Club bosses mostly in place
Managers ready to hit the ground running when it’s safe
THE ‘NO VACANCY’ sign has been erected outside Wexford Senior hurling and football clubs as officers have confirmed that managers are now in place ahead of the 2021 county championships.
Many new faces are on board, with the hurling clubs looking ultra-competitive both on and off the pitch, as several former inter-county players will go headto-head on the sideline.
Five All-Ireland medal winners will be plotting a way forward for their respective clubs, hoping to wrest away the Dr. Bob Bowe Cup from Shelmaliers, who will once again have former player Vinny Parker at the helm.
Chris McGrath, Colm Parker, Rathnure’s Martin Byrne, and Mick Purcell of Good Counsel fame return as selectors, with Paul Kinsella continuing to look after physical fitness.
Former Wexford manager Liam Dunne will be looking to continue his rebuilding of home club, Oulart-The Ballagh, who came ever so close to a county final spot last year, while ex-Waterford boss Derek McGrath is involved with Faythe Harriers for a second year.
The return of John Meyler, the former Wexford, Carlow and Cork manager, for a second year with St. Martin’s is also confirmed.
Perhaps the most interesting appointment is that of Liam Fennelly who returns to club management. The former Kilkenny All-Ireland medal winner takes up pole position with Fethard, and it will be interesting to keep an eye on their progress under his watch.
Another All-Ireland medalist of 1996, Shane Carley, continues at the helm of home side Glynn-Barntown, with Tommy Roche from Marshalstown-Castledockrell staying in charge of Cloughbawn for another campaign.
Joe Morris is still in place as Ferns St. Aidan’s manager, assisted by Waterford’s Pat Bennett (coach), selectors Pádraig Bailey and Ben Bernie, plus Paddy Rossiter who is in charge of physical fitness.
For Carley’s fellow panel member from 25 years ago, Declan Ruth, it will be a first introduction to club management. The former Wexford centre-back takes over Rapparees, so onlookers should expect a very determined approach from the Cathedral town club.
Newcomers Crossabeg-Ballymurn retain the management team that helped them regain Senior status for the first time since 2000, with Diarmuid McDonald supported by a strong backroom team featuring Michael Cummins, Jimmy White, John Cummins, and coach Kevin Kennedy from Oulart-The Ballagh.
Former kingpins Rathnure are counting on a local trio to drive them towards the helm of club hurling in the county once again, with Michael O’Leary, Damian Quigley and Richie Flynn appointed.
Naomh Eanna, champions in 2018, will introduce former Wexford and Oulart-The Ballagh player David Redmond to their coaching set-up to work alongside Willie Cleary, who steered them to their first title three years ago.
St. Anne’s turn to former player David ‘Doc’ O’Connor as they bid to make up for the county final disappointment of 2019.
He also assumes the role of Senior football manager, with the club having regained top-flight status last year after an absence of just twelve months.
Starlights, the reigning Senior football champions, will be striving to claim backto-back titles, having come out on top last year after an outstanding championship.
They have once again given a vote of confidence to Anthony Russell as manager.
A long-time player with the club, he will be joined by the same backroom team comprising his brother Jason, Maurice Donohoe, Purt Doyle, Patrick Casey and trainer Neil O’Loughlin, the Clare-born secondary school teacher.
Glynn-Barntown have added former Laois player and Wexford town-based garda, Barry Brennan, to their coaching set-up, with Iain Wickham in the role of manager, while Timmy Walsh continues to guide Castletown.
An interesting appointment is that of Micheál Furlong as Kilanerin manager. The St. Patrick’s (Ballyoughter) clubman was a member of last year’s backroom set-up, but for 2021 he steps up to the main role, taking over from Pat Forde.
John Hegarty, the former Kilanerin player, looks set to continue at the Shelmaliers helm, with ex-Wexford manager and Kildare attacker Paul McLoughlin setting out for a second year with Sarsfields.
Former playing colleagues Eamonn Whelan and Shane Cullen are in charge of Gusserane, with the managerial lineup in Senior football also featuring Robert Whelan (Fethard), Mick Walsh (St. James’), Leigh O’Brien (Horeswood) and Bartley Regan (HWH-Bunclody).
St. Martin’s have yet to make an appointment in the big ball code.
On the Intermediate front, 1996 All-Ireland winning captain Martin Storey will set out on a second year as Taghmon-Camross hurling manager, while Waterford city man Michael Casey is their football boss. Casey was part of Jason Ryan’s management during a successful stint for Wexford in Senior football.
Dinny Cahill, former Tipperary player and Antrim manager, will be trying to steer Buffers Alley back into hurling’s top tier.
After a year’s absence, M.J. Reck is back at the helm with the Oylegate-Glenbrien hurlers, and Monaghan native Gerry McQuaid is the team trainer.
Two long-time colleagues of both club and county from Oulart-The Ballagh will be moving in opposite directions, as Darren Stamp will be assisting Declan Byrne with Blackwater, while Keith Rossiter has joined Bartley Regan’s backroom team in HWH-Bunclody.
