Lee Flag Presentations
At a recent ceremony in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, seven Carbery clubs received Lee Flag awards in recognition of their sterling work at underage level. This project, which was launched in 2010, contained a wide range of key targets for a progressive underage setup, such as schools coaching programmes, the provision of coaching officers, number of qualified coaches etc.

The following clubs from Carbery received cheques from Cork County Board on the night as well as a flag to be raised at club grounds in recognition of their achievements: Kilbrittain, Kilmacabea, Kilmeen & Kilbree, Clann na nGael, Castlehaven, St. Brogans, Bantry.  Details of this year’s programme are posted on various websites.
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U8 Play & Stay Launch
The U8 Play & Stay programme was recently launched in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, with over 40 Cork clubs receiving equipment packs and details of the programme of fixtures. Over the summer months, participating clubs will meet up for Fun blitzes and games in both hurling and football. Three groups have been set up in West Cork, involving the following clubs; Kilbrittain, Argideen Rangers, Barryroe, St. Brogan’s (all hurling); O’Donovan Rossa, Ilen Og, Gabriel Og, Mizen Rovers (all football); Urhan, Garnish, Glengarriff, Castletownbere, Adrigole (all football).
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‘Cork West’ U15 Football Squads
The following players are part of a 29-man ‘Cork West’ U15 football squad which is currently in training for the inter-county tournament on July 16th next, in Millstreet. In preparation, they will play a Cork U16 selection on this Saturday, June 25th in CIT, followed by a fixture versus their city counterparts on Thursday, June 30th. A panel of over forty players has trained at their base in Rossmore over the last few months under James McCarthy, Kevin O’Driscoll , Charlie Wilson and Billy Twomey.

Panel: Murt Kennelly, Newcestown; Colm O'Driscoll, Castlehaven; Alex Hasset, Ilen Og; Cian O'Donovan, Clonakilty; Sean O'Leary, Bantry; Cian Healy, Newcestown; Michael Hurley, Castlehaven; Conor Nolan, Castlehaven; Joe White, Clonakilty; Eddie O'Sullivan, Colm Og; Chris Moynihan, Gabriel Og; Martin Collins, Kilmacabea; Diarmuid O'Callaghan, Kilmacabea; Damien O'Gorman, Kilmeen; JP Maughan, Clonakilty; Kevin Whooley, Kilmacabea; Jonathan Mulcahy, St. Brogans; Cathal Nyhan, Pedlars Cross; Darragh Casey, Ilen Og; John Mullins, Eire Og; John Poland, Ballinora; Denis Murphy, Eire Og; Greg Long, Aghabullogue; Peter Worth, Inniscarra; Barry O'Leary, Iveleary; Sean O'Donoghue, Inniscarra; Michael  Desmond, Cill Na Martra; Mike Dineen, Naomh Aban; Aaron Raw, Inniscarra.

Meanwhile, on Saturday July 9th, this squad will reassemble at 10.30am for training in Rossmore, where they will be joined by the extended Carbery-Beara squad which contains the following 25 players:Panel: Conor Lowney, Urhan; Stephen Holland, Colm Og; Jason Jordan, Newcestown; Euan Tobin, Kilmacabea; Tim Cronin, Bantry; Odhran Connolly, Kilmacabea; Damien O'Brien, Carbery Rangers; Liam O'Brien, Kilmeen; Darragh McCullagh, Clonakilty; Edward Ahern, St. Brogans; Mark Lynch, Clonakilty; Eoin O'Brien, Pedlars Cross; Shane McDermott, Kilmacabea; Daniel O'Driscoll, Ilen Og; Sean O'Donovan, Ilen Og; Darren O'Donovan, Mizen Rovers; Eoin Lynch, Bantry; Eoghan Deasy, Clonakilty; Cathal O'Donovan, Argideen Rangers; John Hodnett, Carbery Rangers; Csaba O'Mahony, Castlehaven; Greg O'Sullivan, Muintir Bhaire Og; Eamon Barrett, Kilmeen; Connor O'Mahony, Clann na nGael; Stephen O'Sullivan, Glengarriff.

Later this summer, Carbery-Beara will field two teams in the inter-divisional tournament from the 44 players listed in their quest to continue last year’s dominance at U14, U15 and U16 level.
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West Cork U14 Squads
On Wednesday night, a West Cork selection travelled to CIT for an U14 football fixture versus a Duhallow / Avondhu combination. This group had assembled in Rossmore with on the previous Friday for a coaching session with Paudie Kissane (Cork GDA) and Paul Holland (Cork U14) as part of the Cork School of Excellence programme. The main part of this programme has seen 22 other players from West Cork travel to six consecutive sessions on Sunday nights in both CIT and Rossmore.
Wednesday night’s game saw the Carbery-Beara lads in control for most of the hour with a number of players staking a strong claim for accession to the School of Excellence squad.

Those who played on the night were as follows: John O'Sullivan, Gearoid O'Donovan, Sean Buttimer Ahan Gaels; Eoin Lawton, Eoin Holland Argideen Rangers; Owen O'Flynn, Shane Keevers Bantry Blues; Jack Cahalane Barryroe; Aidan Pearce, David Whelton, Ian Casey Castlehaven; Zach Harrington, Clonakilty; Declan Dunne, James Kelly Castletownbere; Eoin McElhinny, Tadgh McCarthy, Sean McCarthy Glengarriff; Barry Kirby, Oige Scannell    , Shane Scannell Kilmeen; Timothy O'Sullivan, Sean O'Donovan Newcestown; Luke Murray, Daniel O'Brien, Colin Crowley Pedlars Cross; Joseph O'Mahony St. Brogans; Sean McCarthy Tadhg MacCarthaigh.

