ÁNAÍOC M H O T SOUTH KERRY I JUVENILE HURLING C S H A NEWSLETTER I A E R R AÍ T H 2010 - A Year to Remember Welcome to the first edition of the South Kerry ion, this has been the greatest achievement in ing Committee of Coiste na nÓg, Matt O’Neill Juvenile Hurling Newsletter. We hope that you 2010 as the seeds must be sown and nurtured (Secretary), John Ivory (PRO) & Geraldine Foley find this all-action edition beneficial as we con- thereafter. We need more clubs giving their juve- (Member of County Steering Committee) for their tinue to improve our communication levels with nile players the opportunity to play the greatest commitment and genuine support to the cause. our Clubs throughout the South Kerry Region. and most skilful game in the world. Special thanks to John Ivory for co-ordinating The aims of this initiative are two fold: We must not apologise to anyone for promoting and spearheading the very successful fundrais- 1. To highlight the huge success of our teams our National game of hurling. After all, it is part ing initiatives. in 2010 and give them and their mentors due of our heritage and the “fastest field game in the This will assist in purchasing a set of jerseys for recognition for their efforts. world”. Be proud of it and who knows if we give U15/16 and Minors early next year. 2. To communicate our message and vision for our kids the opportunity, what the next 125 years We also wish to acknowledge the contribution the future of juvenile hurling in the area. will bring to Kerry. from the South Kerry Senior Hurling Board to- Firstly, congratulations to Kenmare on winning the The U-8 Go Games initiative in the Region was a wards the purchase of our first set of jerseys for County Minor Championship – a huge achieve- great success with teams from Rathmore, Firies, the U-13/14 South Kerry Hurling Development ment bridging a gap of 22 years – this surely au- Kenmare, Kilgarvan & Dr. Crokes participating in Squad. On this we thank Mike O’Keeffe (Dr. gurs well for the future – well done to all the play- 5 blitzes over the year – rotating venues was a Crokes) for his input into designing a new crest ers and mentors… Sean O’Regan, DJ Brennan, great idea and thanks to all clubs and mentors which gives us our identity going forward. Andy O’Sullivan & Seamus MacGearailt. for their support with this. Finally, we want to thank all the players, mentors Congratulations to Dingle on becoming the first On behalf of the Coiste na nÓg Iomanaíocht Chi- and parents for their continued support. Please club to win both the hurling and football league arraí Theas, I wish to thank John Griffin (South keep up the good work! Enjoy the game of hurl- Division 1 U-14 titles. This is a massive achieve- Kerry Hurling Administrator) for his unbelievable ing! ment by Dingle and we salute them and their work ethic and general positive attitude and nev- Please support our sponsors! mentors… Enda O’Dowd & Eugene O’Connor. er ending work for the development of juvenile Is mise le meas It just goes to prove to all of us that both codes hurling in the region. Since his appointment two Sean O’Leanacháin can co-exist successfully with a common sense years ago, it is clear to everyone the impact he Cathaoirleach – Coiste na nÓg, approach. Let’s hope we can all learn from this. is having in his role. Thanks to the hard-work- Iomanaíocht Chiarraí Theas Again, congratulations to Dr. Crokes on winning the U-14 Division 2 & U-12 Division 2 County League Titles and becoming the inaugural win- ners of the South Kerry U-12 Championship. Kenmare - County Minor Hurling This is a magnificent achievement and well done to all players and mentors Matt O’Neill, John Champions 2010 Lenihan, Mike O’Keeffe and Tommy Murphy. Well done to Kenmare/Kilgarvan also on win- ning the inaugural South Kerry U-14 Champi- onship, mentors here were Michael Foley, Liam Quinlan & Tadhg Crowley Kenmare also won 2 U-10 Competitions in 2010 – becoming the in- augural winners of the Dr. Bill Mangan Perpetual Trophy in Muckross in June and also the Denis Nagle Ground Hurling Tournament in Rathmore in August – well done to all concerned – Bosco MacGearailt & Donal McCarthy. However, it is not all about winning trophies at juvenile level and we must always be conscious of how well the kids are developing their skills and enjoying their experience of playing and learning the game. We must look at the bigger picture and plan ahead for the future. To this end, we must pay huge tribute to Rathmore, Firies, Na Gaeil and Churchill who are making huge strides in the pro- motion of juvenile