There was further significant success for Kells handballer Gary McConnell when he marked the end of 2006 by winning the boys 15 and under title at the US Junior Nationals in Kansas City, Missouri. Of course, McConnell, a student at Kells Community School, is no stranger to such triumphs as he also won this particular title in Phoenix, Arizona, a year earlier and his big ambition for the future is to clinch the world championship title at 19 and under level. McConnell had reached the semi-finals in 2005, so his back-to-back victories since have clearly marked him out as an immensely talented and determined exponent of the ancient game. And his most recent US success was achieved the hard way as he had to play five matches to reach the final against talented Tyrone youngster Caolan Daly who seemed to take a decisive grip on the decider when he won a very tight first game 21-20. The close nature of the tussle continued as McConnell drew level by winning the second game 21-19 to force the contest to a first to 11 aces clincher. With the pressure really on, the Kells lad edged it 11-10 to retain his title and demonstrate once again what a skilful player he is. What must have made the whole experience even more special was the fact that his mother Tina and father Anthony - who also acts as his coach - were in Kansas to see him triumph. McConnell achieved another success in April when he beat Wexford's Tommy Dunne 15-10, 15-4 in the Leinster under-16 40x20 championship final. However, disappointment followed when he lost to Paddy Cooney of Mayo in three sets in the All-Ireland semi-final at Ballinrobe. He also suffered defeat at the final hurdle in the Leinster minor championship in August when going under to talented Kilkenny player Ciaran Neary on a 14-21, 19-21 score line. Brian Carroll is another Kells handballer who continues to do his club and county proud and he did extremely well to reach the final of the highly competitive World Colleges' Championship in Los Angeles in February where, unfortunately, he lost to Luis Moreno of Mexico in three sets. His club mates Paul Carroll and David Smith were eliminated in the earlier stages. Carroll followed up his fine showing in Los Angeles by winning the Leinster intermediate singles title at Ballymore-Eustace in March, beating Wexford's Gavin Buggy comfortably on a 21-16, 21-14 score line in the final. However, on a return visit to the Co. Kildare venue Carroll and his Kells colleague Carl Browne lost in three sets to Kilkenny's Billy Burke and Eamonn Law in the provincial doubles decider. On the same programme Jimmy Reilly and John Leahy (Kells) won the Leinster silver masters 'B' doubles title when they defeated James Doyle and Donal McGuckian of Wexford 21-15, 21-14 in the final. There was further success for Brian Carroll in March when he won the Irish national 40x20 singles title by getting the better of Mayo's Vinny Moran 21-15, 19-21, 11-7 in the final. He had earlier beaten Wicklow's Johnny Willoughby 18-21, 21-12, 11-5 and Cork's Pat Buckley 21-8, 21-10 in the semi-final. In late March Carroll reached the All-Ireland 40x20 intermediate singles final when he beat Mayo's Joe McCann 21-12, 21-20 at the penultimate hurdle in Kells and he finished the job the following month by defeating Ger Coonan (Tipperary) 2-1 in the decider at O'Loughlins. However, there was also disappointment for the Kells club on that programme as Jimmy Reilly and John Leahy failed in their bid to secure the All-Ireland 40x20 Masters B Doubles Championship when they lot to Tipperary's Pat Flattery and Jim McQuaid 1-2 in the final. Nonetheless, getting to that stage represented a fine achievement. The pairing achieved provincial success less than five months later when they beat Gerry Falsey and Richard Dunne from the O'Loughlin's club in Kilkenny in the Leinster 60x30 Masters B Doubles final at Mullingar. Impressive serving was one of the key elements in the success for the Kells clubmen and they laid the foundations for their title annexation when they comfortably won the first set 21-6. The experienced pair from Kilkenny were determined not to go down without a serious fight and they responded well in the second game, before the Meath partnership found their rhythm and closed out the match 21-19. Leahy was in winning form again in late August when he claimed his second Leinster 60x30 title of the year with a victory over Stephen Murphy from the Castlebridge club in Wexfiord in the Masters B Singles Championship final at Croke Park. Leahy opened up a commanding 9-1 lead in the opening set, before Murphy reduced the deficit to 