• 

  General

• Sunday January 29th, 2017 @ 22:40

Academy Update

The U17 and U19 seasons kick off again in late March. Ger is pleased with how the first few weeks of pre season have gone.
"We're happy with where both squads are at at the moment.

A lot of work goes in identifying the players we are looking to bring into the club and into a new environment. The younger players of course will take some time to settle in, but the first couple of weeks have gone very well."

O'Brien says the squads are taking shape nicely.

"Another positive of our U17 winning the league last season is that ten of that group have been promoted up to the U19s. That for me is very important and it shows that we are doing something right.

Many of those lads have been with us since the start of the U17 league in 2015 and have a good understanding of the ethos and values of the club, how they are expected to train, play and behave on and off the pitch."

The FAI National U15 League of Ireland will kick off in July, and Ger along with Liam Buckley has been hard at work behind the scenes finding a manager, coaching staff and drawing up a list of potential players.

"The U15 league is obviously coming quickly down the line and it will take a bit of time and patience from everyone on it as the kids are still at a delicate stage of their development. We are close to announcing our U15 coaching team and have been doing a player ID for over a year, I'm delighted with what we have managed to do so far."

Our U17s and U19s will both face Derry City on the opening weekend of their seasons in late March.