Academy a huge success story for Samphires
THE club’s Academy was set up in 2007 by Padraig Mc Garry and it is gone on to be a huge success story where aspiring young players are catered from the age of 6 to 16 years old.
The Academy has been the conveyer belt that has nurtured young players all the way up to senior level and gives the senior squad an injection of young players on a regular basis.
The girls in the area are also well catered for with the club having teams in every division of the league and have two teams at under 17 level this season.
The club’s aim is to set up a women’s team down the road and with so many young players coming through the underage process that should be an easy task when the league is established.
At present there is no Women’s Football League in the county but with the numbers growing at underage level it cant be very long before the problem is addressed.
In the 2002/2003 season the Fenit Youth team scaled dizzy heights after an unbelievable sequence of wins reached the national final of the FAI Youths Cup. They had to travel to Dublin to play Tolka Rovers in the final and in a very competitive exciting game it ended all square 1-1. Unfortunately they lost 2-1 after extra time.
The managers of the team were John Murphy and Denny Quirke.
The Youth teams great feats sparked off a considerable rise in the interest of football by the seaside town resulting in many more young players taking up the game and joining the club.
In the years that followed several members of that team went on to play with the senior team.
2016 was a memorable season for the club capturing a fantastic treble winning the under 17 Cup, the Youths League title followed by the Jimmy Falvey Youths Cup which is a remarkable achievement for manager David Stanton.
Batty an unsung hero
ONE man that has done more than his fair share for the club is Batty Mc Carthy who still has the same appetite for the game as he had since it was formed 26 years ago. He has served the club in many capacities over the years and is always at hand when his services are called upon.
He has managed several teams to win competitions and is out there on the wintery days lining the pitch before games irrespective of the weather conditions. He attends all of the KDL delegate meetings in Tralee.
He has been involved in all the success stories the club achieved and is always at hand to help out with the club in any capacity. He is always on the sideline wherever Fenit play urging encouragement to the team.
He has a very calm personality and never shows any kind resentment to officials at games. He has a huge passion for the game and is held in the highest regard by everyone involved in the club and by clubs all over the county.