PEILEADÓIRÍ FAOI 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17: The total closedown will continue for a little while more…but…don’t let it bother you….and….be sure to do your football exercises every single day: (i) kick passes, (ii) solos, (iii) pick-ups, (iv) fist passes, (v) body catches, (vi) high catches and (vii) running. Ní fada, le cúnamh Dé, go mbeimid i mbun traenála agus ag ullmhú do chluicí 2021!
AN RÓD SEO ROMHAINN – AN BHLIAIN 2021: (i) The following juvenile section leadership team has been chosen at our very successful and well ‘attended’ AGM that took place on line on January 5th: An tUachtarán: Mícheál Ó hAodha; An Cathaoirleach: Tadhg Mac Mathúna; An LeasChathaoirleach: Nollaig Ó Conaill; An Rúnaí: Mícheál Ó Loingsigh; An Cláraitheoir: Colm Ó Mongáin; An Toscaire go Bord Thrá Lí agus go Coiste Réigiún an Láir: Seán Ó Slatara; An tOifigeach Caidrimh Phoiblí: Brian Caball. Go n-éirí go geal leo i rith na bliana atá romhainn. (ii) Also present was our senior section chairman, Billy Ryle, who spoke in glowing terms of our dedicated mentors and enthusiastic club workers. He praised and thanked the club’s mentors and workers for their dedication to Club na Carraige. ‘You are the people,’ a dúirt, ‘who impart firm values, ambition, a sense of community, a work ethic, good life-skills and a lifelong affection for Austin Stack Club to the young people with whom you interact. You expose the youngsters to the sheer joy of playing games and to whatever competitive success it brings. You provide a conveyer belt of footballers, many of whom go on to great things in the Black‘n’Amber of The Rock and/or in the Green‘n’Gold of Kerry. All of you are giving our juveniles the best possible start in life. Sea, tús maith leath na hoibre! You can be proud of and take great satisfaction from the wonderful work you do on behalf of our great club.’ He spoke of the disappointment of all club members when the year was spoilt by two COVID shutdowns and how well our mentors gave good leadership and of how both they and the players obeyed the unfortunate but necessary regulations. He made us aware of the fruitful efforts of Éamonn O’Reilly and himself, with the invaluable assistance of Eddie Barrett and Shane Lynch, to source club sponsorship. Kirby’s Brogue Inn and Restaurant are our main sponsors for three years (’20, ’21, ’22). He expressed his delight at our seniors’ victories in winning the County Club Championship and the Bordcheantar Thrá Lí Championship, both of which were to the great satisfaction of our sponsors! Ross Jewellers, through Heather O’Sullivan, donated €1,000 which was spent on three sets of juvenile jerseys. Agus, anuas ar sin, Ned O’Shea Construction and Lane Food Distributors will jointly provide a three-year sponsorship (’21, ’22, ’23) for our juvenile section. Billy stressed the importance of communication and of openness, democracy and inclusion within the club. He also invited those who might have the interest and the expertise to join one or other of the club’s 7 committees, mar shampla: JobMatch, Field, Social, Finance, Juvenile, Gaeilge/Cultúr, Coaching/Games Development and Lotto. (iii) Re-elected juvenile chairman, Tim McMahon, thanked the many club workers for their dedication to our club and to its young stars-of-the-future. He praised them, in particular, for their work during the past difficult COVID-plagued year. The dreaded virus effect has now spilled into a new season but all are determined ‘to do our best for our many young footballers.’ (iv) The following are among the club members who keep The Rock ship afloat on both calm and stormy and regulation-filled football seas…ár mbuíochas ó chroí leo go léir: FAOI 17: Denis Sayers, Éamonn Ó Scannláin, Eoghan Ó Gealbháin, Ciarán de Brún; FAOI 15: Richie Conway, Ronan Kavanagh, Éamonn Heaslip, Morgan O’Connell, David Courtney; FAOI 13: Shane Lynch, Eric Nosidlak, Ciarán Murphy, Pa Laide, Lawrence Cotter, Martin Courtney Joe Walsh, Theo Ó Duigín; FAOI 11: Lawrence Cotter, Niall Riordan, Kieran O’Flaherty, Shane Lynch, Kenneth Cronin, Micko Horan, Gearóid Ó Tíocháin, Colm Mangan; FAOI 9: Mike Lynch, Wayne Quillinan, Keith McKenzie, Noel Healy, Micko Horan, Colm Mangan; FAOI 7: Mikey Collins, Tim McMahon, Jonathan Magnier, Brendan Smith, Éamonn Ó Scannláin, Dara Ó Lúing, Danny Maguire, Richard Long; Maoir na bPáirceanna Imeartha: Seán Ó Braoin, Nollaig Ó Conaill.
