Louth's football Development Squads were busy again in 2006, with plenty of activity at U14, U15, U16 and U17 levels. All four squads acquitted themselves extremely well and made definite progress, much to the obvious satisfaction of everybody associated with Louth football. Let's make no bones about it: 2006 was an exceptional year for Louth football as the county seniors made remarkable strides in their first year under the new regime. They say that a rising tide carries all boats and there was also a noticeable upturn in the enthusiasm of the Development Squad camps as players wore the red jersey with unprecedented pride. Here, we reflect on how the various Development Squads fared over the course of the season, with input from members of the four management teams - Colm Nally (U14), Mick Matthews (U15), Johnny McDonnell (U16) and Ciaran Maguire (U17) U14s The Louth U14s had a stellar year under the stewardship of Colm Nally (Newtown Blues), Paul McLoughlin (Sean McDermotts), Brian Carroll (St Marys) and Paul Carr (Newtown Blues). Trials took place in February/March and the backroom team looked at over 200 players before assembling a squad of 64 to train on Friday nights from the end of March. Two teams - Louth 'A' and Louth 'B' - were entered in a non-competitive Leinster 'competition' containing Westmeath, Meath and Kildare and the Wee County won three matches in total from six played. The Louth U14s went on to win the Tuft Cup in July/August, beating Down and Meath to qualify for the final, wherein they disposed of the Royals again. "We had a fair idea of our strongest team at that stage and it was very satisfying to see it all come together six months down the line," Colm notes. "Any time you beat Meath in any competition it's a good achievement because they have set the standard at underage level for many years." Louth are also due to enter two teams in another Leinster 'competition' in December 2006, against sides from Dublin, Meath and Laois. Management reports that the player response and interest in the panel was excellent all year. Around 50 lads on average turned out for training at Drumcar every Friday night (there is no fixed number on panel size) and Colm says he was "thrilled by the reaction of both players and their parents." Long-term, the manager is looking beyond building a good minor team in four years' time: "We place a huge emphasis on ball work at training and we try to educate them on things like nutrition and hydration. We're here to try and develop as many youngsters as possible so that they will be better footballers when they go back to their clubs. "Hopefully, club football in Louth will improve from that. As well as aiming to develop future minors, we would also like to be a steady feeder into the Louth senior team. We are trying to be as modern as possible in our approach and we'd love this squad to produce four or five players who can go on to play for Louth at senior level. The interest from the lads is great, and that makes them a pleasure to work with." U15s Mick Matthews (Oliver Plunketts), Seamus O'Hanlon (Clans), Willie Shevlin (Naomh Fionnbarra), Gerry Reilly (St Mochtas) and Matthew McAllister (Clans) were over the Louth U15 Development Squad. The squad regrouped in January and were out training in Drumcar all year, breaking up for the junior cert but otherwise remaining active throughout the calendar year. They took part in tournaments in Down and Monaghan as well as a Blitz in Longford in May, where Louth beat Offaly, drew with Longford and lost to a strong Dublin West combination. In Leinster, the Reds beat Kilkenny and Carlow but fell to Dublin North on scoring averages. The U15s also captured the Peadar Markey Cup, a minor board tournament involving Monaghan, Down and Meath. Louth beat the Royals in the decider at Haggardstown. Mick and his mentors oversaw a squad of 33. The Plunketts man reflects: "There's no emphasis placed on competitive football. The aim is to try to develop the squad and the door is never closed, with fellas coming in and out all the time. The profile of underage football in Louth really changed for the better because of the success of the county team. For five or ten years there, nobody really wanted to wear a red jersey but now it's the complete opposite and it's great to see it. "Paddy Oliver, Paddy Clarke and Thomas McNamee deserve great credit for the work they've done in setting up and running the new coaching committee and for making courses available for coaches. These were never available before and it's another knock-on from the input of Eamonn McEneaney. The whole mindset has certainly changed for the better." U16s The U16s were in the capable hands of Johnny McDonnell (St Fechins), Gerry Reynolds (Stabannon) and Eugene Judge (Newtown Blues). Johnny and Gerry were with the same crop at U14 level alongside Eamonn McEneaney, while Eugene came on board this year, introducing some valuable ideas The squad took part in many training sessions, played numerous games and everybody got a fair crack of the whip. The group got together in February and participated in up to 20 training sessions over the year as well as playing about ten games. "They did well this year but it was a pity they never got to measure themselves against Meath, Dublin, Offaly or Laois," says Johnny. "No disrespect to Carlow or Wicklow, but we felt we deserved a shot against some of the so-called bigger counties. The only competition we played in was the Leinster league in October and we beat Wicklow, then the Meath 'B' team and Carlow in the final. The final was an easy victory and we didn't benefit much from it. But I'm not trying to make light of our opponents. We can only beat what's in front of us and the lads did well. "We also took part in various tournaments and challenges and kept the training going all year. We played Dublin in the Lennon Tournament in Termonfeckin, but our team was hard to judge on the day. I feel we could have given any of the bigger teams a go. We lost to Tyrone by just a point in a challenge and we did well against any team we played.. The lads put in some decent performances against the likes of Roscommon in a tournament in Monaghan as well, so they saw plenty of action." The U16 selectors worked off a panel of 30. A few lads were let go during the year and some new faces were introduced, in keeping with the open door system that's in place. "If a lad is good enough to play on the team, then he'll play," Johnny confirms. "The squad has changed a fair bit in two years. There were six or seven lads brought in this year that hadn't played on the U14 squad but developed a lot in the meantime. We have a good squad of lads and there's a great camaraderie between them." Do they have the makings of a good minor team in two years? "Next year will tell a lot. This time next year we'll have a much better idea. A lot of things can change in lads' lives when they are 16… We have a nice crop, though, and we'll have a fair idea where they're going this time in 2007. "The side has changed and I really won't have an accurate idea of how good this team is until they play against top-quality opposition. For now, I'm quietly confident." U17 At the helm of the U17s were Ciaran Maguire, Gerry Nixon and Padraig Califf. There wasn't a great deal of activity on this front as many of the players were also involved with the minor team, as Ciaran explains: "It was a quiet enough year due to the overlapping with the minor team. We trained and played a few challenge matches but there were no organised competitions as such. The pick of the players made the minor panel - we had five on the starting team and two more on the bench, which curtailed us a bit." The Young Irelands clubman continues: "This group did well as U16s - reaching a Leinster final against Westmeath in Mullingar - and they managed to win an U17 tournament in Kells during the summer, beating Meath in the final. "These lads have competed well against every team they've faced. They played Dublin last year and only lost by a point in DCU. We've played Meath six times in the last two years and have beaten them on four occasions. This Louth team has always played against the top teams and they've always been able to handle themselves." Ciaran has been with this crop since U14 and will manage them as Louth minors in 2007. They were in the Geraldines gym for five months either side of Christmas '05 and are currently working hard in the gym again with a mind towards the 2007 Leinster MFC. With seven carried over from this year's unlucky minor side, how does the manager expect them to fare? "You have to be careful when you make these assessments. I'll say this: they will compete with anybody and they will not be afraid of any team. We know football is all on the day, but I'm expecting this team to be competitive." Tweet

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