It was a busy Saturday in Ballinakill last weekend, where all Garden County Academy squads trained together for the first time since being formed. It was great to see so many enthusiastic players in Ballinakill on the morning and the coaches were all decked out in their new GCA branded training bibs.
The U13’s had a games session where over 30 players got involved in a mini-blitz. There was lots of talent on display and the future certainly looks bright for Wicklow GAA. The U13’s next session will be in Ballinakill on the 5th of April at 11.00am.
The U14’s had a coaching session and were joined by Gary Jameson, Head of Strength and Conditioning with GCA. It was encouraging to note that despite the fact that the U14 Feile was taking place at the same time, 32 players togged out for the session. Gary introduced the players to the idea of strength and conditioning and discussed the importance of it for the modern GAA player. The players were put through their paces for the session and learned some interesting exercises and techniques that will assist with their development as footballers over the coming years.
The U16s had a training session and a good turn-out was noted with 18 new players being recruited at recent trials. Manger Paul O’Riordan has yet to finalise his squad and will be looking to bring in some additional players over the next three weeks. Dates and locations of trials will be announced in due course.
There is a coaching workshop organised for next Saturday, March 29th whereby former Laois Senior Football manager, Sean Dempsey will deliver a session on “Game Based Coaching- Organising Purposeful Games for 14 to 16 Year Olds”. The GCA encourages all clubs to send as many coaches as possible to the practical demonstration workshop, where they can gain valuable practical experience of how to organise and plan training sessions to improve our players and teams.
Well done to all GCA Squad members who were involved in the U14 Feile over the last two weeks.
Finally, Team Wicklow ambassadors have begun recruiting members with a great response to date. If you would like to support the Garden County Academy initiative please call Joe O’Brien 087 2577680 or visit www.TeamWicklow.com. All funds raised go towards preparing our juvenile football players to challenge for Leinster and All-Ireland success in years to come.
