Nursery

 

Like the Irish economy 2010 has been a year of drastic changes in Ballymun Kickhams nursery. However unlike the economy the Nursery is only getting better and better! After a lot of research and planning it was decided that we would relocate the nursery into St Kevin’s  on a trial basis due mainly to the fact that even though we have a state of the art facility it was difficult to commute to it. Up until the relocation we were averaging around 25-30 children every Saturday in Pairc Ciceam. Another reason for the relocation was the availability of the hall at St Kevin’s as we can’t rely on sunshine every Saturday morning. Initially it was thought that it may take time for numbers to slowly increase but in fact it was far from that. Three weeks after our relocation we were averaging 75 children every week, nearly a 200% increase.

 

The nursery’s objective is to provide the fundamental skills for 4-7 year old children so that when they come to u-8 level it will be a swift transition to playing week in week out whilst already learning the fundamental skills of agility, balance, co ordination, running, jumping, throwing, kicking and catching.

All of the above is great in theory but in reality only for the parents of the children none of it would be possible and also some of the old reliables who never let you down.

There are too many parents to mention but I’m  never stuck when it comes to looking for someone to step up to a station so to one and all I convey my sincere thanks. There are some people which i can’t leave out as without them it would simply not work so i cannot let this pass.

Without Orna Hueston the nursery would simply not exist while if there is ever a morning i cant make it i can always call on Colm, Emmett, des, mark, Ollie, john. the list i can say for once is a long one. So long may it continue.

As one failed political party’s motto was “Alot done -  More to do”

Let’s continue what we are doing and we will get alot more done but we will not fail.

 

Under 8’s

A very enjoyable year has come to end with theU/8 team. It started off last January when we had a group of 15 players. We had a number of players who had played at U/8 level the previous year and along with a group of players from the nursery we formed a team. The matches came thick and fast for the lads and they handled themselves very well throughout the season, gaining great experience and enjoyment.

Our Celebrity Bainisteoir Captain Ollie, helped out with the training for a number of months on Tuesday evenings, giving the lads some great advice and tips. The encouragement and assistance from the club coach James Clancy has been very helpful and he continues to keep a very keen eye on the player’s progress, thanks Ollie and James. Without doubt the highlight of the year was the inters great win against Nobber in that Balmy day in October. I can tell for sure the kids have some new heroes in Ollie, the Bear, Sean and many others. Most of the kids were up in Ballymun that day and were bursting with pride and have taken up the chant of “ go on go on the Ballymun” (as seen on T.V) before their recent matches. I would just like to thank all the parents for the help and support and keep bringing those kids up to us even those very cold winter evenings. A big thanks to Alan, Stephen and John who have given their time twice a week throughout the year. 2011 is just upon us and with the continued support from the juvenile committee we look forward to another successful and enjoyable year.

 

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas and a very peaceful New Year. John Leonard.

 

Under 9’s

The Under 9s had a very good season this year and following on from a quarter final exit in the Joey Mooney Feile in Erin’s Isle in September they bounced back to win all but one of their matches in the later part of the season. The team is in very good shape at the moment with numbers in the early twenties having reached almost 30 in the finer weather. A lot of work has being done by the club GPO James to bring on this team and it is showing in the skill levels when we play our matches. Training takes place in Pairc Ciceam on Tuesday Evening with matches on Saturday mornings. With the success in numbers while training in Albert College after the Summer Break we will be moving back there when the evenings get longer.

 

Under 10’s

Under the careful nurturing of Tony Brabazon, Gerry Staunton, Paul Ryan and Eamonn Mc Namee  the Under 10’s are another team on the up. With fantastic numbers and fantastic attitude this team continues to only get better and better. Also hoping to put 3 teams into the league next year in 2011 so will be actively recruiting players for next year from all local schools. If you know of anyone who would be interested please contact any of the managers.

 

Under 11’s

This has been a great year for the u11s. It is the first year Niall, Michael, Robert and myself have had the lads and one lassie for the full year. Our numbers have swelled to over 35 on some nights and often we put out 3 teams. We have played over 40 matches this year. We competed very well in both the A and B leagues with the B team actually winning their league section. The A team were not far away either having lost a number of tight games. We have trained very hard in Albert College, Popintree Park, St. Kevin’s College and of course Pairc Ciceam. We had great turnouts and had great help from the club coach James. We have run a number of fundraisers the main ones being the Juvenile draw and back packing in Tesco Clearwater. We have had some great performances over the year and we feel that each player is improving with every week. We are looking forward to getting down to playing some 15 a side games next year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents who help us with the team their help is invaluable from lifts to marking out the pitches. This team has a very bright future.
 
Eoin, Michael, Robert and Niall.

