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The foreign legion  The
much-talked about development officers began their three-year tenure last
weekend and there is bright optimism among the group that this could see
the start of a successful grassroots set-up in Britain.
The main focus will be on building relationships between clubs and local
schools which will hopefully help spark an early interest in Gaelic Games.
Croke Park has given the development programme its full support with money
seemingly not an obstacle in this project.
For many years clubs in Britain have relied on players travelling over
from Ireland to maintain their survival with the main focus being on the
present rather than the future. As a result the turnover of players has
been huge with some teams losing large numbers of players over the course
of one winter.
The group have been spending the past week at a training course in Ruislip
and Gerard Noone, the development officer in Warwickshire, says the officers
are very confident they can make a difference.
“What we really want to do is build a community around the games,”
said Noone who is currently studying a degree in sport and education in
Newman University in Birmingham. “Our main goal is to get into schools
and to try and promote Gaelic Games as best we can.
“I’ve done a lot of coaching with Warwickshire schools myself
and I’ve seen lots of people who want to get involved but once that
eight-week plan or tournament is over they’ve nothing else to go
with and we end up losing them to soccer or rugby. That needs to change.”
Dublin native Noone has been living in Warwickshire for three years now
and has coached for the duration of his time over here. During this time
he has watched players arrive over from Ireland but admits they were only
a short-term fix to a long-term problem.
“Lads come over from Ireland and play the odd game here and there
but that’s it,” he admits. “John Mitchels had a Senior
Championship game last year and nine first-teamers didn’t turn up
which is no good for the future of the game over here. What we need to
do is build up the clubs from grassroots level. We want to get clubs in
to have a look at these young players.
“It’s a three-year contract and it’s going to be a great
experience. Croke Park have been very supportive. The money’s there
to do it and we’re very confident we can make a difference.” |