A few weeks previously, many of the same players lined out for the Carbery U14 hurlers for an inter-divisional blitz, playing both Muskerry and Seandun at Riverstick. While the match against Seandun provided an eye-opener for all involved, the game versus Muskerry proved a tighter affair with the West Cork lads eventually going under on a 2-9 to 0-8 scoreline. A further blitz will be played later in the year, with groupings based on the results of the first day out.With regional championships and the All Ireland Feile na nGael tournament taking place over the next few weeks, there will little room for action on the U14 divisional squad front, however, activities will resume in mid-July in both football and hurling.
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West Cork GAA Coaching Workshop
A large crowd of young coaches attended Rossmore on last Saturday for a Cul Camp coaching workshop with Martin Coleman (Cork GDA) and James McCarthy (Cork U15 & Castlehaven). The theme of the day was the use of games and drills for coaching 6-12 year olds. Two-hour sessions were run in both hurling and football and numerous valuable tips were provided for the coaches in attendance who will now provide their expertise at 24 Vhi Cul camps in West Cork this year. The following points were considered essential for all coaches;
 Communication: Language, Rapport, Praise, Use of names
Organised Fun
 Hurling grip: Hurley hand and Helping hand = C-swing
Focus on Fundamental Movement Skills; Agility, Balance, Coordination etc
Small groups for drills and games
 Progression; Challenging Achievable Tasks
 Competition through Games
 Keep active – 45 minutes
Fun AND Focus on skill
Vary the type of equipment used... sponge balls, ropes, hoops, beanbags etc
Think on your feet – adjust degree of difficulty depending on success
Design games to make players think
 Emphasis on movement skills, speed and decision making
No ‘Strong and Weak’ in football.....just Left and Right!

On Saturday, July 2nd next, there will be a one-day Foundation Level coaching course held in Rossmore in both football and hurling. This will provide a final chance for Cul Camp coaches to receive this mandatory qualification for all coaches attending camps. To book places, email kevin.odonovan.gda.cork@gaa.ie
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Child Players; Games Development Proposal
A positive meeting of all clubs in West Cork was held in Dunmanway last week, to discuss the current coaching and games programme for 6 to 12 year old players in football and hurling. Given the wide range of issues which have arisen with changing underage structures recently and the dispersed geographical area of Carbery and Beara, this monthly forum was recently proposed to provide  clubs with an opportunity to voice their opinions and ideas in regards to both coaching and games. It will operate as a subcommittee of the existing regional underage board. Given the pressure that all officers are currently under to complete fixture programmes from U13 to U18, this new subcommittee would allow more time for discussion on a suitable games format for the 6-12 year old group in particular.

With a clear divide obvious from 12 year old downwards, with no championships and therefore no county deadlines etc, allowed under general rule, this committee would initially focus on the many challenges facing coaches in terms of playing numbers, the layout of pitches, appropriate levels of competition etc. Subsequently, monthly meetings could cover other games development areas such as coach education, schools programmes, coaching plans etc. The following points were recorded at the first of these meetings.

There was a majority view that an element of competition was required as an incentive for players. It was accepted that bringing back championships was off the agenda for now, however a league format with each team guaranteed a league final in both football and hurling would allow a moderate level of competition.
A number of coaches expressed satisfaction with the current fixtures, however most coaches felt that we had moved too far from the old model. Therefore, the commitment of players had fallen thus allowing other codes to encroach further upon the GAA playing season. Yet it was agreed that if the bad behaviour seen on sidelines previously, re-emerged, leagues would have to be reviewed once more.
Also, it was pointed out that there remained a contradiction between competitive structures and giving everyone a game. Therefore it was decided that no U10s should play in the soon to be organised U12 end –of-year leagues. However, if a club could not comfortably reach 11 players, they could seek permission of the board to use younger players.

There was general dissatisfaction with limiting teams to 11 players, however this remains part of general rule and therefore is not up for negotiation at present. Some coaches felt that in smaller-sided games, one or two strong players could dominate more easily. Clubs were also unhappy with fielding two teams concurrently. However, there was no clear answer from the floor with regard to the number at which a club should field two teams i.e. if a club had 16 players, should they play 2 x8 or 1 x11 with 5 subs? It was stated that some players are opposed to splitting up into two teams.
The greatest difficulty this year has been matching teams with similar numbers. Clubs were asked to be clearer on the numbers available to allow appropriate groupings. Travelling long distances also proved to be a problem for western clubs. It was agreed that this would be taken into consideration when grouping clubs for future leagues.

All clubs who are interested in entering leagues are asked to correspond with the regional runai by email before Friday, July 1st. Please supply numbers of players at U12, U11 and U10 in both codes. League fixtures and a suitable format for games will then be published at the subsequent regional board meeting on Monday, July 4th. Games are to be played on Monday nights from mid-July onwards, after the conclusion of U13 competitions.

U10 & U8 Games Programme
At U10 level the major issue was the pairing of teams with similar numbers. With the board having grouped teams based on numbers there was clearly a discrepancy between available numbers on a given night and the numbers recorded initially. It was also felt that playing every week did not allow sufficient room for coaching, particularly in hurling and that fortnightly fixtures were sufficient. Also given the low-intensity nature of games and coaching at this level, a longer playing season could be incorporated.

There were mixed views on the provision of games at U8 level. Having too many organised fixtures came at the expense of coaching. However, having a season of coaching without a game was deemed to be the other extreme. Therefore, it was decided to compile and circulate a list of U8 coaches to allow clubs to contact each other if they required games. Clubs are asked to email contacts tokevin.odonovan.gda.cork@gaa.ie  Finally, in hurling, it was agreed to confine games to ground hurling and to focus on perfecting the grip and striking off both sides. Puck-outs could be replaced by restarting the game with a throw-in at midfield.