An Mhí Coaching and Games Development Committee has once again signed off on a varied and professional programme of coaching activities for 2008 and is presently in the process of drafting another for 2009. With the ever increasing demands on resources and the expansion of the coaching team additional funding remains a priority. The committee are pleased to acknowledge the substantial contribution from the "Friends of Meath GAA" and the "County Golf Fundraising Committee" this year again. Meath Coaching & Games Committee developed a full calendar of coaching and games in partnership in with Cumann na mBunscoil, Meath Second Level Schools Committee, Coiste Fe 18 and Coiste na nOg. The main aims of coaching is to improve the player's skill and awareness, increasing his satisfaction, resulting in improved standards and quality in his play. To deliver a comprehensive schedule of coaching and games to our Primary Schools and Clubs Our coaching plans are modelled on the Grassroots to National Programme (GNP), GAA strategic programme for Games Development. The programme is underpinned by the OTu Games Development Model which consists of three strands; the Pathway to Elite Performance (PEP), the Skill Through Effort Projects (STEP) and the Coach, Administrator and Referee Education Programme (CARE for ALL). Fundamentals Coaching Programme This project proved to be a major success within the county in 2008 as we identified 13 primary schools to participate in the four week programme. A total of 816 children from Junior Infants to 1st Class were coached from January to March in the basic fundamental skills. These skills include Agility, Balance, Co-ordination, Running, Jumping and the Ball Skills of Catching, Kicking and Striking. Teachers were encouraged to participate in the programme and a Fun Do Resource pack was awarded to each school on completion of the programme, so that teachers could continue to work on these skills with the children. The Schools were: Boardsmill NS, Kildalkey NS, Ballivor NS, Gaelscoil na Boinne Trim NS, Nobber NS, Kilmainhamwood NS, Slane NS, Stackallen NS, St Seachnaills NS, Rathbeggan NS, Gaelscoil na Rithe, Culmullen NS, Dunderry NS. The same programme was also introduced to 13 Juvenile Clubs as a Club Nursery programme and these clubs were assisted in the purchase of fundamentals equipment through a 200 voucher for McSports. The Clubs were: Castletown, St. Martins Drumree, Ratoath, Ballivor, Summerhill, Simonstown, Navan O Mahonys, Dunboyne, Donaghmore/Ashbourne, Trim, Blackhall Gaels, St Marys Donore, Moynalty. Since the new term has begun in September, we have introduced the project to 12 new schools and have planned to include 24 more primary schools in 2009. We are currently requesting clubs to approach us to avail of the Nursery Programme. Post Primary Projects A new format of competitions was scheduled for September 2008. This was arranged through the assistance of school principals and games teachers and has proved very successful. Our main objectives with this programme are to provide games for students who may not make school junior squads and to assist schools in their preparation for the various Leinster competitions. The Super 7's This initiative has once again proved a very worthy project with 960 1st year students participating from the eighteen 2nd level schools. Our finals day in Pairc Tailteann saw 340 boys and girls compete for the overall honours. St Pats Navan - Football Champions St. Josephs Convent of Mercy Navan - Ladies Football Champions Dunshaughlin Community College - Camogie Champions Athboy Community School - Hurling Champions Meath Database: This partnership (part funded) with the County Committee is a huge undertaking and work is in progress to have it fully functioning early in the New Year. It will have details on all Squads, County teams and Coach Education within the County. Schools of Excellence & Development Squads The Squads have developed and matured over the past year, this despite the motions passed by Congress which restricts the number of coaching sessions and games, in a season. This year our U16 and U17 squads were confined to eight coaching sessions and four games, this had an impact on the Gerry Reilly Tournament. The Squads are the main feeder unit for our county underage teams. The coaches involved have all Level One qualifications and give of their coaching expertise for the future of our players. The county development squads span the ages of 12 to 17 and have been coached by those coaches and mentors who also take teams at club level. Each year we track and follow the progress of our underage players from their entry into the programme. Each team participated in a series of leagues, tournaments, blitz's and games internally and externally in both Hurling & Football. Go Games This has been an exceptional success throughout the county in 2008. Three dates were planned for the Club Go Games Summer Blitzes with