A former manager with one of the bigger soccer clubs in Britain once said about measuring how good a club was; "show me your trophies and I'll tell you how good you are." That's all very well in its own way but if that adage was used to judge success in the majority of GAA clubs then the association would not be the strong, vibrant outfit that it is in practically every parish in this country. Yes success is central to the well-being of the Association but you can only have one winner in any particular grade and any particular competition but it would be wrong to suggest that the others who do not win are not successful. By John P Graham. Last year Killeevan's year was summed up as "so near and yet so far" and that very same description could be applied to the club year in 2006 given that, come the annual general meeting or the annual get together there will be no silverware on the table. The lack of the outward signs or trappings of success however does not mean that nothing was done, that it was not another hard-working year. It was every bit of that, a great year of effort at all levels with activity from under eight right up to senior level that saw Killeevan in contention for honours in a number of grades. Most disappointing was probably their defeat in the final of the Dr. Ward Cup when they lost by four points to junior double winners Drumhowan and a team that also came within a point of reaching the final of the Ulster junior football club championship. In assessing that team manager Ciaran Brennan was very realistic and readily admitted that his team was defeated by a better outfit on the day. "A bit of luck can see a team winning a championship," he told people after that game in Scotstown "but it takes a good team to win a double." Reaching the final of the Dr Ward Cup could be seen as progress from last year when Killeevan lost out in the semi-final, again taking their eye off the ball in the final minutes against Corduff while this year they simply conceded too much ground to Drumhowan in the early stages of the match. They mounted a strong revival in the final 10 minutes but they just simply had too much to do. Killeevan conceded a soft goal just before the break and never really recovered although Ciaran Brennan had always said to them that it was not the mistake that counted but how they reacted to a mistake that would decided progress or not. "That goal really knocked the stuffing out of us. It was a repeat of last year against Corduff in the semi final but I have always said to the boys that it is not the mistakes we make but how we react to those mistakes that really counts especially in close matches. Having said that though Drumhowan were the better team on the day and we were very disappointing in the second-half. Even though we conceded the goal with the last kick of the first half we needed to come out and get some early scores and we did have chances in the first 10 minutes of the second-half but we couldn't even get a point and if we had got the first score you never know. Drumhowan played how we needed to play at that stage and I told them afterwards that a team can win a championship with a little bit of luck but you have to have more than luck when you win a double. It takes a very good team to win a double. They were the better team in the second half, our heads were down a bit over the goal even though we said to them to forget about the goal, to just go out and play the same football as we had played in the second quarter but things just weren't working out although I think maybe some of the lads were trying too hard because we indulged in a bid of over-carrying and a few moves that might have produced scores yielded nothing. "The lay off between the semi final and the final didn't help us either. Drumhowan had two good competitive matches in Ulster. We played a couple of challenge games but they are never as good as games where something is at stake and that long gap between games at certain times of the year is something the county board will have to look at. Overall though, it has been a good season and the boys have worked hard. We got to the semi-final of the junior championship and the final of the junior league and we lost to Drumhowan in both but there is no shame in that as they are a good side and will do well in intermediate next year." Down at the other end of the spectrum though, the club is playing a major role in providing a sporting outlet and facilities for the youth of the parish. The club runs development squads at under eight and under ten where Dominic Phillips, Michael Quigley and Jim Graham did excellent work during the year by arranging coaching sessions, fun games and challenge matches against squads at the same age level in other clubs and then rounding off the whole year's activity with a party for all the youngsters in the Community Centre. "We are catering very well for all of the players at this level but we are losing a number of players because from the parish because they are going to schools outside the parish and that is something that the club will just simply have to work on because we cannot afford to lose any players in our situation as we are working on limited numbers," commented Jim Graham. Jim and junior team captain, Vincent Martin worked with the under 12 team which was the only underage team that was fielded by the club under their own name and "if a couple of little things had maybe worked out better it could have been so different. We have a good competitive little squad and we got some very good results to reach the semi-final of Division 4 where we were defeated by a point by Killanny on the day but they were probably too strong for that division and probably should have been in Division 3. Most of those players were also involved with the Killanny under 13 squad and our team, which was an amalgamation with Aghabog, lost by a very small margin in a play-off for a semi-final place to the same opposition. "We were also amalgamated with Aghabog at under 14, under 16 and minor level all of which gave young lads in those age groups a chance of good competitive matches. The U14's lost to Blackhill at the semi final stage but the U16's and minors probably didn't do themselves justice although having said that there could have been a better effort. We did make some impression though and it was heartening to see four of our minor players called up for the minor trials a couple of weeks back. In fact with the work we have done in the last three or four years when we put a basic under age structure in place has seen us become very competitive at underage level. It doesn't keep going on its own though, it is something that we just simply have to keep working at because it would be very easy to lose ground given that young lads now have so many other distractions. That work has seen us now with a very strong group coming through and most weeks we would have up to 50 young boys out at our training and coaching sessions but we are still losing a number of players on the fringes of the parish and that is something that we will have to take seriously going forward. The County Board should not allow that to happen and the parish rule should be applied. Poor organisation at Youth Board level also affected the competitions particularly when referees did not turn up and but for the fact that Dermot Lynch came in at very short notice to referee some of our matches they just simply wouldn't have happened. Dermot did an excellent job in that regard and other clubs too were cooperative in allowing a local referee to take charge because if we hadn't been able to do that then more games would have been lost. I know there are plans to revamp the whole youth board fixtures setup in the county next year and we certainly will welcome that because certain aspects of that area were far from ideal during 2006. We also have a very good young lad who is taking up refereeing and it was great to see Ciaran Rudden running a line at the county minor final this year." Off the field the club has been act as well and plans are now in hand to upgrade facilities at Sarsfield Park with an improved floodlighting system for training. This year too quite a lot of money was spent on upgrading the showers and the dressing rooms but these are all facilities that have to be provided for players in the modern game. Maintenance is a big factor in the unseen work and the club are drawing up a schedule of activity for that whole area of our work. The maintenance of the facilities we have is essential and now that the club has secured a lease on the property they may be able to secure some funding by way of grants. One issue that will have to be addressed next year will be the provision of separate training facilities because the pitch is taking a lot of use which ultimately will see this the surface deteriorate and that may have to be made a priority for the incoming committee. Finance is of course a question and a problem that is ever present and but for the weekly Lotto a lot of these things would not be able to be taken on board or completed. The club relies on the goodwill of an awful lot of people to organise their weekly and monthly rota system that keeps the scheme ticking over with sellers and those who organise the draw on Sunday nights, something that is still an attraction locally with people coming along just to be involved. Club Treasurer, Jane Flynn and club secretary Patricia Smith continued to look after those aspects of the club affairs and but for the dedication of people like that we would not be in the healthy state we are. The club PRO Kieran McGarvey is up there with the best and keeping everybody abreast of our activities. Another date in the social calendar that is still a big one in the parish is the club's annual get-together which is still held on Easter Sunday night and this year was no exception. Jimmy McKenna was the latest former player to be inducted into the club Hall of Fame and Dan Thompson was the guest of honour on the night. Other presentations also saw Paul O'Reilly pick up the senior player of the year while Jason Quigley picked up the award at minor level. So another year of near misses and maybes but then only one club can win a championship or league in any grade in any county which leaves Killeevan a member of the majority, but then there's 2007 and as of now they can win everything. Tweet

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