Éire Óg Greystones
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Weekly Notes - 12th December 2007

Christmas draw

Sales of tickets at the week-end at Tesco were quite satisfactory and we tender a sincere go raibh maith agaibh to everyone who supported the draw. We are also very grateful to Tesco for allowing us the opportunity to sell. However, the effort cannot end there as the beginning of the new year is a hugely expensive time for the club; registrations and insurance payments fall due – the insurance per adult team is now 1000 euro. We depend on the Christmas draw to defray a large part of these costs so it is vital that these tickets receive the widest distribution possible. We call on all players to help towards the draw’s success by selling a few books of tickets. Only 8 days left to the draw. It takes place on the 19th in the Carrig Orchard – a great night of comhluadar and craic – so it is imperative that you get to work immediately.

St. Stephen’s Day

Have the lubricating oil and those antacids at the ready on the 26th. You will need them for those neglected joints and those over-indulged stomachs if you are to be at your best for that exhibition in “attrition”, the St. Stephen’s Day football game. An early rise is mandated; the game begins at 11am to accommodate the later starting Goal milers.

Minor Hurling

9.30am on Sunday and eighteen (all of whom got a ‘run’) of our u-17s are gathered for their journey to Castletown to play in the final of the Gorey and District Shield. Some of them a little bleary eyed after spending the early hours watching the Hatton fight. Preparation one might think as not being conducive to the achieving of an optimum performance on the field. Yet there was no hint of this sleep deprivation in their play, they hurled very well and have to be considered unlucky in losing by a single point, 1-4 to 1-5. One might comment “very low scoring for a hurling game” and rush to the judgement “a dour match”. In fact, this was a very enjoyable encounter, exciting and full of endeavour and not lacking in the game’s skills. It held spectator interest to the final whistle. Daniel Salmon at full-back, Jack Tanner playing wing-back and Stephen O’Neill in the centre of the field backboned the Éire Óg effort. Paddy O’Sullivan was the main contributor up front. Paddy scored our only goal and was very unlucky not to have scored a winning one. His failed attempt involved a movement of comely artistry which saw him pluck the ball from on high and then in a continuum of swirling and striking motion send goalwards an unstoppable shot. Unfortunately it grazed past the upright. Marty Byrne came into his own in the 2nd half and supplied some great ball to the forwards. If only a fraction of those chances had been availed of, victory would have been ours! Scott Smullen contributed 0-2 from frees.

Underage Awards

At the underage awards night the following players were recognised for their special contribution throughout the year. The first named received the accolade of Player of the Year while the second was designated Clubman of the Year.

Hurling.

Minor: Martin Joyce and Paul Sutton.

Football

Mentors and trainers at underage level are always faced with problems such as how much emphasis should be placed on winning, and to what extent recognition should be given to precocious talent. With younger age groups especially, the stress has to be on the enjoyment of the players through properly structured training sessions which ensure full participation by all. The Go Games format is designed to achieve this end. However, the children must also be encouraged to strive for excellence, and hence we have such phenomena as Player of the Year and Clubman of the Year. The former is somewhat problematic as it rewards what is essentially a natural talent whereas the Clubman is a recognition for effort e.g. attendance at training, contribution to the morale of the club etc.