June 28th, July 26th and August 23rd being the eagerly awaited dates. Each date had 9 clubs selected as host venues. Unfortunately due to the bad Summer Weather, we had to cancel the August blitz. In all 16 clubs played host to their neighbouring clubs. All host clubs must be commented on their welcome to travelling teams and the catering was excellent by all accounts. The "Go Games" were played in the best of spirits with the emphasis on participation, fun, enjoyment and no pressure on any child to perform. This was highlighted though the fact that the majority of referees were our new "Young Whistlers" who played a "No Score Keeping Policy". This did not deter in any way from the matches as children just concentrated on trying to improve their skills while having the best of fun. We are sure that the good relations that have been developed over the summer with clubs will continue to flourish in 2009 when others will have their opportunity to welcome their closest rivals to town. June 28th = 989 Children Participated July 26th = 932 Children Participated August 23rd = Cancelled Fair Play Leagues The Coiste Peil na nOg Board ran two brilliant "Fairplay" leagues for U 12's and U-14's again this year which saw 9 groups playing at U 12 and 8 groups competing at U 14. In all over 1,960 boys were kept active over the summer months with these leagues. Meath GAA Cul Camps 24 camps were organised throughout the county for both hurling and football. Over 3,000 children participated over the 8 weeks. We had 10 new coaches on board with our well established Cul Camp crew. We look forward with great anticipation to 2009. Play and Stay This proved to be an excellent venture in 2008. We had 6 host venues for four consecutive weeks in May host 3 other clubs for U-8 and U-10 Go Games. 24 clubs participated at the Host Venues and this provide games for 450 children. The Host Football Clubs were: Ballivor. Na Fianna, Dunderry, Slane, Moylagh, Round Towers. In Hurling Kiltale and St Martins Drumree were the Host venues. These clubs all received a set of Juvenile Portable Goals from Goalpost Ireland and were given the opportunity for 9 of their U-8 players to attend a special "Day Out in Croke Park. The children got to play a match and also had photos taken in the Presentation area on the Hogan Stand. We were also offered a second date for a similar trip and we selected 9 of the visiting clubs to attend this event. We also had 3 clubs who hosted Go Games blitzes for some of the other clubs from May to August. Well done to Donaghmore/ Ashbourne, St Colmcilles and Summerhill. We would like to thank all of the juvenile clubs for their participation and enthuasiasm to ensure this was a successful venture. Urban Coaches Project: This was a new initiative, which was funded through Leinster Council. We had to devise a plan for an Urban Project in order to avail of this extra funding. A proposal was made to five clubs to place a coach within their juvenile sector for 10 weeks to assist them with a number of projects. The proposal was accepted and so an interview system was organised to find suitablel candidates for this new role. The projects the coaches were responsible for were as follows: Assist Current Coaches within the club. Organise extra games/leagues/blitzes for those age groups who require them. Try and develop new Nursery Programme ideas. Organise a Database of Coaches who require Foundation Courses or workshops. Try and identify coaches who can assist with Club School Coaching Link. Work with Juvenile Committee in any projects they have prioritised for the Summer. The following were our successful Urban Coaches and the Clubs they were based in: Martin Wall - Dunboyne Gordan Weldon - Navan O Mahony's Donald Macleod - Trim Michael Cantwell - Simonstown Kieran Quigley - Donaghmore/Ashbourne Well done to each of the lads who were exceptional in their efforts in each of the clubs. Also our sincere thanks to each of our Club Contacts for this particular project. U16 football The U16 footballers got together in late April with a squad of fifty players. Two teams were entered into competition on the advice of Brian Carberry, which was an excellent idea as it gave us a good insight into the standard of football in the county. With only eight training sessions allowed by Leinster Council, group sessions were divided into technical, tactical, mental and physical fitness. Both Meath teams took part in four blitzes and during the summer Meath played eight matches, winning seven and losing just one to Dublin by three points. In the return game Dublin were beaten by two points. An Mhi also played eight games, winning four, and Meath and Dublin were the only counties to field second teams which was a great achievement. A squad of 30 travelled to Galway for a training game and this was a fantastic learning process and Galway were in Dunganny for a training session. On a sad note we lost a great friend and Gael