 

Under 12 A’s

Once again in the top division the U12's continue to work as hard as ever.
Having beaten local rivals Erin’s Isle twice and OP/ER, the boys played out
of their skins against the unbeaten Brigids to go down by only 4 points – a
bad result but the performance of the season, and a credit to the attitude
and commitment of every member of the team.
We look forward to building on this next season

 

 

Under 12 B’s

This team only started this year and have gone from strength to strength. They are more than holding their own in Division 6 and have built up a healthy squad of numbers – approx 25 players. Highlight of the year has been beating our close neighbours Na Fianna three times this season .  Many thanks to Darren Fitzpatrick for being the driving force behind this team and also to Karl Kelly for assisting Darren. Sincere thanks to Unicredit Bank for their sponsorship

 

Under 13’s

This team has had a fantastic year. The first section of the year started in February with the grading leagues- since these had no real significance for Div 1 we used this as a series of challenge matches to prepare for the league. We won one and lost the rest of these games heavily, coming joint last in this league  !! However we found it of great benefit to give everyone a game and try players in different positions.

After this league we started training twice a week, once in Popintree Park and once in Albert College. We started the league in early March and also entered the u-14 cup so that the team would have a game every Saturday. We also sent a selection to play in the International Feile in Birmingham in early June, which the team won , beating Eire Og,Carlow in the final. We won Div 1 in October and reached the final of the u-14 A cup, being defeated by St Anne’s in the final by three points, a great achievement considering that the lads were conceding a year or more in age.

 

The team can proudly boast a great representation (11 players) for the club on the U13 North Dublin Dev. Squad.  We should also give a mention to the many parents who support the team, week in week out, and who also provide transport to many of the away matches. It is a mark of the interest from some of the parents that they show up for training and matches even when their child isn’t there.

We would like to thank our sponsors Topaz and The Victory Credit Union for their financial support during the year.

We would also like to thank club coach James Glancy for helping with training sessions on Friday evenings and Declan Small for helping with fundraising and sponsorship.

 

 Yours in sport Paddy Christie and Tomas Hayes

 

Under 14’s

Although this season ultimately ended without silverware, this was another extremely successful season for this group of players. They started the Season in Division 2 of the U14 league, having won Division 3 the previous year. It should be borne in mind that these players were toiling away in Division 5 grading league only 12 months previous. They have made tremendous progress in a very short period of time.
 
They ultimately finished their league season in a commendable 4th position. The highlight of which was beating the then unbeaten, and eventual League Winners Castleknock, in an epic battle at Pairc Ciceam. An end of Season route of St Maur's was another highlight as it scuppered their promotion ambitions in dramatic fashion. Home and Away wins to Whitehall were particularly sweet for the lads as they had never previously beaten our near neighbours.
 
The Feile took place in early May out in St Anne's Park in atrocious weather conditions. The fact that there were no dressing rooms didn’t help matters ,but the lads didn’t let that deter them. The progressed to the Semi Final comfortably. This set up a Semi Final against St John's of Ballinteer out in Rush. This turned out to be the best game of Football I’ve seen all season, in any grade, at any level. The skill, commitment and effort given by both teams was outstanding. The game eventually went to extra time before St John's sneaked home by a point. They went on to be crowned Champions.
 
The team were also entered in the U15 Shield Championship. They managed to make it all the way to the Final, an outstanding achievement for a team playing one year below their age and having been drawn away from home in every round leading to the final. Unfortunately they fell at the final hurdle to a bigger,stronger,Templeogue Synge Street.
 
This team also played The Nobber U14 team on the day of the Celebrity Bainisteoir Semi Final. They won the match quite comfortably which laid the foundations for one of the best days the Club has ever seen
 
4 of the team went for Trials with the Dublin Development Panel namely, Kevin Kelly, Jamie Bruton, Adam McGrath and Ciaran Staunton. They all preformed very well during the few weeks of the trials. In the end Ciaran Staunton was selected for the final panel. This was another remarkable success story as Ciaran only started to play football in the previous 12 months.
 
The most improved player award goes to Lee Richardson. Lee only joined the panel this year and in a short period of time made outstanding progress culminating in him making the mid field spot his own towards the end of the season.
 
The player of the season goes to David Bolger. The best way I can describe David is, pound for pound he is the best Footballer in Ireland. You name it he has it, accurate with both feet, strong and disciplined in the tackle, intelligent, composed and quick. He has mastered every skill of the game needed to be an outstanding Football player 
 
Finally i would like to thank everybody who helped out with the team during the year with lifts, support etc…. too many to mention individually
I would also like to thank Declan Kearns and Enda Dolan for their help over the past two seasons 
 
So all in all it was a very good year for the lads. We have grown stronger as a panel over the last 12 months and i can only see this team getting stronger and stronger

 

Under 14’s Girls

This team continue to be the flag bearer for ladies football in the club. Ably guided by Claire Hanley (with assistance from Darren Fitzpatrick) the team has been steadily improving throughout the year. Given that all the team are eligible to play under 14 next year the future looks very promising for this bunch of players. As always any assistance, help or new players would be gratefully accepted (please contact Claire or Darren).

 

Under 16’s

After 2 successive promotions over the last 2 seasons this years U16’s found themselves at the pinnacle of U16 football in Dublin in Division 1.

 

Truth be told it was a major step up into the rarefied atmosphere of the premier league but the Mun lads fought a courageous and valiant campaign. Championship hopes were expired at the quarter final stage and they narrowly missed out on the semi finals of the U16 Cup.

 

All in all it has been a truly memorable and special journey with this bunch of dedicated and talented players. The management team would like to thank each of the players individually for all their efforts and we wish them all the best for the future GAA playing careers and indeed whatever chosen career they undertake in life