Boys U13 & U15 bank holiday Monday trip to the wilds of South Kerry .
An early start on bank holiday Monday, August 7th , saw 54 boys and 5 mentors leave the club grounds on the ever reliable Powers travel bus and head for
Eclipse Ireland activity and outdoor centre based outside Kenmare.
Thanks to the very generous support from Ned O’Shea & Sons and to John Lane & Sons, our club juvenile-section sponsors, in conjunction with Jigsaw this day out and project had been in the pipeline for some time and we finally got it scheduled in. This was going to be a day with a difference for the boys.
The main practical requirement for the boys was to wear old clothes and shoes and make sure they brought a change.
On arrival at the Eclipse Centre the need for this quickly became evident. We could see the lake, the rivers, the mud bath obstacle courses that awaited us.
After brief introductions and housekeeping with the friendly and professional staff of Eclipse, the boys were broken up into 4 groups.
The morning sessions and activities were based around team building and teamwork challenges.
Mental and physical challenges set tastefully in the beautiful South Kerry countryside.
The staff at Eclipse set the tone quickly, they emphasised the importance of listening when it comes to communication. Instructions for the various challenges were rarely repeated, so you had to be switched on, thankfully the boys did so and made the most of these interesting challenges .
Just before lunchtime we got a taste of what was to come in the afternoon.
The first of the “water/Mud ” obstacle courses.
For the afternoon sessions the group was split into two teams.
Following a short break we were back at it getting down and muddy with a series of serious physical teamwork challenges body deep in muddy bog holes. With the challenges being timed per team, the competition was fierce as a loss of a challenge by your team would mean you would have to repeat it.
This was tough stuff, wet , cold and dirty but the boys stuck with. Moments of great leadership and courage and commitment were seen in all the boys.
Following a big clean up and hose down we departed Eclipse with some fantastic memories. We treated the boys to McDonald’s on arrival back in Tralee.
So thanks again to our sponsors Ned O Shea & Sons and John Lane & Sons, to Eclipse Ireland to everyone in the club who organised the trip and to the boys themselves who’s good behaviour , commitment to the challenges and all round good humour throughout the day made it a great occasion.
All photos courtesy of Pix360_adam