Tommy Clusker after an illness. May he Rest In Peace. Manager Dermot Rooney would like to thank his selectors George Plunkett, Dermot Reilly, Michael Garland and Dessie Smith, as well as Brian Carberry and Christine O'Brien for all their help and last but not least Tara Rowan in the Pairc Tailteann office. Under 15 - Football 2008 was a successful year for the Meath U15 Football Development Squad. Under the guidance of Manager; Stan Gibney and selectors Brendan O'Connor, Frank Farrelly, P.J Cudden and Paul Everard trials began in May. After looking at over 120 players a panel of 60 was finally decided upon. During the summer we took part in a number of Leinster Blitz games, both at home in Dunganny and away in Wicklow, Kildare, Offaly and Westmeath where all panel members got a chance to impress. The Highlight of our season was winning the Tournament in Darver, County Louth on Saturday August 30th. In a thrilling semi final we got the better of the host team Louth. We defeated Wicklow in the Final and afterwards our captain Liam Bourke accepted the Peter Martin Cup on behalf of the team. We also played a few friendly games during the year. On August 23rd Roscommon brought 2 teams to Dunganny where it was "honours even" as in two very close games we won one and lost another. We finished off the season on October 2nd when we travelled to Monaghan impressive complex at Cloghan where in two games played under lights both out teams recorded victories over the hosts. We would like to thank all the County Committee Officers for their assistance and also all the clubs for the help and co-operation during the year and we now look forward with optimism to getting back to action in 2009. Under 14 - Football Meath U.14 Football team were managed by Brendan Dardis, with selectors Alan Daly, Tony Heaney, Gerard O'Rourke and Darren Clarke. Trials for the team took place across the county during March and April with a total of 200 players attending. There were 50 players representing 22 clubs from across the county selected for the panel. The panel was divided into two squads, Meath and An Mhí for the Leinster U.14 Football Tournament, with many players moving between the two teams. Both teams played 8 games over four Saturdays during May, June and July. In the first round Meath played Offaly and Louth in Navan, while An Mhí played Westmeath and Longford in Longford. In Allenwood, Kildare Meath played Loch Gorman and Westmeath, and in St. Margaret's An Mhí played Dublin North and Kildare. Round 3 saw Meath play Kildare and Dublin West in Dunganny and An Mhí play Wexford and Carlow in Grange, Co. Carlow. The fourth and final round had Meath play Wexford and Dublin South in Naomh Olaf, Dublin and An Mhí were in Stratford, Co. Wicklow to play Wicklow and Kilkenny. There was mixed fortunes for the two teams in this tournament. Meath won seven of their eight games, losing by a single point to Dublin West in Dunganny. While An Mhí were not so lucky, winning only one of their matches, against Kilkenny. They were very unfortunate to lose some matches by a single point. In September, Meath took part in the Tuft Cup in the Geraldine's Club, in Louth. Meath were defending champions. The squad for the Tuft cup was made up of players from the Meath and An Mhí teams. Their first game, the semi final, was against Kildare, went to extra time, before Meath secured victory. The final was against host's Louth. This was a fiercely contested final with Meath narrowly securing victory in the final moments of the game, and therefore retaining the Tuft Cup. Captain for the final Robbie Burlingham received the Tuft Cup from his grandmother, a member of the Tuft family. Meath and An Mhí played three challenge matches during the summer, with Kildare, Offaly and Louth providing the opposition. Overall, the squad performed very well, which augers well for the future. Hurling Activities 2008 The following is a summary of the activities, at this time, of the various Juvenile Hurling Development squads. Minor Squad After last year's All Ireland B success, hopes had been high that our current crop of players could emulate the form of 2007, and continue in winning ways. The group started in January of this year, with 70 players turning out for trials. Training at Dunganny proved to be successful and two teams were entered in the Leinster League at the start of the year. At that stage we were still unsure as to who would make the final cut. On top of the league games, challenges away against Antrim and guest trainers such as Dinny Cahill proved to be successful. This paved the way for the Leinster Championship and a great win over Westmeath in Pairc Tailteann paved the way for a promising assault on the year ahead. However two weeks later, Kildare got revenge on last year, by springing a defeat in the second round. A final round victory over Westmeath in Dunboyne ensured that we were going to make the knockout stages of the