Captain Andy honoured and excited

THE captain of the side is Andy Rogers of Tralee Dynamos and he is really looking forward to leading the team in this year’s competition.

He plays at centre back and has a very good pedigree at underage level with his own club winning many accolades with them.

He said it was an honour and a dream come through to be selected as captain of the team and he is really looking forward to leading the Kerry team out in the Kennedy Cup.

“I will have a big burden of responsibility on my shoulders but our training and preparations have been excellent and everyone is in a positive frame of mind ahead of the opening game,” Andy said. “I have had my sights set on getting on the Kennedy Cup squad since I played at under-11 and I went to all the weekly sessions in Killorglin to improve the chances of being selected for the squad when the time came. Our preparations for the tournament has been excellent with the coaching of a very high standard focusing on endurance and tactical approaches for games.

“I grew up with the Kennedy Cup always at the back of my mind and it was a wonderful experience to be in Limerick in 2015 when Kerry won the competition and my brother was on the squad. I really enjoyed the atmosphere at the tournament and the way everything is organised so well.

“My main aim as captain of the team will be to lead by example and give my best advice and encouragement to my colleagues. Over the past few months all the squad have become great friends and we will be going into the tournament with a lot of confidence and self belief.”

Asked how he thought Kerry would fare in the competition he said that their main aim would be to try and top their group and if they get to the knock out stages anything is possible after that with every game almost a cup final.

“It is going to be a hugely exciting week in Limerick for us and we will be doing our very best to try and get as far as we can in the competition. The mood in the training ground over the past few weeks has been amazing and all the squad can’t wait for the first game to come. We have bonded well together and are friends on an off the field of play” “We are in a tough enough group but we believe that we are well capable of topping it if we play to our full potential. We have got great support from our parents and families and we plan to do them proud representing the county in Limerick.” Everyone involved in the game around the county wish the very best of luck to the management team and players in the national competition.