Kingscourt Stars GAA is blessed by a whole plethora of willing and able workers. Mayo native Jim McGovern blends in nicely in such company. As is his wont, Jim McGovern shoots from the hip when dissecting Kingscourt's most recent innings. 2003, he says, was a "pretty average" year for the east Cavan club. In short, the Stars didn't shine nearly as bright as McGovern and the rest of the Kingscourt gaels had hoped and anticipated. From juvenile level right up to senior ranks, the Stars failed to show the lustre for which the club has traditionally been noted. The hard-working PRO doesn't attempt to act as an apologist for a club which patently underachieved over the past twelve months. Yet for those not exactly in the know, he is keen to point out some home truths. "The club suffered from some notable losses in personnel last year. "There were key fellas absent - maybe five or six - for most if not all of the year and our challenge for silverware suffered badly as a result. "But you can't attach any blame on anyone because fellas like to travel, whether its to the U.S or Australia and you have to respect their decisions." And as someone who has been instrumental in putting in place the structures which have helped support the development of some of the finest young talents over the last number of years at the club, the outgoing Chairman of the club's juvenile committee recognises the demands which are placed on young players these days, not only at county level but at grass roots level as well. Still, Jim also accepts that the stalwarts present at the coalface of club affairs in Kingscourt are entitled to hope that more successful days are not far away. "Most people in the club would say that in 2003 we held our own but didn't really make progress at senior level and I'd go along with that view. "We felt we underachieved last year and that we could and maybe should have beaten Mullahoran in the championship - and that's no disrespect to Mullahoran. "But the players, mentors and everyone at the club believe that under Barry (McArdle) we can move things forward that bit more in the coming year," the Mayo native adds. As someone well versed in industrial spake, the term 'work-in-progress' is a description which Jim can identify with when others talk about about the state of play at adult level in Kingscourt GFC right now. It is generally recognised among club afficionados across Cavan that Kingscourt can boast of a bevy of young talent right now but perhaps their time hasn't yet come to really stir the pot at blue riband level. "We've been doing well at underage level for a number of years now and a lot of young fellas are coming through but maybe it's time for us to push on and make an impression at senior level now. "We haven't yet reaped the sort of dividend at senior level that our underage pedigree over the last ten years or so would suggest we're capable of achieving. "The underage success is fine and well but the club yearns for senior success. "We've been out of the limelight for too long at senior level and we're hoping to get things right sooner rather than later." Certainly the disappointment felt by the Kingscourt faithful at not having made the latter stages of the senior or under 21 championships last year. "We've had excellent people over the underage teams for a long time now and we've been competing at Roinn A level nearly every year and getting to the play-off stages in the various competitions more often than not but it would be nice if we could translate that work into silverware at under 21 or senior level this year coming." Of course, Jim understands all too well that the maxim which ordains that 'success breeds success' is as true for the Stars of Kingscourt as it is for any other club/team in the country. One wonders have Cavan Gaels, by far the most successful club in Cavan over the last few years, got it all right? "They've definitely been setting the standard that the rest of us have to try and emulate, there's no doubt about that. "Cavan Gaels have some great people working at underage level, people who have the time and the energy too to give the youngsters great help and attention and they have the numbers too, in terms of players, which puts a lot of other clubs in the shade in that respect. "You'd have to say though that the Gaels have raised the bar and it's up to the rest of the clubs in the county to rise to the challenge laid down by them." Still smarting from the bitter disappointment of seeing Kingscourt's under 12 and under 13 teams lose two county finals in 2003 - for the second successive year - Jim, nonetheless is quick to play down any notion that there's any chance of the Stars throwing in the towel just because of the absence of silverware. "Playing football isn't all about winning cups. It's important to get fellas to play in the right spirit and to help them improve their skills while they're involved at juvenile level. "As well as that, the absence of a cup or two around the club doesn't necessarily mean that we've had a poor year. "Having said that, it would have been nice had we won one of those two finals but you have to have a broader perspective on the game. "We still have aspirations of again winning at least one underage title in the coming year." Reflecting on the work of the juvenile committee over the course of 2003, the Hollymount native says that the progress made at under 8/10 levels formed the highlight for him during the past year. "The numbers that turned out, the amount of games the young fellas played in and their enthusiasm plus the hard work of the mentors really stood out for me. "Fortunately, we've a lot of very good mentors working at every level of the club." Of course, all belonging to the Association in Cavan are aware of the huge amount of effort being put into laying solid foundations at Kingscourt GAA in the hope that the club can recapture their glory days of yore. In this respect, the well-publicised development work at O'Raghaillaigh Park in recent years bears testimony to the club's hard work and ambition. "The second pitch has been of particular benefit to the underage teams. "It's tailor-made for underage coaching and games with proper underage goals in place and all the space the players want. "The young fellas in the club are all very keen. Of course a lot of them are interested in playing soccer but we have a good relationship with the fellas that look after the soccer and conflicts of interests are avoided at all costs," explains Jim who has been chairman of the Kingscourt juvenile committee for the past five years. And with some excellent sponsorship from industries and businesses in the local area plus the necessary financial assistance from the club's parent committee and tremendous goodwill and support from the general population in Kingscourt, everything seems to be in place to facilitate the hosting of another SFC title in the burgeoning town in the not too distant future. "The work will continue at every level in the club and hopefully things will fall into place for us. "Everyone understands that you've got to keep on producing as many quality underage teams as you can because good teams at senior level don't be long about going past their sell-by date and you always need fresh talent following up to step into fill the breach. "It's vital that a club doesn't find itself having to start from scratch after maybe years of achieving success at senior level with a specific group of players. "Foundations can't be allowed to crumble while everyone is standing there admiring the general structure of the house." With the 2004 season about to kick-off, there seems to be very little chance of anything crumbling around O'Raghaillaigh Park - that is, except the morale and willpower of visiting teams! Tweet

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