Plans afoot to boost coaching in schools

THE potential impact on the future playing standards of the GAA by the increased work on the ground by soccer and rugby coaches in schools in Wicklow was discussed among the relevant bodies with the GAA in the county with more efforts and investment planned within the schools according to Bryan Doyle.

Speaking at the Wicklow Review meeting in Ballinakill, Doyle said that rugby and soccer had been given a free reign within the schools in Wicklow and that the GAA, through games manager Hugh Kenny and GDAs had revamped their plans.

‘There’s significant work and discussion going on with Cumann na mBunscol and the post primary schools with regard to interaction with the schools. Our GDAs are working on this and that’s why we held the regional meetings with the clubs to see what the clubs wanted.

The clubs want people to go into the schools. They feel that we’ve given a free ride to soccer, rugby in particular, so it was important that Hugh Kenny and the GDAs have revamped their work programme.

‘We’ll certainly be looking at the bigger schools in the initial aspects of the case and really for the post primary schools competitions to try and drive standards up there,’ he said.