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It was another enjoyable and successful season in the non competitive age groups (7-11) with a noticeable increase in numbers.
Our Academy that caters for starters (6-7 years) had our busiest season since we started back in 2010. We had our highest average attendance and it was also good to see more parents getting involved as coaches and assistants. The League (TSSDL) also commenced blitzs at the Under 7 age group and this proved a success. Our Under 7s had their first outing in Clerihan and these were followed by a second blitz at Clonmel Town and for our final official blitz of the season the Under 7s played on the main pitch at Celtic in a blitz that also included teams from St Michaels and Clerihan. We had the ideal number of Under 7s last season that allowed us to invite all the children to every blitz we played regardless of ability. We completed the U7 season with a home and away games against Callan Utd in April. Our Under 7s will spend one more year with the Academy next season.
The rest of the Academy is made up with our Under 8s. As we had much bigger numbers in the age group we were unable to bring them all to every blitz but all the children would have been invited at some stage during the season. We kicked off the season with a friendly blitz with Kilsheelan Utd last October and this was followed by monthly blitzs in Tipperary, Cahir, Town and Celtic before we completed the season with a home and away blitz with Piltown. Our Under 8s will leave the Academy now and become our Under 9s next season.
Jacinta Mullins took charge of the Under 9s and they had a very successful and enjoyable season meeting every Saturday morning for some great sessions. In this regard we would like to thank Darren Murray, FAI Development Officer, who put together some good training sessions for the kids. Jacinta was very pleased with the team’s efforts and performances in the monthly blitzs that ran during the season that saw the boys play games in Burncourt, Clonmel Town, Kilsheelan, Celtic and Clerihan. The Under 9s kicked off the season with a friendly against Kilsheelan Utd and finished up the year with some very good tests against Piltown and Evergreen (Kilkenny). Next season for this category the games will be 7 aside and the boys will now have games every fortnight.
Under 10 Head Coach Adam Hunt reported a great season for his Under 10s where they had plenty of games. At this age group it’s 7 v 7 with games nearly every fortnight. There were two U10s teams playing with the A team more than holding their own in the A division. The B team were in a very tough league against teams who were maybe better suited to higher levels but nevertheless they have shown progression. The bigger pitch and longer playing time at u10 has really benefitted both teams and Adam says that they will be playing more on grass next season in their final year of non competitive football.
Finally, in this age category, it was another good year for George Hindley’s Under 11s. Similar to the Under 10s it’s 7 v 7 at this age group and George had two teams playing in the A division and B division. Both teams performed well in their respective divisions with the A team showing they have the potential to more than hold their own in the Under 12 Premier Division next year. This division can be very testing for the boys entering competitive football but if they continue to put in the effort and hard work they should be well able for the challenge. Although it was the final year of non competitive soccer for these boys the League introduced a Cup and a Shield competition at the end of the season for the Under 11s. During this competition the boys had an early taste of the wide range of emotions that goes with winning and losing. In the cup they faced Cashel Town and unfortunately, having beaten Cashel twice during the season, they were held to a 2-2 draw only then to suffer the disappointment of a penalty shoot out defeat. This meant the Under 11s contested the Shield and the lottery of penalty kicks was a significant factor here. Having drawn 0-0 with Mullinahone in the semi Celtic won a penalty shoot out to progress to the Shield Final where they faced Clonmel Town. After an exciting 2-2 draw it was down to penalties once more and the boys held their nerve to win the shoot out and claim their first competitive trophy.
Next week we will continue our review with a look at our Schoolboys and Youths.