championship. We were pitted against Laois in this round, and despite an initial hiccup over where the game was going to take place, the young Royals raised a few eyebrows by defeating Laois at Clane to setup a tie against Carlow in Dr. Cullen Park. Unfortunately it was at this stage that the journey ended, when a poor first half performance proved fatal, and despite a resurgence in the second half, it was a case of "too little, too late". Carlow had beaten us by four points and we were out of the Leinster championship. Mentors; Paul Reilly, Paddy Kelly, Vinny Guy, Martin Massey and Derek Muldoon U16 Hurling The U16 development squad had a busy year that will conclude with a trip to Oban in Scotland at the end of October. The season began with the squad competing in two Leinster council blitz tournaments held concurrently at Bunclody in Wexford and in Dunganny. An 'A' team competed in Bunclody against Westmeath, Laois and Dublin while a 'B' selection stayed on Dunganny to take on Wicklow, Louth & Longford. The next series of tournaments on July 12th were staged in Kilkenny and Laois. On this occasion two teams of comparable ability were selected rather than an 'A' and 'B' squad. In addition to regular training sessions at Dunganny, a series of challenge games were arranged in preparation for the All-Ireland series. The first game was against a very accomplished Dublin 'A' squad played on the all-weather pitch at Ballymun-Kickhams ground in Dublin. Dublin won comfortably but there were some positive performances from individuals. Next, the squad travelled to Belfast to take on Antrim. The team put in their best performance of the year in very poor playing conditions and came away with a solid win. The following day, the team travelled to Carlow and played Wexford B. Meath came out second best on this occasion but the management team were encouraged by some strong performances. Meath were selected in a group with An Gaeltacht (Galway), Mayo and Westmeath in the All-Ireland series. With the benefit of a strong breeze, the Meath lads led by six points at half time in their first game against an Gaeltacht but gradually let the lead slip through the second half as the Galway outfit piled on the pressure and Meath struggled to win puck-out ball in the mid-field area. The second game ended with a very comfortable win for Meath against a weak Mayo team. Meath needed a win in the final game of the series against Westmeath in order to have a chance at going through into the A section semi-finals. In the end they were defeated by Westmeath in a close and hard-fought match. Westmeath went through to the 'A' section semi-finals and were ultimately beaten in the tournament final by Kerry. Meath's faced Carlow in the B section semi-final and with the benefit of a strong wind led by nine points at half-time. Carlow, helped by some exceptional long distance points from frees were the winners by a single point and went on to face Down in the Shield final. The final event of the year for the team took place on the first weekend in November when the squad travelled to Oban in Scotland to play against a South of Scotland selection in a shinty/hurling compromise game. Also, as mentioned before, it is apparent that the level of competition in the Meath club championships is not preparing the more accomplished players for the tougher challenges at inter-county level. Mentors: Conor Ferguson, Eoin Hayes, Paddy McGee U14 Squad The competitive year began for the U14 development squad with a trip to Ashbourne in May to partake in the Pre DJ Carey school open day. This day saw a comfortable victory against a Kildare team and then having decided to 'juggle' around the squad a bit, a disappointing narrow loss to Wicklow. Overall the performance given was acceptable in that competitive hurling would not take place in Meath for this age group until mid August. A friendly followed against a strong Dublin side, who would compete in competitions at a higher level. The victory for the Dublin side was to be expected but it was an important lesson for the squad and gave them all the insight into what was needed with respect to fitness and pace of the game, if they wished to progress further. The Trip to the DJ Carey School of Excellence was a roaring success with the great man himself tutoring the lads on a few occasions and indeed commenting on the great skill and effort he had seen, when watching our final game against Wicklow. The competitive highlight for the Meath squad was when they had overcome a disastrous and nervy first half against a strong Kilkenny South side to up their game significantly and come out well on top in the second half. After several more training sessions a trip was made to Bray to play Wicklow in two consecutive matches in order to give both squads some idea as what to expect when going to the Tony Forristal tournament in Waterford. On a day where the weather was unkind to both squads the Meath