Wolfe Tones committed to producing new talent
December 30, 2010Over the past number of seasons the club has found itself in the unusual position of not being among the challengers for the Senior Championship and with playing numbers on the decline the Tones are now looking at a new long term plan to bring back the glory days.
According to Aiden Carter, the current club chairman and Louth player, the future of the club lies in developing underage players with the aim of building a strong foundation for the future, while the idea of the club folding is unthinkable.
"We have been struggling with numbers this season and although there is competition from other sports, it is disappointing that for a town this size there is not more interest.
"I suppose in the past we have relied on people coming to work in Drogheda but when you consider all the motorways in the country, in many cases those players can still travel to line out for their home clubs. On top of that, when you aren't having much success on the field it makes it harder to get lads to play," he explained.
The Tones have also been the victims of the spread of hurling in the county with a number of teams being formed in the south of the county in recent years also meaning that players no longer have to line out with the Tones.
"We have seen St Fechins, Mattock Rangers and Glen Emmets introduce hurling teams in the last few years and while from a hurling point of view it is great to see the game developing, we have been affected by the growth. Normally we would have got some of the players involved in those clubs but that resource has now dried up."
The fact that there wasn't an underage structure to bring players through means that the Tones have had to reassess their approach to secure the future of hurling in the town.
Ironically, the club will be looking to the example of one of their adversaries, Naomh Moninne, for inspiration as to how to turn things around. In recent years the two clubs have produced some titanic battles but now the Tones will be looking to follow the example of the Dundalk men who, according to Aiden, are already reaping the benefit of a dedicated youth policy.
"Naomh Moninne were in a similar position to ourselves and it was a long time since they had won a championship and were beginning to find it difficult to field. As a result they decided to concentrate their efforts on the youth structures and already the rewards are there as they reached this season's Senior Championship Final.
"They are a few years ahead of us in terms of that process but we are now looking at effectively starting from scratch with our U-11 and U-12 teams and hope to build from there.
"We are fortunate in that we have the likes of Declan Power, David Black and Ollie Kelly as the driving forces and it is a testament to the work they have put in that we regularly get over 50 young players at training," added the chairman.
The sight of so many young people is a huge encouragement to everyone involved with the Tones and as a result they can brush aside talk of the club folding and instead look to the future with optimism.
"It really would be terrible if a club in a town this size had to fold but we are not thinking in those terms and instead we are planning for a bright future," explained Aiden.
Although a lot of work is being done with the juveniles, the committee is aware that having a competitive adult team is important for any young player coming through and as a result Aiden reveals that a renewed effort is being put in at senior level.
"Although we have struggled with numbers this year, we know there are good quality players around that we have to try to bring to the club. We have identified the need to encourage players who are still in their mid 20s to come back to play and if we can do that then there is reason to be optimistic.
"The likes of Dee McCarthy, Paul Dyas, David Black and Declan Power are still putting in a big effort, while there is myself and my brothers, Johnny and Brian, along with Johnny Doyle who still should have a few years left. With players like that we have the nucleus of a good team and if a couple more came in we could make a big improvement next year.
"Realistically our ambitions for 2011 will be modest and we will start out with the aim of consolidating our position and hopefully with the addition of one or two lads we can improve on this year.
"A bit of success on the field of play would certainly boost morale and make it easier for everyone involved in the club to move forward," explained Aiden who expressed his gratitude to the O Raghallaighs, Wolfe Tones and St Nicholas for providing playing and training facilities throughout the season.
Aside from his commitments at committee and playing level with the Wolfe Tones, Aiden also continues to line out for his county and despite the failure to land silverware this season, he believes that the county is continuing to make good progress.
"Paddy Kelly came in this year and he was able to build on the good work done by Pat Clancy in previous years. It can be difficult for a new manager coming in as he has to get used to the players, but I think overall we had a relatively good year.
"One of the highlights was beating Roscommon in the league which helped us qualify for the final, while in the Nicky Rackard Cup we got to the quarter-final against Sligo. We were disappointed not to progress to the last four as we had the chances to win that game but just fell short at the end.
"Paddy will be back next year and I think with some very good young lads coming through we can look to build on the effort of this season and hopefully we can compete for silverware in 2011," added Aiden. Tweet
