John Mitchells have been one of the busiest clubs in Louth over the past number of years in terms of developing their impressive facilities at Ballybailie. The clubrooms have been upgraded while the immaculate pitch has been enhanced by the construction of a wall and stand, which has resulted in a number of championship matches being hosted by the club over the past two years. This season has witnessed the club invest in its future of playing talent with a great effort being put into the juvenile section. According to club vice-chairman, Ray Sweeney, that effort has already reaped a reward and the indications are that there is a bright future ahead for the John Mitchels. "It has been brilliant this year to see the success of the juvenile section of the club. Aside from the success on the field, it has been really encouraging to see the amount of juveniles who are attending training, and we have been even more impressed by the number of parents who have become involved. "It has been brilliant for the club to be able to field teams from U-8 to U-14 level and for the committee the juvenile section is very important," continued Ray. "In the last two or three years a number of new houses have been built in the area which has boosted our junior section, but equally important is the fact that the parents have come in to help out. I'd say six or seven of them have already completed the Foundation Level coaching course and some have even moved on to Level One. "Everyone involved is trying very hard and they children are being coached very well so it is not surprising that we have enjoyed some success on the field which gives everyone a lift. "It is fantastic to see the children coming in and they seem to love it. We got a set of jerseys sponsored for them and it makes them feel a part of the club which is vital for our future." Overall it has been a very successful year for the John Mitchels underage section and club secretary, Des Halpenny, outlines just what has been achieved: The club had a successful year at Juvenile level this year fielding at Under 9/10/11/12/13 and 14's on our own. Training began in March and the children developed remarkably over the course of the season. All of the teams competed well in their respective grades, the Under 9,11 and 13 in OgSport competitions and U10/12's in the Cumann Lu Lar Theas. The coaching credentials of the club were also strengthened with Gerry Gallagher, John Jennings, Joe Whyte, Gerry Matthews and Alan Mc Cormack receiving their Foundation Level Coaching Badges. The club held a very successful Easter draw in aid of the club juveniles. First prize of an Easter hamper went to Marion Smith, Rahanna Lodge, Ardee. Many thanks to all those who helped out and contributed, especially Paul Lanney, SuperValu, Ardee for his generous sponsorship and for allowing the club to sell on his premises. In addition to this, the Under 9 squad were delighted to receive a new set of jerseys from Precision Nutrition Ltd. Many thanks to Precision Nutrition for their very generous sponsorship. On the playing field, the Under 10's won the B section of the Cumann Lu Lar Theas with a resounding 1-9 to 1-0 win over Hunterstown Rovers in the final. Team: Trevor Matthews, Andrew Bingham, David Anderson, Aine Reilly, Sean Roddy, John Gallagher, Shane Crosson, Eimear Mc Coy, Sean Sweeney, Liam Devitt, Caoimhe Mc Cormack, Ciaran Roddy, Conor Horan, James Reilly. The Under 11's competed well and having beaten St. Josephs in the quarter final, went down to Naomh Mairtin in the semi final of the OgSport competition. The Under 12's emerged victorious over their neighbours St. Marys in the Cumann Lú Lár Theas Shield final. Both sides showed great determination and no shortage of skill but it was the Mitchels finishing power and movement up front which separated the sides. At this level goals win games and spectators were treated to 12 in all. The Ardee side opened the scoring with a point on the fourth minute but a goal two minutes later from Aaron Keely settled the Ballybailie lads and they went on to score a further three goals in the first half, Shane Crosson hitting two and Kevin Gallagher the other. At midfield Neil Reilly and Mitchell Keenan were immense and won clean ball and distributed it intelligently to their forward line to keep the pressure up as the first half closed. On the resumption, St. Marys pushed forward but staunch defending from Gareth Kane, Cathal McCoy, Fergal Horan, Eoin O'Malley and Connell Keenan kept the blues at bay and Marys found it difficult to cut the deficit. Up front Ciaran Mc Cormack and Gary Awylward worked tirelessly as did David Whyte, David Anderson and Brendan Kerr when sprung from the bench. Mikey Nulty, Kevin and John Gallagher added to the Mitchels goal tally. To their credit St. Marys never gave up and played until the final whistle but it was John Gallagher who had the final word when he linked up with his brother Kevin to find the net with time up. Final score: John Mitchels 8-13 St. Marys 4-4. Team:Ciaran Mc Cormack, Gareth Kane, Cathal Mc Coy, Fergal Horan, Eoin O Malley, Connell Keenan, Mitchell Keenan, Neil Reilly, Shane Crosson, Mikey Nulty, Kevin Gallagher, Gary Awylward, Aaron Keely, John Gallagher, David Whyte, David Anderson, Brendan Kerr The Under 13 squad entered the OgSport League and Championship. In June they reached the final of the League where Na Piarsaigh were the opposition in Darver. Played in fine conditions, both sides served up a close and entertaining first half. John Durnin, Cathal Bradley, Neil Reilly and Mitchell Keenan kept things tight at the back while up front Ciaran Mc Cormack and Connell Keenan created the space and opportunities for Kevin