Conor McManus says Vocational Schools football was very beneficial to him during his formative years.

The 2013 All Star attacker played schools football at Beech Hill College in Monaghan town and he stated at the launch of this year's Ulster Vocational Schools competition that it helped make him the player he is today:

"There were 16 of us on our panel this year that played Vocational Schools football," the Clontibret clubman notes. "That's over half of your panel so obviously in Monaghan it has been a very strong launching pad for players within the county.

"It was very important to me in my development as a player. When you go into school at 11 or 12 and don't leave it until you are 17 or 18, it's pretty formative years in your early career and what happens there can determine what happens down the line.

"You always remember the football people from school more than anything else and there is no doubt that the Vocational Schools system has been very beneficial to Monaghan and all the other counties in Ulster when it comes to producing players." Tweet

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