Getting the kids to come out and follow Charlie
Harrison, 27, is a full-time Games Promotion Officer with Sligo County Board and is spending a few days along with other coaches from the Connacht Council overseeing the top 50 young footballers in the province at NUIG’s sports grounds in Dangan.
The top 10 U15 players from each of the five counties are gone off to the cinema now, so he has an hour to talk sport.
Ironically, Harrison is a man who came to football late in life.
He explained: “It was all rugby with me when I was younger. I started playing rugby when I was six and never played football until the principal (Bernard Mulhern, former Sligo wing-back and now minor manager) of my national school, St John’s Temple Street, – called me over and asked if I played football. I said no and he told me I should start!”
And so he did.
“I only started playing football with my club St John’s when I was 11. It had been all rugby prior to that and was a key part of my life until I was 18 or 19. I played on a club Irish Youths team and with Connacht Youths.
“I used to play full-back, out-half or wing with Sligo junior rugby club, but the hits were taking their toll. I was just over 10 stone and a flyer, and while I could skip by a few of the opposition, you can’t get by them all and I used to get a few big hits and the odd concussion. It just came to a head then and I had to choose one. I love playing Gaelic football and so the rugby had to go.”
No regrets with your decision? “Absolutely none,” comes the reply.
In the past, the GAA has been criticised for not being proactive and progressive regarding games promotion and spending some of their gate receipts on nurturing the future generation.
Harrison is the embodiment of the new forward thinking side of the association. He is not your ordinary five-eighth with a clipboard and a whistle. He has the qualifications to back-up his opinions and strategies.
With a degree in Sports Science from Strawberry Hill in London and a masters in Health Promotion from Jordanstown, where he won a Sigerson in 2008, he has the letters after his name to talk about sport, Gaelic football and health with authority. He is a man well worth listening to.
“I did the masters in Health Promotion as I have a major issue with childhood obesity in Ireland. The numbers in England are up around 25% and we are heading down that road rapidly too.
“When I was doing some substitute teaching for the PE teacher in Sligo it was ridiculous the amount of students who would not take part in the class. And they’d have notes from their parents saying that it was okay for them to just sit on the stage and opt out. It was crazy stuff. These guys love sitting down with their Playstations or their Nintendos eating their comfort food.”
Any PE teacher in any second level school in the country will substantiate those facts.
“I wanted to get into the health promotion area to educate children and parents about the dangers of poor diet and lack of exercise. Diabetes is rocketing in this country and people don’t seem to be aware of why, and the implications of it. It is a massive problem.”
So what’s a key cause of the problem, I ask? His views on the subject are crystal clear.
“Parents. And a lack of education. A lot of parents don’t seem to have the time or inclination to cook their children a good healthy dinner in the evening or even to give them a good substantial lunch going to school. Dropping them off to a chipper for some fat food is okay once in a blue moon, but when it is happening three and four times a week, what chance has a child got?
“The parents are killing their own children’s chance of being healthy and fit into adulthood.”
Harrison is passionate in his beliefs and his enthusiasm is infectious: “If you get your children into any kind of sport at least you will get them aware of the importance of diet and routine and discipline.
“The fact that they have to look after their bodies to compete will hopefully have an impact on their lifestyle for the future.”
He added: “As Gaelic promotion officers we are going around to national and secondary schools and clubs promoting Gaelic games, but it is a lot more than that, we are helping people to improve their lifestyles too.
“I am trying to use Gaelic as a tool to help people be healthier, as well as fostering a love of football.
“I’ve been coaching and doing summer camps since I was 16 and it is always something I love doing. Watching the young girls and lads trying to solo the first day or pick up the ball and seeing how much better they are a few days later is just brilliant. I love my job and the constructive role we play.”
After the Connacht final success of 2007, he has noticed an improvement in awareness of Gaelic football in Sligo, but that is being fast-tracked by other initiatives too.
“There is a sports and recreation course in Sligo IT and all the students in their second year go out and go to every single primary school in Sligo and spend 10 weeks coaching the youngsters.
“All the 69 primary schools get a student for the 10 weeks and that is a really positive development.”
“Sometimes it breaks down between the primary school and the club. We are trying to create the line between the coaching officers in the club and the primary schools.
“Pat Kilcoyne and Liam Óg Gormally who is the games manager for Sligo, spend so much time trying to make a difference at grass roots level. And the children, parents and teachers appreciate the effort put in and the professional approach being taken.”
THAT’S the day job sorted. So what about the health of Sligo football this season? The county have had two rollercoaster years, winning their first Connacht title since the 1970s in 2007 and being hammered by Mayo (3-11 to 0-7) last year.
So what is their state of mind coming into Sunday’s Connacht championship clash against Galway?
“We are in good shape. At the start of the year our objective was to get out of Division 4 and take it one game at a time after that and that is what we are doing and we are focusing exclusively on Sunday.”
Harrison admits the arrival of Galway legend Kevin Walsh has created a huge feelgood factor in the panel.
“Coming after last year – Kevin’s enthusiasm has been a huge boost. He has a massive will to win, but he is realistic and knows where he wants us to go. When he talks, he always makes sense. That is important to a panel like us as we know we have limitations and we have to set realistic objectives and Kevin has done just that.
“From the first moment he walked into the dressing room he has been terrific. It doesn’t matter if you are Eamonn O’Hara or Gary Gaughan who is new on the panel this season, Kevin makes everyone feel included.
“He is a wonderful man-manager.”
The panel are really enjoying the fresh approach of the former All Star who participates in each session.
“We are delighted with the management team of Kevin, Paul Taylor, Dessie Sloyane and Paul Durcan who are his selectors and Mick Toland who takes a few sessions and drew up our weights programme. The mood in the camp is extremely positive.”
Galway are 1/5 favourites to advance to the Connacht final with Sligo available at 9/2. What is his attitude to such dismissive odds?
“Galway are a Division One side, and it will be a big step up for us after playing in Division Four. However Antrim beat Donegal and we beat Antrim in the Division Four final. Anything is possible. Galway have some fantastic players like Meehan and Joyce but they won’t get out of Markievicz Park without a real fight. After getting promotion from Division 4 we have a fair bit of confidence and momentum. We beat Galway in the Connacht final two years ago when we had real belief and stuck to our plan. And that is what we intend to do next Sunday.”