8-10, but with his position of supremacy threatened the Kells clubman responded very positively and soon asserted his authority again to close out the set 21-14 and lay a solid foundation for outright success. He finished the job clinically in the second set as he won it with ease to clinch the provincial title. Unfortunately, he suffered disappointment in the All-Ireland semi-final when he lost to Mayo's Tom Sweeney. Leahy won the first game 21-11, but Sweeney battled back to win a pulsating second set 21-17. The Kells clubman looked to be on his way to the title when he opened up a 9-0 lead in the decider, but Sweeney recovered to level it at 10-10 and then look control to win it 21-10. Tom Sheridan continues to be competitive in a sport he has mastered to such an extent over many years, but his bid for yet another All-Ireland title faltered in March when he lost 19-21, 18-21 to Antrim's Ricky McCann in a singles quarter-final at Newry. However, he enjoyed a good run in the All-Ireland 60x30 hardball championship, including a comfortable victory over Armagh's James Doyle at Kingscourt where the Kells veteran triumphed in straight sets on a 21-10, 21-4 score line. That win earned Sheridan a semi-final tilt against Damien Martin and he advanced to the decider in straight sets, winning 21-15, 21-3. However, his successful run ended in the final when he came up against Dublin's immensely talented player Eoin Kennedy, who is ranked in the world's top 10. Sheridan, to his credit, really put it up to his younger opponent and rocked him by winning the first set comfortably on a 21-9 score line. Kennedy regained his composure to claim the second 21-10 and force the decider into a tie-breaker. If the Dublin player thought veteran Sheridan would fold under pressure he was mistaken and the duo were locked together at 4-4, 6-6 and 9-9 in the short last set. But Kennedy found most when it mattered and scraped through to clinch the title in a thriller. Sheridan repeated his earlier victory over Damien Martin when he beat him 21-14, 21-4 in the All-Ireland senior 60x30 singles championship quarter-final at Abbeylara, Co. Longford, in July, but he bowed out when losing to Michael Gregan (Wicklow) 14-21, 21-10, 10-21 at Garryhill. In the senior doubles section of the same competition Carl Browne and Gary McConnell lost to Wexford's Colin Keeling and Gavin Buggy 14-21, 4-21 in the round of 16. Sheridan and Walter O'Connor have been a renowned doubles partnership for many years and they made an effort to win the All-Ireland senior title for the first time since 2004. It will be remembered that they got the better of Kilkenny's Michael 'Ducksy' Walsh and Eugene Downey in a superbly contested final that year to achieve one of their sweetest successes. This year they came up against Mayo duo Dessie Keegan and Joe McCann at the penultimate hurdle at Mullingar in late August and, unfortunately, that's where their campaign came to an end as the men from the west won comfortably in straight sets. The opener was well-contested, with Keegan and McCann taking it 21-14, but they assumed complete control in the second which they won 21-3 to book a final ticket against Eoin Kennedy and Egin Jensen, the former Royal County player who has formed a brilliant alliance with the Dubliner. It was a particularly busy weekend for the Mayo men as they both lined out with Ballaghaderreen in the Mayo Senior Football Championship match against Kiltane the day after the clash with the Meath duo. Eugene O'Reilly and Peter Flanagan (Kells) enjoyed a good run in the Leinster Junior B Doubles Championship and included a victory over Podge O'Brien and Adrian Hoare of Crinkle, Co. Offaly, when they came through comfortably on a 21-5, 21-9 score line. On the team front there was disappointment for the Kells club in the Leinster 60x30 junior inter-club final at Mullingar in early June when the combination of Gary McConnell, John Leahy, David Smith and Peter Flanagan went under to Crinkle. The Kells club made valuable strides towards the promotion of handball when they launched a programme for local schools during the year with the objective of reviving and increasing interest in the club. This is clearly the sort of move that should also be undertaken by other clubs in the county in a bid to keep the great game of handball alive and thriving and Kells are to be applauded for their initiative in this regard. After all, it is through involvement in sport - the game of handball included - that young people can be active and indulge in healthy pursuits. Tweet

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