PEIL FAOI 8: As with all other GAA activities, the Covid-19 Pandemic impacted significantly on the development of our Under 8 footballers in 2020. After a positive start to the year with indoor training at Mounthawk Gym, Covid-19 restrictions came into effect just as outdoor training was to commence in mid-March. Outdoor activity eventually started in early July and continued until the 4th October when the second lockdown brought a premature end to the disrupted season. Despite the restrictions, plenty of action was fitted into the 3 months when play was permitted. While annual events, such as the Tralee Town Board GoGames Blitzes, the John Mitchel Club Tournament and the Siobhán Cotter Tournament could not go ahead, challenge matches were played against Na Gaeil (home and away), Kilcummin, Legion, Firies and Na Mistéalaigh. In addition, 3 rounds of fixtures were played in the Bracker O’Regan Tournament during September. A total of 35 players were registered for Under 8 football (born in 2012 and 2013). Average attendance at training and matches was 27 which was a measure of the enthusiasm of the players and the interest of their parents. Thanks to mentors Wayne Quillinan, Keith McKensie, Noel Healy and Brian O’Leary for their efforts during the year. Buíochas le Mícheál Ó Loingsigh a chuir peann le pár chun an tuairisc seo a scríobh.
PEIL FAOI 10: In spite of the lockdowns, limitations and responsibilities associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Under 10 programme was exciting, enjoyable and satisfying, in as much as was possible, in 2020. Effectively, the Under 10s’ normal activities were halved this year. The intermittent and stunted season comprised of 9 indoor Sunday sessions at The Green CBS from the 12th January to the 8th March and 22 outdoor sessions in Caherslee and in Connolly Park from the 5th July until the 4th October. Lockdown (dianghlasáil) was the bête noir (púca na n-adharc) of 2020. The COVID 19 GAA Return To Play Questionnaire was also a tedious feature. A total of 35 boys, 30 of whom were regularly involved and 17 of whom were of the full age (born in 2010), attended the outdoor sessions. Only 31 of these sessions were held and the average attendance was 25. These 31 sessions included 6 games with 5 other clubs – Kilcummin, Na Mistéalaigh, Legion, Firies and Na Gaeil (twice). The four team, 7-aside League, for the Kevin Barry and Bracker O’Regan Cups, commenced in early September but was eventually ‘locked out’ on the 4th October. By comparison, in 2019 there were 60 sessions, including 6 blitzes and also 3 games with other clubs. Also in 2019 a significant number of players attended at both The Rock and the County Board Cúl Summer Camps in Connolly Park. While Caherslee was again the mainly used venue where the vast space, good surface and high level of public exposure are of great benefit; that venue may not have been always as readily available as heretofore. Our continued use of this lovely ground is vital to the progress of the juvenile section of the club. The stop-start and truncated nature of the playing season was not conducive to the usual detailed walk through coaching which is important at this age level, when emphasis should be placed on trying to improve kicking and catching, and also on basic ball-handling. Mini-games with 6-aside, 7-aside and 8-aside teams were again played to optimise individual participation. Fun, fun, fun and ball, ball and more ball…spraoi agus liathróid…for each boy are the key factors in such sessions. Again, the overall standard of football of the players is reasonably good and their improvement was noticeable in late summer. The sense of fun, participation, honesty of effort and general good behaviour demonstrated repeatedly all year by the players made the mentors’ jobs easy, and bodes well for the boys’ futures, both on and off the field. Footnote: All involved over the years with The Rock’s Caherslee sessions were very saddened by the death of groundsman Moss Spillane in May. Moss, a gentleman, was always very helpful and receptive to all visitors to this fine facility. RIP. Our 2020 mentors: Kenneth Cronin, Micko Horan, Shane Lynch, Ryan O’Flaherty, Ger Teahan, Niall Riordan and Colm Mangan. Buíochas le Colm Mangan a chuir peann le pár chun an tuairisc seo a scríobh.
