This article is from page 36 of the 2008-05-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 36 JPG
ENNIS Rugby Club’s thriving under- age set-up has seen the club named junior club of the year at the second annual Munster rugby awards.
The award is handed out by the re- gional development officers of the Munster branch who scrutinise all aspects of club management.
It acknowledges the achievement by Ennis in registering 386 players between the ages of eight and 18 with both the club and the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).
Ennis received top marks for its coaching structures, the club’s code of ethics and all the hidden, often overlooked effort that goes into run-
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Ennis’s contribution to refereeing also came in for praise. The club currently has one referee – Frank Butler – officiating in the All Ireland rerkea ton
The award is the culmination of five years hard work and a radical overhaul of the club’s underage struc- eb Keny
Chairman of the rugby commit- tee, John Colleran explained that the erowth of the junior section owes much to the support received from xD KLE
He said, “Last year, I think we were the only club in Munster who fulfilled all our fixtures at every age group. It shows how the club has de-
veloped in the past five years. A mad effort has been put into it, particu- larly by the parents who have given huge support.”
John continued “Every year since we Started the cost of our bus hire has reduced because more and more par- ents are bringing kids to the games. All mini rugby players now buy their jerseys. It’s small things like that that make the difference.”
Much of the credit too, John ac- knowledged, goes to coaches like mini league officer Damien Clinton and Gerry Buggy (youth officer) and John Mahon, who were responsible for the painstaking duty of regis- tering, via computer, all 386 names with the IRFU. In all, Ennis has a
coaching staff of over 50, overseeing teams in every age group.
John said, “The coaches put in a lot of effort. It 1s a hard task for the club with such a large underage section. It requires a lot of concentration. The amount of work Gerry and John did, getting kids registered, was great.”
On the field, Ennis has enjoyed plenty of success with six members of the club’s promising under 16 team selected to train with Mun- ster. Former Ennis player Liam Og Murphy played a key role in helping Young Munster to the final of the AIL division two championship.
John said, “You look at what Liam Og did this year and it shows you what can be achieved.”