The much-travelled Eddie Maloney, who has enjoyed stints with his native Our Lady’s Island, along with Kilmore and Clongeen, now finds himself in the Marshalstown-Castledockrell hot-seat with support from John Kinsella and Seamus O’Toole.
The long-serving and successful James Bolger continues as Rathgarogue-Cushinstown Intermediate football boss, which is no surprise given their 2019 success in the provincial club Junior championship, while Mark Roche remains at the helm with his native Kilmore.
GAA OFFICIALS in Wexford certainly haven’t allowed the grass to grow under their feet during lockdown, with a lot of hard work behind the scenes reflected in the launch of a new strategic plan to cover the years from 2021 to 2025 by Micheál Martin, the new Co. Chairman, last night (Monday).
The Ar Aghaidh Le Chéile (Onwards Together) document maps out a way forward that contains ambitious but realistic targets in seven specific areas.
And the St. John’s Volunteers clubman has hailed it as ‘the most ambitious plan ever launched in the history of Wexford GAA’.
‘The groundwork has been laid in the last four years and we are now in a position where we can confidently set out our vision for the decade ahead across a number of areas and covering a broad spectrum,’ he added.
‘The plan is detailed and will be closely governed by being an agenda item at all County Board meetings.
‘In setting out this plan, we have consulted widely with clubs and have held the first-ever youth forum held by Wexford GAA to gather the views of our 15-17 year-olds.
‘Achieving our targets will require an investment of €5 million over five years.
‘We will launch a Cáirde Loch Garman Premium programme to help us attain our vision of transformational change within Wexford GAA and within every community in our county,’ he added.
‘We have a top-class coaching structure in the county that is recognised by teachers and parents as the best in class.
‘We will further develop this area as we enhance our reputation as the leading organisation for well-being, inclusivity and excellence.’
The first theme in the document is, indeed, coaching and player development, broken down into participation and high performance.
And it goes on to look at Wexford GAA infrastructure; finance and fundraising; games programme and refereeing; culture, community and club development; health, well-being and inclusion; PR and communications.
First up this week, we will focus on some of the main points raised under the topic of coaching and player development, and we plan to run through the issues covered under the rest of the headings in future editions.
The document outlines that a meeting was held with GAA officials in Croke Park four years ago to outline the challenges facing Wexford in terms of worrying participation numbers, especially in urban areas.
That meeting secured the county’s place as part of the East Leinster Scheme, and the production of a 2020 Vision to increase playing numbers was submitted.
Even allowing for the pandemic, significant progress has been made over the last year in achieving the targets set out in this plan.
Quite staggeringly, there has been a 200% increase in player participation numbers under the age of nine since the beginning of the plan.
The staff structure has also changed, with ten additional coaches secured via funding through Croke Park, Leinster Council, and the county’s own fundraising initiatives.
The Games Promotion Officer (GPO) model is similar to that adopted by Dublin GAA 15 years ago, whereby full-time coaches are allocated clubs.
By January of this year, 25 clubs were availing of this facility, and there is a commitment on the County Board’s behalf to continue investing in quality coaching.
The various GPOs are tasked with the following:
1) Ensure that skill development, fun, participation and retention are a central part of their club’s coaching ethos from nursery to Under-17, leading to lifelong participation in Gaelic games;
2) Recruit and upskill volunteers to each assigned club to ensure a self-sufficient structure in each club by 2025;
3) Create a relationship with primary schools through implementation of Hurling 365;
4) Ensure that each assigned club fields teams at Under-8, -9, -10, -11 and participates in the inter-club blitz programme;
5) Co-ordinate programmes to attract families of nonIrish nationalities;
6) Organise, promote and quality assure Easter and summer camps in assigned areas;
7) Co-ordinate summer street leagues with an emphasis on skill development.
The following line from the document will strike a chord with most people watching Wexford teams in action on a regular basis, and resonates with the comments made by Brendan Furlong elsewhere on this centrespread in relation to the physical make-up of our Senior hurling side.
Commenting on the area of post-primary schools and athletic development, the plan’s authors state: ‘One of the glaring inadequacies of our programme in the last ten years has been the physical conditioning of our players.
‘Although a programme existed, it was poorly co-ordinated and players often participated in an athletic development programme at night time, having played with their school earlier that day.
‘We have produced a Wexford GAA Athletic Development Programme and have met the ten main post-primary schools with an agreement in principle that Wexford GAA will fund the Athletic Development training of the players on all school teams.
‘This will broaden the number of players receiving expert training and will reduce the burden on elite players.’
The document goes on to explain that an extensive review of the county’s approach to developing elite players took place in August 2017, and a targeted recruitment programme for mentors was undertaken.
‘This has led to a much-improved structure and feedback from all involved has been very positive.
‘As a unique dual county, we must continue to examine how best to manage the load for players who are required to play in a dual code environment for club, school and county.’
In order to fulfil this objective, a High Performance and Sports Science Steering Group will be appointed.
Another group will be established with the task of ascertaining whether or not the changes in under-age categories to Under-11, -13, -15 and -17 – made after a review in the autumn of 2017 – have helped or hindered the development of young players.
This will involve a root and branch review of the county’s Coiste na nOg competitions ‘to ensure the best possible structure in enabling young players to thrive’.
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