Milltown students will be well served with new handball walls

PUPILS attending a Mid Kerry secondary school are set to be top of the class when it comes to sporting and academic success, and it’s all thanks to the development of two magnificent handball walls in the school gymnasium.

Presentation Secondary School in Milltown, with a student population of 638 pupils, is a new and vibrant facility based in the heart of the Mid Kerry town offering the best and most modern sporting and academic facilities to enhance the development of students in a fully inclusive and holistic manner.

The Indoor Handball Walls initiative, the first of its kind in a Kerry school, has been spearheaded by the school with the assistance, cooperation and expertise of Glenbeigh Handball Club.

“It will afford students the opportunity to sample one of Ireland’s oldest sports, handball, and provide a fun element as students are introduced to the sport,” said Sean Costelloe, Deputy Principal of Milltown Secondary School.

Handball, thanks to the development of the handball walls, will now feature as one of the models in the Transition Year Programme and will also form part of the schools Physical Education Programme.

“Playing handball dramatically improves the fine and gross motor skills of the participants. Concentration levels will soar and this will no doubt become evident in the classroom. There is also the added dimension of social interaction between the students and the added benefits that students will learn the skills and rules of a new sport,” Mr. Costelloe added.

The walls are an invaluable development in the continued sporting success of Milltown. Sean Quirke, a Sixth Year student attending the school, is no stranger to success. He won the Munster Colleges senior handball title last year in addition to victory in the Munster Indoor Doubles One Wall championship in 2019 and the All Ireland 40x20 Under 16 Doubles title with his club, Glenbeigh Handball Club. He also won a Kerry Sports Star Award in 2019.

Glenbeigh handball coach and World Championship medal winner John Joe Quirke was a key figure in the development of the handball walls.

“From experience I was in a position to advise on the best materials and the correct construction and positioning of the walls. A lot of work was also essential for correct and durable floor marking materials. However the most important element was the training involved in preparing the PE teachers to run handball programmes in the school.

“The teachers, Fiona Quinn, Lisa Kerfoot and Niamh Moriarty were amazing and will now impart their vast fountain of knowledge to the pupils,” said John Joe Quirke, who is now hoping to develop a handball training programme in the school.