FOCUS

the year is the indoor Gaelic Football, Pella, which we run in the hall and in the winter months, it is better than being out in the wet and cold.”

With the Castleconnor Community Centre providing an adequate indoor facility, Phillip says use of the hall is advantageous early in the year, to help the young boys and girls hone their skills in a comfortable environment.

“We will be indoor until the evenings get brighter and the weather improves. The standards and skills amongst the kids are improving – we saw that during a skills com- petition recently – but it can be challenging at times as kids have so many other interests outside of GAA. Our numbers are OK, but this year we will have only one U- 12 team, whereas we had two last year.”

Voluntary effort is also a big part of the Castleconnor set- up, with at least four coaches designated to every age group.

“We try to have at least four with each age group, and we actually have six with our U- 6s at the minute. There’s a lot of work going on, and everyone has good fun as well which is important.”