All-Ireland hero Frank drops in to Blackrock NS

ALL-IRELAND winner Frank Lynch was the special guest at Blackrock School last week as Geraldines’ GAA Coaching Programme for the first and second class pupils in St. Oliver Plunketts’ N.S, St Francis’ N.S. Blackrock and St. Fursey’s N.S. Haggardstown finished up.

Since the programme began last September over 240 first and second class children in the parish have had the opportunity to learn about Gaelic football, have fun and improve their physical literacy by learning Fundamental Movement Skills.

The Gers’ coaches were delighted with the childrens’ enthusiasm and by how much they enjoyed the sessions.

The club extended a big thank you to the three schools and all their staff for allowing coaches the opportunity to coach the children and for their fantastic co-operation throughout the year.

The club also extended a huge thanks to Frank Lynch and Company for kindly sponsoring the programme.

Each session was 40 minutes long so each child received 480 minutes of coaching, with over 250 man hours of voluntary coaching provided.

The volunteer coaches who gave up their time and took time off work to participate deserve huge credit also.

The aim of the programme was to introduce children to Gaelic football and provide fun physical activity which promotes a healthy lifestyle and hopefully stimulate an interest in, not just Gaelic football, but also in exercise and physical activity.

The schools program provides the club with the opportunity to reach out to the children in national schools in our parish. Many of the children are already playing with the Geraldines and it is hoped the experience of participating in the schools programme will encourage other children to become involved with the club.

Through their involvement with the club, children will have access to best practice and child-centered coaching. Joining the club is a fantastic way to become involved and integrated into the community for both children and parents in the Blackrock/Haggardstown area.

This was the first year of the programme and the feedback from the children and the schools has been extremely positive and the club looks forward to continuing the programme and building on the great relations between the club and schools for many years to come.