hurling in their areas. It is not easy and we all are well aware of the challenges. (L-R) Jerome Conway (Kerry County Board Chairman), Alan O’Leary (Man of the Match), It is really heartening to see the huge numbers Peter Keane (Supervalu), Jimmy Healy, participating and learning the skills – in my opin- (Captain) and Joe Walsh (Hurling Officer). TRIBUTE TO PAUDIE BUTLER Paudie Butler is a great mentor and friend to Kerry Hurling in general different learning and in particular to South Kerry‘s Hurling community. His achieve- points. But, to a man ments on the field as a player and coach are clearly from the top drawer. and woman, everyone However, these considerable achievements will take second place to is invigorated, even his role as mentor and leader to the many hurling coaches throughout intoxicated by Paudie’s the country who Paudie has met in his day to day work throughout the huge passion and enthu- years. His role as National Director of Hurling has taken him to the four siasm. Enthusiasm for corners of Ireland in order to spread the gospel of the game of hurling. the game of hurling, the people who play it, the You never attend one of Paudie’s many coaching sessions without tak- people who coach it and ing away some nugget of information. And you never just “attended” the manner in which it one of Paudie’s sessions - you were always required to “actively partici- is coached. His enthu- pate”. While uncomfortable, at first, Paudie never left you vulnerable siasm for all aspects of and you were sure to benefit from being more actively involved. We the game is infectious have all learned many a drill, fun-game, coaching technique and lots and you always come away from Paudie filled with self-belief and an more at these sessions. But, the real nuggets we value most are on the enthusiasm to go back to your club and work even harder at developing more human side. Paudie’s teaching career, his knowledge and experi- the game of hurling ence in child psychology and his basic human decency emphasised Paudie doesn’t do things by half and at Congress next April, he retires that the most essential and important ingredient in coaching kids was for a second time. South Kerry Coiste na nÓg would like to sincerely the child as an individual. How many times have we heard him ar- thank Paudie for his support, energy and assistance down the years ticulate “every child deserves to hear his name called out in a positive and we hope you have a long and happy retirement in The Rag. Paudie way” and “every child deserves to be the hero, the winner, the best at Butler retiring??? Doesn’t sound right!! some stage”. Not just Johnnie, who is going to make the intercounty senior team - but every child. Matt O’Neill We all can come away from one of Paudie’s coaching courses with Rúnái, Coiste na nÓg Iománaíocht Chiarraí Theas U8 Go-Games Blitzes – Play and Stay with the GAA The AIB sponsored U8 Play and Stay with the GAA Go-Games Blitzes took place again in 2010. This successful initiative has run the last number of years and has been an overwhelming success. With large numbers in attendance and every game like a ‘Munster Final’ the excitement and eagerness of all involved was great to see. But fun and participation was the order of the day with every young kid playing, getting plenty touches, work- ing hard and developing their skills. Kenmare, Kilgarvan, Firies, Rathmore, Churchill, Na Gaeil and Dr. Crokes all took part in these well-run games. Here’s hoping it will be the same success in 2011 and beyond. Kilgarvan U-8 Hurlers Dr. Croke’s U-8 Rathmore U-8 Hurlers The vision of the South Kerry Juvenile Hurling Board • We need coaches going into our schools on a weekly basis. is to build structures and foundations to develop and promote hurling • We need to increase the number of competitive games at juvenile level throughout the Region. to ensure more activity over the Summer months. To achieve this we need passion, leadership and co-operation from all • We need to train and educate more referees thereby improving the interested parties and clubs. We need people with a “can do” attitude overall standard of refereeing in the County. and people willing to take responsibility and give 100% commitment to • We need to “sell” our game better i.e. better promotion and coverage the cause. “Action speaks louder than words”. of juvenile hurling. • We need to work closely and communicate better with our club football We will strive to achieve these goals in the near future but in the mean- mentors to ensure a common sense approach to training and fixtures.