Glanmire club gets academic

GLANMIRE GAA club has broken new ground with the establishment of the Glanmire Football Academy, the first of its kind at club level in the country.

Glanmire GAA club hopes the academy will be a blueprint for youth development across the country and is open to budding young footballers from the age of 16 to 21, endeavouring to educate these athletes on a variety of subjects designed to enhance performance.

The academy will offer top-class coaching with an emphasis on skill enhancement, strength and conditioning, and tactical awareness. It will feature guest speakers and guest coaches such as former Kerry All-Ireland winning coach Pat O’Shea, who has already conducted a training session with the academy.

O’Shea said the academy was an innovative and unique idea that offers club players the opportunity to develop as both athletes and people in a professionally run environment.

Glanmire GAA club hope that the academy players will spearhead the club’s ambition to land the Cork Premier Intermediate Football title and to develop further into an established senior football club.

The academy was launched last night with a floodlit tournament, with Glanmire hosting Fermoy, Mitchelstown and St. Nicholas. The tournament will adopt a novel format, with teams playing only two group games then a Trophy and Plate final.

Teams will be separated on the basis of bonus points, similar to the Heineken Cup, which will reward teams who score two or more goals or lose by four points or less.

Glanmire Floodlit Tournament, Pike Field, Sallybrook Sunday: St. Nicholas v Mitchelstown, 6.30pm; Friday 13th February: Glanmire Academy v St. Nicholas, 8pm; Sunday 15th February: Fermoy v Mitchelstown, 6.30pm; Friday 20th February: Plate Final: Team 3 v Team 4, 6.30pm; Trophy Final: Team 1 v Team 2.

* There will be an award for player of the tournament to be decided by local media; fixtures subject to change.