Castlemaine have to make underage a greater priority

Castlemaine PRO Dara O’Connor tells Mike Rice that he feels that an underage component must be part of the club’s future

THE PRO of the club is Dara O’Connor and he is doing an excellent job keeping the club in the public domain and has been very good to me for the past few years getting in all the results scorers and match reports on Sunday evenings whether the team win or lose and always gives a fair and balanced assessment of the game.

He says he is delighted that the club is going so well and decorating their mantelpiece more regularly with silverware in recent years has added to the attractiveness of the club from a players point of view..

“I’ve been PRO for eight years since the young age of 17 and have played soccer at Under 15, 16, 17 and Youths under the tutelage of fantastic club servants David Clifford, Seán Brosnan and Timmy O’Connor who trained all those sides as well as playing Senior ‘A’ and ‘B’ as I still do.

“I started playing at 13 so for the past 12 years I’ve represented the club in an official capacity both on and off the pitch.

“I have also been involved in a coaching capacity at Under 17 and Youths level for four seasons alongside some inspirational aids including Kieran Flynn, Kevin Giles, David O’Neil and John James Griffin amongst others who gave me the belief to explore the game from a different perspective and it had its ups and downs but it’s definitely something I’m interested in going forward due to my love for the game.

“Before that I was a bit too young so my involvement was from a fanatical young fans perspective, but I have great memories of following Castlemaine United in the 2000s when my eldest brother Timmy was a talented striker playing alongside some of the greats the club.

“My other brother Jono was also playing underage those days so I used travel on the bus, the odd time and that’s really where it all started for me. In those times they were mixing it with the best and holding their own and some of the bigger clubs today plied their trade in divisions below Castlemaine then as loyalty was a big thing to your club in those days which aren’t that long ago, transfers were minimal and it was nearly frowned upon and you could nearly always know your squad from one season to the next at any age grade so togetherness and team spirit were big factors outside of the ability they had as a group as they all knew each other and that was important for team unity.

“Nowadays you could play against or with a player this season and next season they have moved to another club and this happens way too often these days for varying reasons, which is a pity.

Whilst I acknowledge some will say players moving can be down to the mismanagement of them at club level and that players have always had to right to play with whatever club they wish to.

However it still is a small bit of a bug-bearer of mine as its at amateur level we play the game at here in Kerry.

“It’s far from the Airtricity League or Premier League standard and I think switching clubs should only be allowed if a player has a legitimate reason for no longer playing with the club he started out with and that criteria should be set out in the rules accordingly.

“Sometimes it feels like its quantity over quality also when it comes to how many clubs or how many leagues we have in Kerry and I personally feel we need to get rid of the culture of clubs popping up for a season here and there and gone again the following year as it doesn’t benefit the league in any way and often hurts long standing clubs in both rural and urban areas who lose key players as a consequence.

“I accept there will be those that disagree with my views but they are what they are.

“I’d also like to give mention to John O’Regan [Secretary, KDL] who does a tremendous job every season in what is an almost impossible role trying to make fixtures and accommodate teams as much as possible.

“We were probably on track to have five of the six divisions at senior completed in record time this season with the exception of Premier A where National Competitions take up a lot of time at the start of the season until COVID-19 hit so that’s a credit to him, Tommy Naughton, Kieran O’Regan [the fixture makers] and all the KDL executive committee who have turned Mounthawk Park into a top class facility over the years and do so much to promote the game we all love.

“It’s easy for us as players, we only have to play games and train, but the work that goes into organising those games and maintaining the facilities often goes unnoticed.

“We might not be at those same heights as the old days as a club currently competition wise, but I think we are moving in the right direction this year and last year and if hopefully the season gets a chance to conclude in the coming months as there isn’t many league games left then we have put ourselves in a position going into our final three games to potentially get

promoted which if it came to pass would put us only one division off Premier soccer again, but that’s hypothetical for the moment and obviously the health of everyone involved in the KDL must come before anything else right now.

