Courtney winning fame game
December 30, 2010Courtney Traynor, whose father Philip hails from Carrickmacross, was selected at right-full forward on a team made up of the State's top fifteen players for 2009.
Courtney lives with her dad Philip and her Kerry-born mother Anne (nee King) in the town of Pearl River (pop. approx 15,000) and plays her football with the Rockland County club, located some 25 miles north of New York city.
The diminuitive but dynamic teenage star was one of four girls nominated for the number 15 position but got the nod from the judges at a function held in the Regency Hotel in Yonkers after a series of wonder performances both for her club and for the New York team.
The first-ever lady footballer from the Rockland County club to receive an All-Star award since the awards' inauguration in 1992, Courtney has been a stand-out performer for New York State teams at under 16, minor and senior levels over the years.
Prior to coming to the fore for her county team, Courtney caught the eye playing for Rockland County at under 8 when, even at that juncture, she was recognised as being a special talent.
From early on in her career, she was earmarked by her mentors and supporters as a future All-Star but even her most ardent admirers were taken aback by her meteoric rise up the individual rankings Stateside.
It must be recognised though that it has been partly down to Courtney's extraordinary talent that Rockland County has graduated to become one of the most successful underage clubs in the State of New York.
Her aptitude and ability in the basketball court and on the soccer pitch have also been well showcased but for now at least, in US university parlance, she continues to major in Gaelic football.
And it is in the quinntessential Irish sport that Courtney is picking up most plaudits and evoking most gasps of admiration and rounds of applause.
Her football ability shone through in 2008 in, firstly, Leitrim and then in the finals at Kingspan/Breffni Park when she featured on the New York under 14 team which competed in that year's All-Ireland Feile na nOg competition.
Courtney's star remains fixed on an upward trajectory and while she is barely five feet in height, the Irish-American whizzkid has already been hailed as a giant-in-the-making with regard to the world of ladies football.
Her style of play, pin-point accuracy and pace has been likened to Tommy Freeman in his pomp while her play-making instincts have been touted as second to none in the fairer sex's game.
Such is her football talent that local sports afficionados in New York have mooted that if a university scholarship was made available to the GAA folk there, Courtney would be a shoo-in for such an accolade.
Courtney starred in the centre-half forward position on the New York team which won the 2009 US minor championship.
Meanwhile on the intercounty front, Courtney has a burning desire to mix it on a long-term basis for New York's senior team with the best talent Ireland has to offer.
To date, she has been fortunate not to have suffered any major injuries and seasoned coaches across the water are convinced that if Dame Fortune continues to favour her, Courtney will achieve all her goals in the game.
Courtney is an avid fan of Monaghan's football teams but her hero is Kerry legend Maurice Fitzgerald (Cahirciveen), a former schoolmate of her mother Anne.
On her frequent visits to the Kingdom, a chat with the former All-Star is always on the agenda where advice and tips is gratefully received.
Sister to Ryan (14), Grainne (9) and Ciara (7), one suspects that the name Courtney Traynor may just become as famous one day in football parlance as Maurice Fitzgerald.
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