, ICT, Art and Geography.
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Warwickshire
Juvenile GAA a Right Step Forward
By Brian
Roberts
In
the week when GAA president Nickey Brennan announced that he
will be keeping a close eye on those who run Gaelic Games in
Britain and urged clubs to put more emphasis on youth development,
officials in Warwickshire will be happy that the transformation
of underage games in their own county in this past year is a
step in the right direction.
Like many underage county boards across Britain, Warwickshire GAA
suffered from a change in immigration trends. Many clubs had to
quickly adapt to a decrease in participation levels of first generation
Irish people playing Gaelic sports in Britain. In the late 1990’s
with only a handful of youth clubs regularly participating in underage
games in Warwickshire the glory years of Glebe Farm and Pairc Na
h’Eireann to many were very much a thing of the past.
Today, Warwickshire has more young people playing Gaelic sports
then ever before with an estimated 1000 club players and 4000 school
participants taking part in regular Gaelic football and hurling.
Club development is on the up with 13 underage clubs now playing
in competitive league and championship fixtures- with another 3
set to join ranks in 2007. More mentors are taking to sidelines
of the Gaelic sports pitch with many near completion of a GAA first
coaching licence. This move will give each volunteer coach a qualification
in GAA coaching, Child Protection, First Aid and CRB check. Warwickshire
Juvenile GAA is also beginning to benefit clubs across Britain
with the organisation of the annual Feile Peile International-
an event which saw 34 teams form across Britain and Ireland contest
for the coveted championship and shield trophies. Now regarded
as Britain’s premier youth festival, the Feile Peile gives
young GAA stars the opportunity to take on teams from Ireland and
has already forged strong cultural links with many individual clubs.
On the Gaelic sports field, 2006 saw the majority of underage GAA
clubs in Warwickshire develop strong partnerships with local primary
and secondary school with a view to provide access to Gaelic football
and hurling. With many clubs now participating in under-10 and
under-12 competitions, Warwickshire has put strong emphasis on
its under-14 and under-16 competitions and has seen an immediate
effect. Sean McDermott’s of Birmingham clinched the U10,
U12, U16 and U18 league titles, but a talented Erin Gro Bragh side
halted a macs clean sweep when they claimed the U14 league. The
successful introduction of ‘B’ divisions half way through
the season has allowed some of the weaker clubs the opportunity
to compete for silverware.
Although many provincial titles continued to elude the Warwickshire
county teams this year, a talented St. Brendan’s team clinched
the All Britain under-12 7-a-side, an organised Roger Casements
side won the shield title at the Feile Peile International 2006
whilst the under-14 county team were promoted to Division 3 of
the Feile Peile Na N’og- a compliment of how highly officials
in Ireland view the standard of play in Warwickshire. The promotion
of Hurling in Warwickshire continues to be a challenge with many
clubs competing against the popularity of Gaelic football however
the under-14 Feile Na nGael county team produced a brave performance
against accomplished Irish teams in Cork last June.
With 2007 fast approaching many clubs will be submitting their
5-year club development plans to secure the long term future of
our games in Warwickshire, with a particular focus on developing
playing facilities and getting more parent volunteers involved
in the running of GAA clubs. Next year, Warwickshire Juvenile GAA
will also look to develop a grassroots to excellence programme
which will include a pilot the introduction of the ‘Go Games’ modified
rules at under-8 and under-10 and the launch of county academy
scheme. County officials will also look to tackle the demise of
hurling in the county and develop an integrated hurling and camogie
scheme at underage. Ladies football will also be high on the agenda
for Warwickshire, the Juvenile county board will look to build
on the success of the Bishop Challoner girls’ participation
at this years Feile Peile Na n’Og and the John Mitchell’s
senior ladies All-Britain recent win to provide role models for
aspiring female GAA stars.
For local business interested in sponsoring Warwickshire Juvenile
GAA academy teams or a underage league please contact Juvenile
secretary Brian Roberts 0121 443 4615. |
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