PEIL FAOI 14: After the winter Strength & Conditioning sessions held by Eric in the Austin Stack Club Gym The Rock boys were all fired up and ready to challenge for the County League, the Kerry Féile, the Central League and the Town League. We began training once a week in an extremely wet January and February, with almost every field in the country closed at one stage. Our lads, however, persevered and kept our training attendance at almost full capacity week in week out. We played St Brendans in what proved to be a fiercely contested challenge game in Churchill. We also played Listowel Emmets, Milltown and St Pats in challenge games during this period. Our only Town League game of the year saw our B Team put in a mighty performance against the Kerins-O’Rahilly Club A Team. And then COVID….LOCKDOWN….DISASTER! After lockdown (dianghlasáil) was lifted, we hit Banna Beach for some hard runs, more Strength & Conditioning with Eric (the boys’ favourite coach hands down!) and a bit of banter, followed by a cool-down in the Atlantic. July saw our A team play Ardfert, Laune Rangers and Ballymac in Phase 1 of games that were organised to get football back in action in the county. We were successful against Ardfert and Ballymac but not as lucky against Laune Rangers in our only loss of the year. There is a fantastic rivalry growing between ourselves and the Killorglin boys and long may it last. Phase 2 saw us in a much tougher Division 1-looking group playing Glenflesk, Laune Rangers and Churchill. Three highly competitive games followed with us winning all 3 to put us into the ‘end of year game’ (final) v Kilcummin, a game in which we came out victorious. (Champs!).
Our B team played Firies and Ballymac in Phase 1, winning both games in style. Phase 2 was a lot tougher for our B team as they were paired up with three A teams. However, they soldiered on and had a great win below in Sneem on the final day of the season. Massive thanks to Shane Lynch and his Under 12 stars for their support with the B team throughout the year. We were also delighted to add six new players to the panel this year: Eldion Topalli, Pádraig Kenny, Bruno Boroway, David Lucid, Donncha Horgan and Jack Barrett. These boys have fitted seamlessly into our panel and are already household names within the club. Special thanks to Elma Nix, Tim McMahon, Éamonn O’Reilly, Mike Lynch, John Breen, Noel O’Connell and Bernie Mannix for all their help throughout the year. Also a big thank you to the parents for your continuous support and commitment. Believe me when I say that there is no better group of GAA parents in the land…! From both myself and the players we would like to thank our coaches Morgan O’Connell, Ronan Kavanagh, Éamonn Heaslip, William Kirby and our newest addition, David Courtney. Buíochas le Richie Conway a chuir peann le pár chun an tuairisc seo a scríobh.
BÍ PÁIRTEACH LINN: The Rock Club is inviting people who might be interested in coaching Gaelic games or who might like to be involved in club activities. Feel free to text or call Éamonn on 0879677034. Areas of involvement: administration, underage football, hurling (we are a hurling and football club), various age groups, male/female, men’s division 5 football, Scór…music, song, dance, sketch, recitation, quiz. Fáilte mhór roimh dhaoine nua agus roimh thuairimí nua. The Senior Club’s AGM is due to take place on line via Microsoft Teams on the 13th.
FOCLÓIRÍN: Thug sé seáp/ruathar chun tosaigh. (He made a dash forward). Déan an cúl a chosaint go dtí an sprioc. (Defend the goal to the last gasp). Chosain siad an cúl go tréan. (They strongly/stoutly defended the goal). Imreoir lár páirce is ea é. (He’s a midfield player). Imríonn sé i lár na páirce. (He plays in midfield).
