Friday 28th October 05. An Evening with Sean Connor
The Bit O'Red Supporters Trust has organised an event that will play host to Sean Connor and various other guests (to be confirmed)
The event is being held in the City Hotel (formerly Tower Hotel) on Friday 28th of October 2005. The evening will commence at 8pm and everyone with an interest in soccer at any level within Sligo is invited to attend.
Sean Connor has been confirmed as one of the guest speakers and we hope that the other invited speakers, ranging from a former player , local soccer representatives and coaches will also attend.
There will be a focus on youth football, junior football and Sligo Rovers. We hope a speaker who has played and coached and every level will be available to attend.
Afterwards everyone will be given a chance to quiz each of the speakers in a 'Questions and Answers Session'.
Whatever your association with football in Sligo, this evening is simply not to be missed. Whether you are a player, coach or supporter of football at any level in Sligo then there will be something of interest to you on the night.This is a unique chance to put your questions directly to our guest speakers (which we hope to confirm very soon). Admission is free (optional donation at the door).
Friday 28th October 2005 8pm - "An Evening of Sligo Soccer" not to be missed.
Sligo’s soccer fans snub beneficial forum
Last Friday night in the Sligo City Hotel, Quay Street, the Bit O’Red [Sligo Rovers] Supporters Trust held a forum on soccer in Sligo with speakers involved from all levels of the game.
This was an ideal opportunity for those with an interest in soccer to air their views and hear the opinions of those involved in the day-to-day running of soccer in Sligo. Despite this, there was a poor turnout with many missing out on what proved to be a very informative evening.
Gerry Farry of Ocean FM was the chairman for the evening and the first speaker was Sligo Rovers legend, Chris Rutherford, who was involved with the club for over 20 years as a player, coach, assistant-manager and caretaker manager.
Rutherford talked of how he came to the club and the highlight of his time with Rovers which was when they won the National League in 1977. His also mentioned the low point of his career which was Rovers’ defeat to a disputed penalty in the 1978 FAI Cup final.
“I am delighted to see all the progress that has been made in The Showgrounds in the last few seasons in terms of ground development and I would like to congratulate [Sligo Rovers manager] Sean Connor on what he has done so far this season,” commented Rutherford.
Connor himself was the next speaker and he pointed out that all of the speakers present agreed on one thing – that they wanted the best for soccer in the region.
The Sligo Rovers boss said that events such as the forum were all about confidence-building and establishing relationships between the different levels within the game in Sligo.
He spoke of how he wanted Sligo Rovers to be the focal point for soccer in Sligo. He also stressed the importance of coaching education and said that he would have no problem taking technically gifted young, local players and moulding them into a winning team.
Connor did point out, however, that if these players aren’t to be found within Sligo then he would have to bring in players from elsewhere. He said that the production of players should be the remit of everyone involved in youth soccer.
Noel M Kennedy, the secretary of the Sligo-Leitrim & District Junior Soccer League, was the next speaker. He summarised his background in the game and how he got involved in the Sligo-Leitrim League.
He explained how Junior soccer has grown in the last few years with their now being 36 clubs, 38 teams and over 1,000 registered players in the Sligo-Leitrim League.
He said that all young players should have aspirations of playing for their local club and that youth soccer should be a conveyor belt for both Senior and Junior level.
Kennedy went on to say that he would like to see more clubs from County Leitrim taking part in the Sligo-Leitrim League and that he would like to see the forthcoming FAI ‘Centres of Excellence’ in Connacht based in Sligo and Galway where there are two Senior clubs.
The next speaker was Niall Davey, chairman of the Sligo-Leitrim Youth & Schoolboys League. Davey echoed the sentiments of the previous speakers regarding the needs for better playing facilities and improved coaching.
He said that Salthill Devon’s ground at Drum should be the aspiration model for clubs and that young players must be allowed to develop at their own pace.
Davey outlined just how successful the introduction of ‘associate’ referees had been for the Sligo-Leitrim Youth & Schoolboys League and that they are the leading Youth & Schoolboys League, apart from the DDSL, in the roll-out of the FAI ‘Kick-Start 1’ coaching course.
He also said that the Sligo-Leitrim Youth & Schoolboys League has recently introduced football at U-8 and U-10 level and how they have these youngsters playing non-competitive games.
The final speaker at Friday’s informative forum was Sligo Rovers chairman Michael Toolan, who talked about the medium-term plans of the club’s Management Committee and Development Committees, which are all about laying the foundations for a sustained period in the Premier Division.
He said that work has already started on the new boundary wall. The club hope to start work on the proposed ‘hospitality’ area in the new year. Toolan said that Rovers are a ‘community’ club and that they are always looking for volunteers to get involved.
A ‘question and answer’ session followed the contributions of the individual speakers. Among the topics was the construction of clubhouse in The Showgrounds to the possibility of youth and junior soccer in Sligo-Leitrim switching to the summer months.
http://www.sligoweekender.ie/news/story.asp?j=25337
The State of Underage Football
I bet Niall didn't talk about the fact that there are 26 players playing for one under-14 club. How are players supposed to learn to play football if there not playing football?:confused:
