In association with GAA National Coaching and Games Development and the Ulster Council Coaching and Games Committee an Activity Day for players who are 12 years of age (born 1999) has being organised for Monaghan and three (3) other counties from Ulster on Tuesday 19th July from 10 to 11:30 am in Croke Park. The purpose of the initiative is to give our young players an opportunity to play our national game at GAA headquarters.

Outline of Day

The procedure for the day will be as follows;

1. A bus / buses from the county will take all players, referees, helpers, volunteers & county coaching staff to Croke Park.

2. At Croke Park, there will be three (3) pitches set up for football and one (1) for Hurling.

3. There will be six (6) teams for Go Games Football and three (3) teams for Go Games Hurling,

4. The football teams will play continuously and will rotate pitches at the end of each game.

5. The Hurling will operate with two (2) teams on and one (1) team off and at the end of each game a different team will sit out.

6. Plans are in place to have a tour of the museum,

7. More specific information on arrangements for the day to Croke Park will follow the closing date for nominations i.e. Monday 27th June 2011.

Event Management

Every club in the county will be asked to contribute towards the cost of transporting the players and support staff to and from Croke Park. The cost of bus hire and any other costs will be divided equally across all Football and Hurling clubs in the county.

Each player will be required to bring their own packed lunch with them on the day.

What we now require is:

Football – 30 clubs to nominate 2 players each  = 60 players. This will mean that we will have 6 teams of 9 a side and 1 rotating sub (10 in total on a panel), playing on 3 pitches.

For Football

Each Club to nominate 2 x U12 players.

These players have to be born in 1999.

Date of birth will need to be provided for each player.

Hurling – 7 clubs to nominate 4 players each = 28 players = 3 teams (8 a side, 9 on a panel), playing on 1 pitch.

 

For Hurling

Each club to nominate 4 U12 Players.

These players have to be born in 1999.

Date of birth will need to be provided for each player.

Selection process and notification of names

1. Clubs are free to use whatever method they choose to select the players to represent them in Croke Park.

2. When the players representing the club have been selected their names and DOB must be forwarded to the Games Development Manager (GDM) by the Monday 27th June 2011.

3. If clubs fail to meet this deadline their places will be offered to another club chosen by lottery.

4. The GDM will not be giving reminders to clubs on this matter.

Coaching Committee Input

1. The coaching committee will provide all our coaching staff to help manage the event. We will also bring some on field water and energy food such as fruit, jaffa cakes and dried fruit.

2. We will also include a first aid person in the support staff.

3. A memento of the occasion will be given to each player.

Conclusion

The Monaghan Coaching and Games Committee encourage clubs to support this event. For the players chosen, this will be a great personal memory in later years. From a club perspective it should be promoted, have a pictorial record of the occasion documented and an agreed and transparent method of selection adopted.
—
Paul O’Connor
Games Development Manager
Monaghan County Grounds
Cloghan, Annyalla
Co.Monaghan
086-8374827
developmentmanager.monaghan@gaa.ie