Glen Emmets' under 10 team received generous sponsorship in the form of a set of jerseys, togs and socks, from local building firm Cherryfield Homes in 2004. Joint manager David Cusack spoke of the sponsorship deal and reviewed a successful year with John Loughran. Glen Emmets based on the outskirts of Drogheda on the Collon road will look back on 2004 with justifiable pride. At adult level they gained promotion to the intermediate ranks having captured the Division 3 League. At underage level the club continued to make substantial progress at all age groups. The Glen Emmets' under 10 team was a case in point. Through the very generous sponsorship of Cherryfield Homse the under 10s were probably the best kitted out team in Co. Louth in 2004. The very progressive building company, who are developing 80 houses at Townley Manor, weighed in with financial support to buy a full kit for the team in 2004. Cherryfield's owner Joe Farrell, who hails from Summerhill in Co. Meath, was more than happy to dig deep into his pockets to help out the club, especially its underage set up. He revealed: "We are building 80 houses in Tullyallen. A lot of the people that are buying the houses are associated with the club in one way or another so we were delighted to be able to give something back to the community in the form of sponsoring the under 10s," he enthused. He continued: "The club does an awful lot of work with the children and we were only too delighted to sponsor the under 10 team, who had a great years by all accounts." David Cusack who played his club football with Mattock Rangers before joining Glen Emmets and Gerry Cassidy who played his club football with Syddan in Co. Meath, were joint managers of the team. They were therefore ideally placed to see the tangible benefits of the sponsorship. David recalled: "Cherryfield Homes sponsored a beautiful kit. We were the best looking team in the league by a mile. A few years ago we had one set of jerseys for three or four teams, so it was great to have our own kit for the under 10s." "The children were absolutely delighted. It is a big deal for children of that age to have their own socks and togs. They were thrilled with the kit. It proved to be a huge boost to them. We started with a panel of 21 at the start of the year and finished with the same number. They never lost interest throughout the year," he enthused. David explained how the sponsorship deal came about. "Gerry actually set up the sponsorship deal and he is hopeful that Cherryfield might sponsor another team next year, which would be a brilliant boost to the club. We are very appreciative of what they did for us and can't thank them enough," he remarked. Located on the edge of soccer mad Drogheda, the officials of Glen Emmets are acutely aware of the need to attract the youngsters at a young age. To that end Glen Emmets' underage structure caters for all ages. "We would have children as young as six involved and they are taught the basic skills of the game. It is more about learning the game rather winning or losing. It is all about encouraging the children to play the came at that age. When they come through to the under 10s they get their first taste of competitive football," he added. David and Gerry's panel ranged in age from eight to 10. "Jake Buckley, Robert Byrne, Declan Campbell, Sam Breen, Jamie Farnan and David Connolly were only eight. The rest of the panel was made up of nine and ten year olds," David elaborated. Glen Emmets' under 10's year came to an exciting conclusion when they lifted the Drogheda Minor Board 'Shield' competition, which caters for the weaker teams in the region. "The 'Shield' is for the bottom four teams in the league. We beat Dreadnots in the final. We had a point to spare over them, 0-7 to 1-3. Darren Wogan had a great game in goals that day. Conor Grimes scored six points and James Butler got the winner with virtually the last kick of the game." He continued: "We beat Wolfe Tonnes 4-3 to 3-3 in a very exciting semi-final." At under 10 both boys and girls compete on an even footing. David remarked: "Alice Wogan and Kelly Byrne played starring roles in numerous matches throughout the year. Kelly broke her ankle at school and missed the semi-final and final though." He added: "We also won our own 'Shield' competition, the Emmet Noone Shield, when we beat Dreadnots. Emmet was killed in a motorbike accident a few years ago, and the family put up the shield to commemorate his memory. Emmet's nephew Stephen (who was made captain for the game) was presented with the shield by his uncle Noel on the night." The under 10's also had a good run in the Mid- Louth League reaching the semi-final final. "Stabannon beat us in the semi-final final, which clashed with the school tour to Clara Laragh in Wicklow. They were tired on the night after their exertions on the school tour," David quipped. Through careful planning Glen Emmets' underage structure is in good shape, with numbers growing very year. "It is getting stronger every year. We are hoping some of the adult players will get involved next year. It would be great for the youngsters to see the players who got promoted to intermediate this year involved in the coaching," he added. David's son Conor is eligible to play under 10 next year, while Gerry's son who is also called Conor, will be lining out with the under 11 team, so David and Gerry are sure to be heavily involved in 2005. With the backing of Cherryfield Homes further underage success is sure to follow. Joe Farrell is the managing director of Cherryfield Homes, headquartered in Maynooth, Co. Kildare. Celebrating 30 years in business this year, the company specialises in building large once-off houses. The company is currently building 80 houses at Townley Manor, Drogheda, Co. Louth. The company also has ongoing developments in Celbridge and Maynooth, Co, Kildare. The company employs a fulltime staff 10 of and utilises a network of 20 sub-contractors on an ongoing basis. Tweet

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