The Killeshandra Leaguers club has embellished Cavan GAA with many accomplished players and administrators over the course of its history. Declan Woods has been tipped by many to take his place in due course in such a pantheon. Words: Kevin Carney Stagnation is the building block of a deep grave and a GAA that is not moving forward is stagnant and on the slippery slope. Cavan GAA Inc. is, fortunately, far from moribund. And rookie county officer Declan Woods is just one of many working hard to keep the Breffni Blues very much alive and kicking. Cavan GAA may not always have resided on easy street. It has experienced well documented travails - indeed some of it its own making. However, the county is currently blessed with people of foresight, ambition and pride; both on and off the field of play. Certainly, the future could be a hell of a lot bleaker. County Development Officer Woods suitably talks up Cavan football while refreshingly resisting use of beaten-to-death superlatives: "Football in Cavan has a lot going for itself. We have a great product which supporters and players literally get a great kick out of following and clubs right throughout the county can boast some tremendous facilities for their members to enjoy. "Of course the county had its problems over the years with regard to kick-starting a well-organised and professionally-run system of coaching but we've moved on over the last ten years or so to the point where we're the envy of a lot of other counties. "In almost every respect, Cavan can hold its head up high when comparisons are made with other counties. For example, I have been at various forums and I have come to realise that we are well ahead of other counties in some respects. "The fact that the GAA's new CD Rom coaching video features the Cavan under 16's of a couple of years ago must mean that we're doing something right!" There's little doubt but that the work being done in many different spheres by the county executive committee members, and a host of others besides, compels admiration. No amount of camouflage draped by cynics over the work done in the realms of coaching, club development etc can hide the obvious level of progress that has been made across the board in Cavan in recent times and our man Woods is proud and only too delighted to play his part in copper-fastening such progress. In his repertoire of county board roles i.e. county board development officer, communications committee member and finance committee member, Declan has proven a useful footsoldier within the GAA hierarchical family, while still maintaining a razor-keen interest in his beloved Leaguers. Keeping his nose to the grindstone, his shoulder to the wheel and his eyes firmly fixed on engineering a more profitable road ahead for Cavan football has meant that the 30-year old has been left far from idle outside of office hours over the last two years. Perhaps predictably, Declan admits that, in the best tradition of administration cliches, he didn't hardly know what he was letting himself in for when he entered the inner sanctum of Cavan GAA two years ago. "I never imagined so much work went on at county board level. I don't think the average club member is fully aware or appreciates the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes at county board level. "For most club members, the county board officer is just someone who is on hand to present a cup or a set of medals or who presents an end-of-year report at convention time. "Having been part of a team at county board level for the last two years I have to say I have found the work very time-consuming but very enjoyable all the same. "It's particularly satisfying to be in at the start of some project or other and to see it through as in the case of the finance committee's decision to set up the lotto in support of the development of Breffni Park. "And being part of the communication committee's organisation of the Seven's tournament and the upcoming 1952 All-Ireland winning celebrations has been a source of great personal satisfaction also." The fact that Declan has a tough act to follow in trying to fill the boots of outgoing Development Officer Martin Cahill isn't holding him back in helping Cavan's current backroom team. Indeed Declan's stint at the coalface has already shown him to be a very competent and efficient think-tank member of Cavan's powers-that-be amalgam. The Killeshandra clubman's penchant for administrative affairs has long since been evident though. Back in 1996 he gravitated to the role of chairman of his beloved Leaguers in succession to Stephen King senior and thus, in doing so, became one of the youngest titular heads in the history of Cavan GAA. Years earlier he had been very much to the fore in nurturing and developing underage football talent in his native Killeshandra. Although he played very little football himself at underage level, the Woods family has always been to the fore with regard to football matters in Killeshandra. His uncle Christy was a selector of the Killeshandra team which brought the first intermediate championship title to the town in 1986. And so after he returned to the parish after finishing college in Limerick in the mid-nineties, it surprised no one locally when Declan committed himself to bolstering the underage effort at the Leaguers. Instrumental in steering the likes of current seniors Justin Hayes, Colm Duffy and Karl Reilly to under 12 and under 14 finals in times past, Declan has always taken particular delight in fostering football talent. In this regard, he retains a great respect for the legacy left to Cavan football by former county board chairman Brendan Keaney and county coaching co-ordinator James Lovett in invigorating the whole area of games development. In recognising that today's juveniles are tommorrow's seniors, Declan re-iterates the archetypal mantra of GAA mentors. "Everyone with the best interests of Cavan football at heart has got to look after our young players otherwise there's always the possibility that we'll lose them to other sports. "We have a good product but we've got to continually work hard to make sure it remains attractive to the youth. All the best facilities, grounds and coaches in the world won't be of much use if the well of players at underage level runs dry. "The tremendous work done over the last 10 years by the Cavan Gaels club should be an example to us all. They are reaping tremendous success at all levels as a result of running consistently good coaching courses over the years with the youngsters of Cavan town. "It should be recognised though that there are a lot of clubs across the county who are working on similar lines as Cavan Gaels and it should be noted that the vast majority of club mentors have either completed a foundation coaching course or a level one coaching course." Obviously a deep-thinker on matters GAA and blessed with the eloquence of a person who can easily convey his thoughts, Declan cautions against any complacency at club or county level. "There is a genuine fear at grass roots level concerning any possible onset of professionalism within the Association and with it the loss of what we could describe as the 'volunteer' ethos. "The so-called volunteer within the GAA is the heart and soul of the organisation and such selflessness is what, along with parochialism, has made the GAA what it is today. We should be wary of these characteristics being eroded." And the way forward? "It's crucial that we approach things in a professional manner and ensure as best we can that things are done right at all times. "We must encourage everyone with an interest in the GAA - even those who may not have ever kicked a ball in their lives - to play their part in making the Association a stronger and more vibrant organisation. "Those who are prepared to dedicate endless hours of their time - at their own expense - to the GAA may not be as thick on the ground as in years gone by but the calibre of worker within the organisation now is thankfully just as good and they should be given every encouragement and help in their work on behalf of the Association." Tweet

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