team ran out clear and convincing winners in both games. The necessary jump in improvement had been seen. All was ready now for the trip to Waterford at the end of August to contest the B division in the Tony Forristal/Sonny Walsh tournament. The squad headed to Waterford with great hope but also knew that they were in a tough division, drawn again Antrim, Carlow and Kildare. Carlow in particular seemed to have being getting the upper hand against Meath teams of all ages in '08. Only one team could win through to a final. The first match against a strong Antrim side was going to be crucial as to the final outcome of the division. A disastrous start for the Meath team conceding two goals in the first five minutes left the players a bit shell shocked and lead to a 'flat' first half effort. A huge effort to peg back an unassailable lead commenced in the second half, however the game was gone after the initial twenty minutes and a final score of 2-12 to 2-01 saw Antrim run out comfortable winners. Kildare and Carlow were blown away with clear victories for the Meath team, Kildare being defeated 6-06 to 1-08 and Carlow going down by 2-12 to 1-4. This was the display expected from the beginning but which didn't materialize in the first twenty minutes against a strong Antrim side. So many great performances by so many players in Waterford was a joy to witness. The weekend was completed with a challenge game against the host club Roanmore U14s. Again although tired from the previous day's exertions the lads did not let up and ran out comfortable winners. A perfect result to end the year. Roanmore went on to be Leinster Feile Champions in their division. So all in all, one can be happy with the performance of this squad and could see that with a little bit more improvement, success and trophies would not be too far away Mentors: Conor Gavin (St Martins), Harry Randle (Donaghmore-Ashbourne), Ken McKenna (Donaghmore-Ashbourne) U13 Squad The Meath under 13 development squad had three weeks of trials. The squad comprised of forty players. This squad received continuous coaching throughout the summer. On the playing field, two challenge matches were played against Kildare as well as a blitz tournament on the last weekend in August in Portlaoise. U12 hurling Trials were held over five (5) sessions starting Friday 18th April 2008. We had 70 players attending with most clubs being represented. From these trials a Squad consisting of 36 players representing 15 clubs throughout the County was selected, as outlined below: Training Sessions The squad had 5 sessions from Friday 6th June - Friday 4th July. There was a break in training during July due to the U12 championship taking place. The squad had a further 5 sessions from September 5th - October 3rd. During all sessions there was an average of 32 players in attendance. Sessions concentrated on skill development. Paudie Butler gave the final session with the squad on Oct 3rd. Kilkenny Trip On Sunday 28th September the squad travelled to Kilkenny to play their first competitive games against St James Stephens. The squad was divided into an "A" and "B" panels for the games. Both games were played in St Ciaran's college over 60mins divided into three (3) twenty minute segments. Both Meath teams gave a great account of themselves however they were both narrowly beaten. There was some outstanding hurling displayed on the day and the panels were soon lifted when Brian Cody greeted the teams and had a talk for 30mins after the match. Brian gave the squad a lot of encouragement and was full of praise at the level of skill displayed on the day. After a well earned lunch the squad went to Nowlan Ppark for a senior county quarter-final, after which Riche Power had a chat with the squad. Overall The U12 Development squad has been hugely committed throughout the year. The level of skill shown was remarkable and I believe the players enjoyed their experience with the squad. I would like to send a special word of thanks to all parents who helped out so much during the training sessions and on our away trip. Manager: Paul Fitzharris (Ratoath), Assistant Manager: Gerard Smith (Boardsmill) Bridging the Gap to the future "There are many ways of going forward, but there is only one way of standing still." The coaching committee are guided by up to date practice guidelines, and regular in service training modules. The Coaching staff are updating their Continuing personal development pathway on an ongoing basis, thus ensuring our players are exposed to the latest in coaching practice. The future plans for coaching and games is to sectorise the county into four distinct areas, with a Games Promotion Officer responsible for each. The next stage in this process is the recruitment of an additional Games Promotion Office to facilitate this. Coaching Team; Christine O'Brien, Dudley Farrell, Maria Kealy, Brian Carberry Tweet

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