GAA to benefit from Athlone IT development
April 30, 2011The development of two new sand-based pitches, as well as a multi-million euro high performance indoor sports arena at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT), is positive news for the GAA in Westmeath.
When completed, these state-of-the-art facilities will be available to GAA teams in the greater Athlone area for use. The development of a full-size sand-based pitch with floodlights, which is being carried out in conjunction with Westmeath GAA and the Leinster Council, will be especially welcomed by Westmeath inter-county sides who have had no set training base down the years and have had to rely on the generosity and goodwill of clubs to provide them with training facilities.
"We are looking forward to the completion of the new sand-based pitches," AIT's Games Development Administrator Garry Sammon enthuses.
"Both the main pitch and the training pitch should be ready for playing on within the next couple of months. The new pitches and indoor sports arena will make Athlone IT a Centre of Excellence for the GAA in Westmeath."
Of course, Westmeath GAA will also benefit from AIT's new high performance indoor sports arena, which is in its early stages of development. This state-of-the-art development covers three main elements - The construction of a curved six-lane athletics arena with seating for 1,500 spectators, a two-and-a-half storey multi-use building and auditorium for basketball, all net court sports and futsal, which is the FIFA-backed indoor soccer game.
An outdoor spectator stand for up to 500 people overlooking the existing 400-metre outdoor athletics track is the final part of the project on a 1.6 hectare site in the centre of the campus.
An elite squad gym, 12 changing rooms, medical room, a performance laboratory, aerobics studio, fitness suite, physical therapy suites and coffee dock are also part of the ambitious project, along with a plaza-style entrance to the building with paving. These facilities will compliment the existing FIFA 2* pitch at the college.
AIT has and continues to place a strong emphasis on the promotion of Gaelic Games. The Institute fields 14 GAA teams each year which are as follows: senior football, intermediate football, junior football, Freshers football (x2), senior hurling, intermediate hurling, junior hurling, Freshers hurling, senior ladies football, Freshers ladies football, senior camogie, Freshers camogie and handball.
AIT GAA club endeavours to secure the best coaches possible to manage the various teams both from within and outside the college. This year, former Garrycastle manager Martin McCabe was in charge of AIT's flagship Sigerson Cup team which suffered a shock first round defeat to IT Carlow.
Garry Sammon oversees AIT's coach education programme which sees students from the college give Foundation Level and Level 1 coaching courses to school children.
"Sixty children from the locality take part in our Foundation Level course each year with another 25 taking part in the Level 1 course. We also promote the GAA by hosting football and hurling blitzes, and indoor hurling," explains Garry, who has been Games Development Administrator for the past nine years.
During the summer holidays, Garry assists Westmeath GAA's Games Development Manager Noel Delaney and full-time coaching officers Michael McHugh, Eddie Bouabbse and James Heffernan in coordinating summer camps, cluster coaching and the 'Coaching on the Greens in Athlone' programme. He is also involved with the county football development squads and is currently managing the Westmeath under 15 team.
Sammon's background is steeped in the GAA. A brilliant underage player with Garrycastle, he won JFC and IFC honours with the Athlone-based club before his career was cut short by injury. Centre back on the Westmeath team which lost the 1992 Leinster minor final to a late Meath goal, he teamed up the aforementioned Martin McCabe to train Garrycastle to back-to-back Westmeath SFC titles in 2001 and 2002. He now lives in Kiltoom, which is the home of reigning Connacht club football champions St. Brigid's.
Not surprisingly, Garry was bitterly disappointed with AIT's short-lived Sigerson Cup campaign this year, particularly as it followed a decent Ryan Cup campaign and an appearance in the last-four of last year's Sigerson Cup under the management of Ed Burns.
"Having reached last year's semi-final and put in a strong showing in the league (Ryan Cup), it was very disappointing to go out in the first round," he says.
"We only lost to the reigning Sigerson champions DCU by four points in the league, and also took Laois to extra-time in the O'Byrne Cup Shield, but for whatever reason, we didn't perform against Carlow."
He continues: "While we can't have any excuses, it's getting harder and harder to prepare teams for the Sigerson Cup because of the fact that some final exams are now being held before Christmas rather than at the end of the college term in May. Students are under pressure with their studies and don't always have time for sport. At the end of the day, they come to AIT to further their academic careers, but the opportunity is also there for them to further their sporting careers."
As ever, Westmeath was well represented on this year's AIT Sigerson team with 2008 All-Star goalkeeper Gary Connaughton (Tubberclair) being joined by Mark McCallon (Garrycastle), Paul Bannon (Athlone), Ian Coffey (Tubberclair) and Fintan Reilly (Milltownpass).
Having used the O'Byrne Cup to fine-tune their preparations, Athlone were strongly fancied to account for IT Carlow in the first round on February 17 last and the signs looked encouraging when Roscommon's Cathal Shine capitalised on a goalkeeping error to find the net inside the first minute.
But playing on their home pitch, the underdogs refused to panic and recovered strongly to take a 0-8 to 1-4 lead into the break. Martin McCabe's charges still had wind advantage to come in the second half and with Fintan Reilly and Frank Burke in fine scoring form, they regained a two-point lead with 15 minutes remaining.
However, Carlow drew level with points from Wexford ace Ben Brosnan and JJ Smith before a Daithi Carroll goal put them in the driving seat and they eventually won by four points, 1-15 to 1-11.
"In hindsight, our preparations weren't the best for the game," Sammon recalls.
"When the county teams started back training in January, it hit us particularly hard. Most of our players are from Westmeath, Offaly, Longford and Roscommon and they are small counties in football terms that can't afford to be without anyone. The bigger counties can get by without their college players until closer to the championship.
"It is a measure of the standards that we have set for ourselves that we always expect to do well in the Sigerson Cup. We have been punching well above our weight in the competition considering we have just 3,500 students compared to other colleges who have 20,000."
The AIT team which lost to IT Carlow in the 2011 Sigerson Cup was: Gary Connaughton (Westmeath); Mark McCallon (Westmeath), Cathal Duignan (Roscommon), Colm Garvey (Roscommon); Aidan Rohan (Longford), Paul Bannon (Westmeath), Matthew Mitchell (Offaly); Ger Dennigan (Longford), Eddie Hoare (Galway); Nigel Dunne (Offaly), Brian Connor (Offaly), David Egan (Offaly); Ian Coffey (Westmeath), Cathal Shine (Roscommon), Frank Burke (Galway). Subs used: John Reynolds (Offaly), Fintan Reilly (Westmeath) and Cathal Blake (Galway). Tweet
