2009 sees the launch of an exciting and new chapter in the history of Glanmire GAA with the establishment of The Glanmire Football Academy. This Academy is one of the first of it’s kind at club level in the country and is designed to place Glanmire GAA back to the top-table of Cork Football. The Academy is the first of it’s kind at grassroots level and hopes to be a blueprint for youth development across the country going forward.
The Academy is open to budding young footballers from the age of 16 to 21 and endeavours to educate these athletes on a wide ranging variety of subjects all designed to enhance performance. The Academy will offer top-class coaching with an emphasis on skill enhancement, strength and conditioning, and tactical awareness. We will also have guest speakers and guest coaches invited in to the Academy to pass on their advice to our players. Already we have had the former Kerry All-Ireland winning coach Pat O’Shea conduct a training session with the Academy. He remarked that 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.
It is hoped that many of these young players will graduate from the Academy to spearhead the club’s ambition to finally land the elusive Premier Intermediate Football title and develop further into an established Senior Football club. The Academy will be launched on the 30th January with a floodlit tournament with Glanmire hosting Fermoy, Mitchelstown and Valley Rovers. 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 a la The Heineken Cup which will reward teams who score two or more goals or lose within 4 points. It is hoped this format will lead to free flowing and competitive football over the duration of the tournament.
For more information on the tournament please click on the Glanmire Academy Trophy section on the left of this page.
The Glanmire Football Academy – ‘Play Hard, Play Smart, Play Together’
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