“I think when you see clubs coming and going in the KDL as they so often do in today’s times and some very well established and traditionally bigger clubs struggling for numbers like we have seen in recent times then we aren’t doing too bad at all to still be here 30 plus years on battling away and offering a service to our community whilst retaining our competitiveness.

“We have taken on three Premier A sides in cup competition in the last twelve months [Listowel, Classic and Castleisland] and more than held our own I felt, conceding five and scoring three ourselves.

“Two of those games went to extra-time and one to penalties so there is plenty to be positive about. We have scored 41 goals and only conceded 13 goals this season too so great work has been put in by all. I still retain hope that if we can get back on the playing fields by July or August then the season could be finished but some might dismiss my notions as a pipe dream.

“We got a great man in Pat O’Connor in as Chairperson at the start of this season (he replaced another brilliant clubman Kevin Giles who held the post for four or five seasons and is now Treasurer) and he has put a lot of great work in as have all the new committee to propel us forward hopefully.

“The 30th Anniversary held last November was a great success and a lot of work went into it by everyone to re-connect with the local community, soccer fraternity and to keep us on a sound financial footing also which is vital to maintain operations.

“It is a great source of pride of mine to be involved in Castlemaine United and to keep a smaller community in Kerry on the map in terms of sport.

“I think if you look at the top divisions nowadays most the areas represented are the ones with the bigger centres of population or those with the larger membership bases with a lot of bodies putting work in at academy levels to ensure continuity of playing members.

“However, whilst acknowledging all that we are striving to be able to compete at as high a level as we possibly can, the top levels aren’t exclusive and aren’t out of reach for any side that puts the hours in on the training ground.

“I look at MEK Galaxy and use them as a case in point as I know Darragh O’Regan and know how hard they have worked to come from a small setup with limited numbers to a situation now where they train twice a week and are in Premier A with two senior teams functioning.

“It wasn’t that long ago they were in Division 1A and 1B and we were playing them regularly so it goes to show what can be achieved by any club. We probably are always hampered a little in the sense that most our players are involved in GAA and Soccer so are dual players and this can create issues at times as both sports want their own slice of the cake, but whilst GAA may be more serious now in terms of preparation etc than it was for some of our past members back 20 odd years ago both sports have always worked side by side and with co-operation can continue to do so.

“There are plenty dual clubs operating in the higher echelons too of Kerry soccer so it can’t be an excuse for us for remaining static and I’m sure it won’t be. It is and has always been true I believe that nobody has found it an easy fixture when travelling to Castlemaine and my hope would be that always remains the case as we are very proud of our club and representing it to the best of our abilities at all times.

“We have won all six league games at home this season, our only loss being 1-0 to Castleisland ‘A’ in the Celsius Menswear League Cup which is no shame at all.

“It hasn’t always been rosy and there are always challenges to keep ourselves going as like any organisation you need fresh faces to come in and inject new impetus at times to give others a break and that probably comes easier in more highly populated areas than to ours, but we punch above our weight, all row in together as a community to get things done and make do with what we have and put our best foot forward.

“Going forward its always hard to know what the future holds, take every day as it comes as they say I suppose, but if there is one thing I’d like to see happening that is I would love to bring back underage soccer of some form within the club as I believe the Keel / Castlemaine / Milltown / Ballyfinnane area is crying out for it with seven schools (Keel has two, Castlemaine has two, Ballyfinnane has one and Milltown has two) including a Secondary school so the playing numbers are there without question.

“It’s just a matter of sitting down as a club, setting out structures, getting the bodies to drive it and aspiring to get it done and that’s something I’ll be lobbying hard for in the coming years as for any rural club to sustain you can’t rely on the same senior players forever.

“Some will say maybe the facilities need improving and of course they do to attract the players, but I think you have to work on both fronts and take one step at a time as many top players have come from smaller clubs to represent Kerry and Ireland at all levels and that’s what keeps us all going, waiting for that next big talent.”