Clubs eager to develop homegrown talent in Lancashire GAA

By Cian O'Connell

Encouraging signs of progress are available for Lancashire GAA Community Development Administrator Colin McNamara.

It has been a busy, but productive spell. There was no let up in the summer either with the Northern Gaels and Cúl Camps on the agenda.

Nonetheless, there is a real sense that clubs in Lancashire are intent on developing homegrown talent. For long term sustainability it is crucial so the Northern Games helps the process significantly. "The Northern Games grew massively this year, which we didn't really see coming," McNamara explains.

"It was brilliant. This year, we had 1,413 players, and last year we had 1,000 so it went up 41 per cent. We'd 131 teams compared to 86 last year. So, the Northern Games was massive with teams from Scotland, Yorkshire, Warwickshire, and Lancashire.

"The schools grew 40 per cent and the clubs grew 41 per cent which was through the roof. That is probably the biggest thing in our calendar - the Northern Games. For next year we're trying to figure out how to make it even bigger again."

That is the next mission to accomplish, but McNamara remains adamant about the progress being made and the value of the competition. "We do it over two days," he explains.

"On Friday, it is all the schools. Games will throw-in at 10am and games will finish around 1.30pm to make sure they get back. The clubs play on Saturday, it is a longer day.

"The games throw-in at 10am again, but they don't finish until 5pm. The way we work it is the club day is split into two sessions, a morning session, and an afternoon session."

Throughout the academic year, though, McNamara places real emphasis on forging relationships with schools in Lancashire. "We're getting into more and more schools," he says.

"The schools we're getting into are tending to want us back. Our catalogue of Gaelic Football schools is always growing. This year we'd 35 school teams, last year we'd 25, and next year we'd be looking to hit more than 50 all going to plan."

That helps clubs too in the underage ranks. "Wolfe Tones underage was launched last year and this year we've launched Fullen Gaels underage hurling and Na MicTíre have started underage hurling and are about to start underage football in September," McNamara adds.

"It will mean every adult club in Lancashire has an underage set-up which is a massive step forward for us."

Identifying schools is key to the venture according to McNamara. "I'll ask the clubs at the start of the year can you give me five schools to target," he says.

"First of all, we'll look for schools our club players are in. You're more likely to get someone to bring two or three friends to training rather than going into a school where they've never heard of it, and trying to get them to travel five or six miles.

"Lancashire is a funny one because in Liverpool you've Wolfe Tones and John Mitchels, whose pitches are maybe two miles away from each other. So, they've the same schools.

"In Manchester, you've a five mile radius, you get every Manchester club, who're based in south Manchester. You'll find when you go into schools you'll have a few from different clubs.

"That is a bit of a challenge. St Peter's have all of north Manchester, they're probably getting a better result out of the schools."

The reaction to the school visits is positive. "It works a lot better if you can get a teachers email, if you send it to an admin email, a lot of them don't get beyond reception," McNamara says.

"If you can get in touch with a teacher, they're normally more than happy to have you in, especially because it is fully funded by the DFA. When the school hears they don't have to put their hand in their pocket, they'll normally bite your hand off. Other schools can be more difficult, they've their curriculum set out."

Children at primary and post primary level enjoy Gaelic Football in Lancashire. "I've found once you get into a school, they do always normally want you back," he adds.

"It is down to the fact, that basically after 45 minutes of a coaching session, you can coach most kids to play some form of a game of Gaelic Football, modified obviously.

"They all know how to kick a ball, catch a ball, and how to run, the skills are really transferable, whether they play football, rugby, handball or netball. They can all pick it up really quickly, and the kids love it. They love the mayhem."

Practically, how does it work? "I'll offer all of my schools a six week block, fully funded," he replies.

"You'll have a lot of schools asking for more. At the moment, I'm not able to offer more unless I get more coaches because I've to hit as many schools during the calendar year as I can. Two schools have started funding their own coach. They'll take the six weeks that are funded and they'll continue to pay a part time coach themselves to do it weekly.

"We've two schools doing that, but it is completely doing to a school, whether they have it in their budget. They're nearly two unicorns."

Ultimately, the Northern Games ties in with the school visits. "The Northern Games helps massively, especially with the secondary schools because there is a chance of them winning something and coming back with a trophy," McNamara reflects.

"You'll find secondary schools are buying into it massively. The primary schools it is all non competitive, and some schools love that because other sports are competitive here.

"For some students, who mightn't be particularly suited to that highly competitive environment at the ages of 10 and 11, the Gaelic Football suits them down to the ground. They can go to the Northern Games, get a medal, they're guaranteed game time."

Manchester and Liverpool is where McNamara does most school sessions, but there has been developments elsewhere in the region. "We've had a few very unexpected ones," McNamara says.

"Stonyhurst, which is in Clitheroe near Blackburn. They've a teacher, John O'Ryan, they've started their own little Gaelic Football club in the school. They came down to the Northern Games for the last few years, it is predominantly rugby, but the school is 60 per cent non natives.

"They'd IRFU alumni in it, John O'Driscoll, who has just been made IRFU President, he came from that school. We've another few schools in Darwen, which is quite north, have picked up Gaelic Football."

So, McNamara is optimistic about the future in Lancashire. "We've underage hurling up and running which is a big box ticked," McNamara says.

"Obviously, that is in line with the Lancashire Hurling Development Plan, to have our own underage system, we're starting to produce our own homegrown players to play for Lancashire moving forward.

"We'd our first ever Cúl Camps, they finished last week. Two weeks ago we'd the Manchester Cúl Camp, which had 70 plus kids, and the Liverpool Cúl Camp had 36 kids. We'd more than 100 kids at Cúl Camps, it was the first time in I don't know how many years that we ran them, and they were a massive success.

"I was the co-ordinator, I ran them, I did a lot of coaching, but we had club coaches, and predominantly used a lot of club U18 players. We'd a lot of U17 boys and U18 girls, who got their coaching badges, safeguarding, and DBS, they started coaching then.

"The really positive thing about the Cúl Camps was bar two coaches bar two, everyone was homegrown. They'd played underage football in Lancashire and were coaching at the Cúl Camps. That was really nice to see."

On the ground, the volume of underage activity is increasing. "It is something that is really noticeable," McNamara says.

"Clubs now have really started, even at County Board meetings, to notice. This year, we've had an U17s league, we're about to have an U17s Championship, that was never there before. After this year, we're going to have a nice crop of players, who will be going into their adult clubs for the first time.

"It has been quite a while since we got players through the underage system from U7 the whole way up to U17 and then the adult system.

"This year, we'll have 15 or 16 players finishing their last year of underage, going on to their adult clubs, who're very receptive and looking forward to having them."