Juvenile/Youth Development Annual Review - 2014

Juvenile/Youth Development Annual Review - 2014

December 15, 2014

The year 2014 was a new beginning for the Juvenile/Youth Development Section of Ballincollig GAA when taking both Minor teams under our wing, with the ultimate purpose to improve the standard of player to be passed on to the Senior section of our club, to win more County Titles. During 2014, it was great to see current and recent Juvenile players contributing to winning County Titles for Ballincollig GAA. The historic success of our Senior Footballers this year ensures 2014 will never be forgotten in Ballincollig, while most importantly, sets the tone for our Juvenile Teams in years to come.

At the beginning of the year, we registered a record number of 232 children in Youth Development, which is a testimony to all the great work that is being done from U6 to U12 at the moment. A novel development this year was the introduction of an indoor training programme for our U6's, for eight weeks in Gaelscoil Ui Riordain during February and March.

With the older age groups, it was great to see the U13's winning two Plate Finals in both hurling and football. While the U16 Footballers had the unique distinction of winning 2 Premier 1 County Championships in the same year, comprehensively defeating Glanmire in the delayed 2013 U15 Championship Final in March and beating an excellent Carrigaline team in the U16 Final in September. The win completed an incredible run of 5 County titles in a row from U12 to U16 which is a phenomenal achievement under the stewardship of excellent management.

Thanks to Ballincollig Credit Union for continuing to sponsor the School Coaching Programme. This much appreciated support allows John Dwyer to provide excellent coaching to the kids and the feedback this year has been tremendous. Thankfully now John is also assisting our local secondary schools while his Easter and Halloween Hurling Camps are proving very popular. Another component driving our future success is where we once again held a very successful Cul Camp with over 200 children attending, which is one of the biggest in the Country.

One loss to our section this year occurred recently when Ciaran Ryle stepped down as Chairman but he will be ably succeeded by Brendan Murphy. Brendan has been promoted from vice-Chairman while his role has been filled by Brendan O'Connell. We wish both Brendan's all the best for 2015 while all remaining officers will continue their current roles in 2015.

Finally, we look forward to seeing you all for our Annual Poc Fada on 26th December at 10.15 a.m. from Greenfields. Once again sponsored by Ballincollig Jewellers, we welcome Adult Teams of 3 (€30), Camogie Teams (€20) and Juvenile (U16) Teams (€20). The Juvenile/Youth Development Section Officers would like to wish all players, coaches, families and supporters all the best for the Festive Season. We appreciate all your efforts and look forward to another successful year in 2015.