Cougars club purring in L.A.
It’s a long way from Kilanerin for enthusiastic Eoghan
THERE’S A bit of glamour attached to G.A.A. in the States. A lot of lads take the chance to head over for the summer, play some games, take in the culture and grow. It’s almost a ‘rite of passage’ at this stage.
But things are a little different for the L.A. Cougars. They don’t have the east coast money, they are not the draw for the big names looking for a summer away.
Instead, they are a modest, growing club. Their glamour comes from their location, from their beach sessions, from the California Dreaming.
While they work tirelessly to recruit, it’s all about their catchment area. They aren’t dipping their toe into the pool with the big boys. Their plan is sustainability, and it’s about building a future for the club on America’s fabled Pacific Coast.
That means embracing the Irish that find their way to Culver County and the surrounding areas, but it’s also about bringing the game to a new audience.
Their intent is clear, spread the gospel of the G.A.A. throughout and bring it to those with open eyes and the thirst for adventure.
‘The membership is 50-50 between Irish and non-Irish,’ explains Eoghan Geoghegan from Kilanerin, the new club President.
‘Diversity is key for the sustainability of G.A.A. abroad. As much as we will support Irish people landing, looking for a community, trying to help get a job, accommodation, get all that advice, we do that.
‘Our recruitment officer is actually American. His mandate is to get into the college teams, the local pick-up leagues for soccer and basketball, convince people through peer to peer selling to come out and try this lookalike sport.
‘There’s also an Aussie Rules club on the west side of LA who we poached our Secretary from last year, who’s now our starting full-forward, because they’ve got good hands and can pick it up quickly.
‘It’s not all one-way traffic, G.A.A. to A.F.L. We actually raid them, we are actually a bigger club now!’
You might be familiar with the Geoghegan name if you have had any dealings with Kilanerin, as Eoghan’s father, Leitrim native Kevin, has been heavily involved with the club for 14 years.
While Eoghan was the first Wexford connection to the Cougars, others have followed more recently.
‘I have been the sole Wexford representation in the club, I think since I was involved. Last year we got three more, two lads and a girl who is just fresh off the boat and has joined the Mulhollands ladies this year (the female side of the club).
‘There’s myself and Caroline (Hewitt) for Kilanerin. Ciarán Argue, who’s a Senior goalkeeper, which we direly needed, because nobody wanted to go in goal for a social club but he loves it, because he’s nuts, he’s from Rathgarogue-Cushinstown.
‘Then Adam Cooney is from Horeswood. Adam is kind of in the J1 stage of his life span in America.
‘Ciarán married an American, he has just moved from the Middle East. Then Caroline, similar, is on a recent Grad J1 visa. That’s the Wexford contingent in our ranks.’
That was the Wexford contingent and it just shows how quickly the club is growing, because while Eoghan was home in Ireland for a week recently, the Cougars got a new addition: Paddy Conroy, also from Kilanerin, was training with the club.
It’s not hard to see why Wexfordians are attracted to the Cougars. Their set-up is impressive, and they have gained access to quality facilities and are able to mix their training up with sessions overlooking Santa Monica Beach.
For those who don’t know it, imagine Curracloe with more ‘real’ tan.
‘Traditionally we’ve always started the season with Saturday morning sessions on the beach,’ Eoghan explained.
‘There’s a part of Santa Monica beach which has a small little green area so we can still get a little game of ball on because you can’t really kick a Gaelic football on the sand with your bare feet, it’s quite sore!
‘We do get onto the sand for fitness and for handwork drills and for more kind of basic mobility games, and we do that for three to four weeks.
‘Then we launch our Wednesday night sessions where we have a five-year plus relationship with the Culver City High School.
‘L.A. is actually an urban sprawl of about twelve different cities and we’ve always trained in Culver City which is still on the west side near Santa Monica.
‘We train on their (American) football field, a full-size football field. It even has stands in and around and stuff like that.’
Understandably, it’s tougher to get games. They are able to play on a consistent basis against teams in the So-Cal area, but the big one is the U.S. G.A.A. national championship.
With a former All-Ireland winner in Dublin’s Tomás Brady in their ranks, they have a target on their backs but they are building a successful club, with two men’s teams, a ladies’ side, and a new start-up hurling outfit.
‘The Junior ‘B’ team won the U.S. G.A.A. national championship, so this year they’re going to be playing in Junior ‘A’.
‘They’re going to be a very strong Junior ‘A’ squad as well because the team there ranges from athletic Americans who played basketball or soccer at a very high level.
‘They’re either great defenders if they’re basketball players or they’re great strikers or forwards if they’re soccer players.
‘Then you’ve got a core of lads there from Ireland who’ve played Senior for years and years, including an All-Ireland winner from Dublin who’s kind of the engine of that team.’
Not only will you find a vibrant club on the sunny west coast, they cater for older members too.
Social outings are as important as Gaelic games, and their golf society is proving popular, with Peter Gallagher, aka Sandy Cohen from ‘The O.C.’, one of the people to help with those fundraisers.
It likely that a few more from the south-east will make their way over to the States in the coming years, especially if the E3 Visa bill passes into law in the coming months.
For those who do, there will be a home away from home at Cougars, as their arms will be open for the welcome.