Antony Sherlock
(Coach)
Day 1
And so it begins! Our final bus journey to the focus of our
preparation for the past four years. The Kennedy Cup. Previous journeys have
brought us to such destinations as Carlow, Cardiff, Donegal, Dublin, Galway,
Mayo, Longford, Limerick, Tipperary and Valetta to name just a few. The mood
was very good on the bus with a few of the players trying to say "Irish
Wrist Watch" as quickly as they could. Try it with someone- it’s
hilarious! There was also another phrase that one player who shall remain
nameless and "Gudgie" was caught out with it; but that’s a story for
another time. The journey was fine and those who have travelled with me in the
past are aware that I NEVER moan about bus drivers or air conditioning on
buses....! We stopped at Ferbane and Borrisokane where yours truly won €8 on a
lottery ticket. A good omen perhaps?
Soccer players, as we all know, are highly intelligent
creatures (pfft) and the topic of conversation turned to an intriguing question
posed by Luke Kelly. If conjoined Siamese twins had a baby would he/she have 2
mothers? A well balanced debate ensued which was highly entertaining. Hopefully
they talk better on the pitch. We arrived at our accommodation just after 7.30
pm and checked in. Bags deposited it was off to the kitchen where our own
miracle worker Norman had prepared beef stroganoff and some sandwiches. Top man
is our Norman. A leisurely stroll of the pitches was the next order of business
where the lads will be showcasing their talent in the next few days.
At 9p.m. we had a talk delivered by a motivational speaker,
Mr Liam Ryan. Many Athlone Town supporters would know Liam as a lifelong
supporter. He had suffered one of the worst cases of brain cancer ever
diagnosed- Stage 4- the worst grade of cancer. Liam stated: "I probably
had stage 44 it was that bad!" He was given a 0.5% chance of beating it.
He did. The hairs stood on the back of my neck as he spoke about the countless
operations and radiotherapy sessions he endured. His message was simple.
"There is always a chance, however small, and never give up". Liam
delivers motivational speeches to a vast array of groups. Business people,
cancer sufferers, atheletes and is one truly amazing human being.
The players had some downtime then with the majority playing
FIFA on the PlayStation. Competition was very high in our apartment and I
didn’t even play yet! Monday sees our first game against Waterford at 7 p.m. I
cannot wait. As Conor Layng would say: "Hon the town"
Kennedy Cup
The Kennedy Cup
is an u14 competition played between Leagues in Limerick University each June when teams
representing all 32 Leagues compete over an entire week with additional
competitions for those teams which do not advance in the Kennedy Cup itself. The best young footballing talent in the country will be on show with attendances swelled with scouts from across Ireland and the UK.
The ADSL have been
drawn in Group 7 along with Waterford, NEC and Inishowen. Following this
evening’s game, they play NEC and Inishowen at 10.30 and 17.00 tomorrow
respectively.
The 2013 ADSL Kennedy Cup Squad:
Oisin O'Meara (St. Francis), Cormac Gavin (Ballinahown), Jonothan
Moloney (Ballinasloe Town), Niall Murray (Hodson Bay Celtic), Daniel Heavin
(Ballinahown), Conor Lynam (Ballinahown), Luke Kelly (AC Celtic), Harry Cornally
(Temple Villa), Conor Layng (Ballinasloe), Brian Derwin (Hodson Bay), Eoin Egan
(Hodson Bay), Conor Farrell (St. Joseph's), Nathan Poland (Ballinahown), Ben
Cox (Temple Villa), Kevin Loonam (Ballinahown), Cialan Dollard (Temple Villa),
Conor Costello (St. Joseph's), Kieran Colclough (AC Celtic), Callum O'Brien
(St. Joseph's) and Jordan Nugent (Ballinahown).
Meanwhile, the
Midlands Kennedy Cup squad have been drawn in Group 6 alongside Limerick
County, Galway and Mayo. They kick off this evening at 19.00 against Limerick
County, before playing Mayo and Galway tomorrow at 12.00 and 19.00.
MSL Kennedy Cup Squad 2013
Back Row L to R: Ger O’Sullivan (Manager), Oran Murphy, Aidan Keena, Adam Dodd,
Kevin Fitzgerald, Jason O’Dwyer, Conor Lacken, Oisin O’Sullivan, Cian Johnson,
Dave Maher & Cormac Barry (Coaches)
Front Row L to R: Niall Doran, Lyndon Quinn, Tristan Finnane, Oisin O’Donohoe,
Matthew Rowden, Sean McCormack, Oisin Proudfoot, Ruairi Lewis, Kaelyn Thompson,
Jamie Ballesty.
Missing from photo: James Keyes & Anthony Kavanagh
0 comments:
Post a Comment