Jamie gets his team on the ball

ANNASCAUL’S Jamie Finn describes himself as someone who rarely excelled on the football field – but if a new venture of his reaches its potential, he may make a bigger impact on sport than he previously envisaged.

Jamie had noticed that players with less natural ability are sometimes left to their own devices, but a few personal experiences got him thinking.

He took part as an escort in the 2016 Rose of Tralee and this involved team-building exercises which saw the lads go from strength to strength as a group. He also travelled around Ireland with his first-cousin, Shane Finn, who completed 24 marathons in 24 days two years ago. Again, Jamie could see how much Shane valued the team behind him; they kept him focused and were invaluable when it came to the logistical side of things.

Following on from this, alongside a colleague from Northern Ireland, Jamie has devised ‘On the Ball Team Building’, which he hopes will see sports teams travel to West Kerry to avail of one of three packages, ranging in price from €90 per person (based on a cohort of approximately 30 members) to €130 per person. Each package contains a few basics – a welcoming session, meal, pitch session, motivational speech, and team-building activities – while the more comprehensive packs include extras such as two nights’ B&B, a running session, and more motivational speakers. The top package also makes room for a strength and conditioning session.

The Annascaul man this week got to trial his product – with none other than the senior footballers from his native Annascaul gladly rising to this task.

“There were about 18 lads there on Saturday,” he said of the first run, which began with a welcoming session in Annascaul before the players took to the local football field for team-building exercises and fitness work. “The feedback was very positive.

“I suppose I’ve seen how dependant young people are on technology and phones nowadays, but this has its drawbacks. We’re not as good at interacting with each other as we used to be, and we’re spending more time indoors. This venture will get young people thinking more about working as a team, and it’ll get them outdoors.”

After Shane Finn had marked the end of the day with a motivational talk, Jamie reflected. While very successful, the day wasn’t perfect; the players completed the planned mountain climb more quickly than he’d anticipated, and there was more time to pass between this exercise and the motivational speech than he’d have liked.

But identifying such issues was all part of the pilot, and Jamie is now more confident than ever that he can tweak the product and get teams signing up.

“I have a few footballers, Killian Young and Paul Geaney, taking part in the promotional video, which will go live soon,” he said. “A few of the Annascaul lads who won minor medals with Kerry last year, Killian Falvey and Colm Moriarty, will also take part... I hope the video will help in getting teams interested in this venture.”

For further information, e-mail ontheballteambuilding@gmail.com or visit ‘On The Ball-Team Building’ on Facebook.