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Weekly Notes - 1st March 2006Thursday night last – a night for the fire but duty called and one "crept (not quite correct, buíochas to Henry Ford) like snail unwillingly" to the monthly committee meeting. The E.NE. wind blew the rain in floodlit sheets across the field. Why those floodlights? An adult training night? Surely there is no one mad enough to be out in these conditions? But hark! Is that the crack of the ringmaster’s whip? No, it is the sound of Paul Hayden urging his rain-soaked charges to greater effort. One worried for their sanity but then again maybe this is what is necessary if they are to make their mark on the fields of the county. Intermediate manager, Tomás Vickers, informs me that training takes place on Tuesday and Thursday nights and that Minors, Junior Bs and Intermediates are welcome, nay, even encouraged, to become involved. To date attendances have been very heartening. These training sessions which, in addition to their obvious health benefits, obviate the necessity of expensive gym visits and are hugely enjoyable social occasions – our boys are a friendly bunch.Two interested parties, observing Thursdays training and happy to be in the shelter of the clubhouse, were county minors Darren Hayden and Craig Smullen both of whom had made significant contributions to the 60 mins. of Wicklow’s win over Carlow in the Leinster League on Tuesday night. Wicklow now plays Westmeath in the semi-final of the competition. This game is the curtain-raiser to the county’s National League game against the same opposition in Cusack Park on Sunday. Go n-eirí go geal leo! An upbeat Barry O’Reilly rang me on Sunday evening with news of his u-14s victories over Rathnew and St. Feargals in the Féile dry-run blitz in Greystones. His satisfaction derived, not so much from the victories per se, but rather from the level of proficiency of his players after their long lay off from Gaelic football. The competition, while being very sporting and enjoyable, suffered a bit from the absence of Bray Emmets A who withdrew at the last minute. It would have been more satisfactory to have obtained a better measure of our team’s ability. Thursdays cold N.N.E. wind had not abated by Saturday and the organisers of the Juvenile Academy were worried that few in their 8-10 year old target cohort would brave the arctic conditions. They were more than pleasantly surprised, however, by the number which turned up to be introduced to the wide range of skills encompassed by the game of Gaelic football – does any big-ball game include as wide a range of skills? Más fíor go mbíonn gach tosnú lag, Saturday’s turnout bodes extremely well for the future of the academy. And now to hurling. Training within the club has, for some time now, been in full swing at all age levels. Its initiation at u-18 level has not been a moment too soon for the Minor County League gets under way this coming Sunday and continues for six successive Sundays. Éire Óg's first outing has them travelling to the borders of Carlow to play Kiltegan at 11a.m. This team is managed by Ciarán Gough, Colm and Ciarán Gaskin and Gerry Walsh. On Saturday last the u-10 and u-12 hurlers once again paraded their wares in Kilcoole in their respective indoor tournaments. Both teams represented their club with honour. The u-10 team is an equal opportunities employer and has always included girls. On Saturday the scales were strongly tipped in the direction of the fairer sex. The u-12 series of matches which involved teams from Éire Óg, Feargal Óg, Bray Emmets and Kilcoole were particularly exciting. We congratulate the N.E. Juvenile Board for their foresight in sponsoring this tournament. We were all delighted to see Fiachra Bradley who was back in action after his injury. Congratulations to St. Kevins and St. Laurences footballers on their first round Cumann na mBunscoil victories. |
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