Gallagher to hit 4 points with the left. It was Mitchels who started the brighter on the resumption and a blitz of goals in a five minute spell from Aaron Kiely and Mikey Nulty (2) left 9 between the sides. The Dundalk men did not give up however and soon goaled to leave just two scores in it on the three quarter mark. The defence had to withstand intense pressure but keeper Dylan Crawley and Man of the Match John Devitt were up to the task and cleared their lines time and time again. Conor Reilly and Cillian Crossan restored the order at midfield while Ryan Cahill, Mikey Nulty and Kevin Gallagher clicked again up front. Jamie Curtis netted to give the team a comfort zone and at the final whistle it was left to Captain Cillian Crossan to receive the cup from OgSports Hugh O'Hare. Final score, John Mitchels 4-8 Na Piarsaigh 1-5. The team also reached the final of the Under 13 Championship. Having accounted for Hunterstown Rovers, St. Josephs, Roche Emmets and Glyde/Westerns along the way, they faced Kilkerley/Malachys in the final. A slow start cost the lads on the day and although they tried hard, never performed as well they could and went down by 3-9 to 2-5. Nevertheless, two competitions entered, two finals and one cup was a terrific season for the squad. Team: Neil Reilly, John Devitt, John Durnin, Cathal Bradley, Mitchell Keenan, Cillian Crossan, Conor Reilly, Aaron Kiely, Ryan Cahill, Mikey Nulty, Ciaran Mc Cormack, Dylan Crawley, Jamie Curtis, Connell Keenan, Kevin Gallagher, Eoin O Malley, Gareth Kane, Jake Stewart The club also fielded an Under 14 team in county board competitions, the first year we were able to do so on our own. The team tried hard on the bigger pitch and will put their experience to good use next season as a number of them are still underage in 2009. Juvenile Mentors 2008: Under 9: Gerry Gallagher, Angela Sweeney Under 10: Gerry Gallagher, Angela Sweeney Under 11: Mairead Mc Coy, Margaret Comey Under 12: Margaret Comey, Alan Mc Cormack Under 13: Jimmy Reilly Under 14: Jimmy Reilly, Tony Kane In terms of adult football, the Mitchels continue to ply their trade in the Junior ranks, and although they didn't challenge for honours this year, Ray Sweeney has been encouraged by what he has seen. "At the beginning of the year a number of new players transferred into the club and they have really made a difference. Some of these lads hadn't been playing football in a while but when you are a small club with a small squad it is great to see new faces coming in. "I have to say they new players made a big at training and they really made a big impact particularly with the second team squad which doesn't have a lot of players and tends to get small as the season goes on. "It is great to see boys who will make an effort and have improved over the year with some even getting on to the first team." The injection of new blood into the squad gave the Mitchels a boost going into the championship, but according to Ray, despite some good performances they didn't have the bit of luck needed to make it through to the knockout stages. "When we look back on the year, we feel that we could have made progress. We lost to St Nicholas in a game we should have won and they went on to reach the final, while we drew with St Kevins and lost to Annaghminnon to a very late goal. "I suppose it was one of those years for us but the encouraging thing was that we were competitive and that is very important to keep the players interested. I think the new structure is good for us and it gives the players plenty of football and we are aiming to build on that next year." In terms of the league, Ray felt that having failed to get the good start that is required, they faded away but was happy to see the club pick up a few wins to keep them off the bottom of the table. At committee level, Ray points out that they are working as hard as ever to maintain the progress that has been made in recent years. "We decided that as a committee we would meet every week just to make sure we keep on top of things. I know some clubs meet only once a month but we that that club runs a lot better with weekly meetings and we can certainly see the value of it with the developments in the past three or four years. "As with any club there is always something to be done and it takes a big effort from those involved in the committee. The committee members have put in a huge amount of work and while we do have the odd argument, I suppose that is normal." An indication of the work being put in is the fact that John Mitchels won the Best Presented Pitch Award from Louth County Council and Ray was loud in his praise of James Halpenny, Paddy Kane, John Joe Curtis and Joe Melia for this honour. "The club are also very proud of the fact that they were the first in the county to install a defibrillator and already have ten members trained in how to use it." The club embarked on a major fundraising venture in May. In association with McCabes Toyota Ardee, John Mitchels joined forces with Ardee St. Marys, Sean Mc Dermotts and Hunterstown Rovers under the banner of "Ferdia GAA Clubs" for a joint fundraising venture with four cars as the prizes. This was a unique concept where the four clubs pooled their resources and promoted partnership within the GAA community in the area. The draw proved to be a very worthwhile venture and all members entered into the spirit of it and we had a very positive response. Many thanks to all those who helped out and contributed and a very special thanks to John Mc Cabe of Toyota Ardee for initiating and inviting the club into the scheme and for his never ending support during the draw. Tweet

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