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THE KERRY McKEON BLOG ... ISSUE 57

SEPT 5^th to 8^th  2016 ... THE  SIGNIFICANCE  AND  THE  CHALLENGE

I was lucky enough to be present at Sligo’s new Centre of Excellence on Monday Sept 5^th and also Bunninadden’s Community Park on Thursday Sept 8^th to witness two sensational sporting victories in our clubs history (1) The Under 16’s winning the Sligo 2016 A championship final and (2) The Under 14’s winning the Sligo 2016 B championship final. Both were tremendous displays of high quality football with excellent technique, discipline, skill and teamwork displayed at all times while being coaxed and coached on the sideline by two marvellous management teams whose football pedigree is indisputable. It was undoubtedly a red letter week for the club and it may well have marked the foundation of a new and exciting era of success for our club at adult level.

What a week for the Killaraght area in general and under 16 captain Marcus Meehan in particular. For a bonfire to blaze in Killaraght as it did on Monday night Sept 5^th  to celebrate the arrival of Marcus with the cup  is a special tribute indeed to the youngster, the scorer of eight wonderful points for the club. He now surely becomes the most celebrated Killaraght footballer since that Sligo great of the 1940’s and 1950’s the peerless John Joe Lavin who is i understand a blood relation of Marcus. Well done to captain Marcus and the entire panel and management on a wonderful performance and indeed it was entirely appropriate that Killaraght should be the first port of call for the under 16 celebrations.

On to Thursday Sept the 8^th in Bunninadden where in another brilliant display of workrate and concentration our Under 14’s overcame the challenge of Tubbercurry/Cloonacool in the championship final by a handsome margin. Their footpassing was excellent in this final while their early release of the ball to an alert colleague who was already moving off his man was a fine example of the solid hours of preparation put in by the management team. A high skill level was evidenced in this final also and allied to the Under 16 triumph augurs well for the future of the club.

A new and exciting era of success  may very well be on the horizon for our club however with it comes a massive challenge – how to harness the skill of all of these youngsters, how to nurse them along and how to mould them into a senior championship winning side a number of years down the road from now. This will prove to be a monstrous challenge for our club. Inevitably, for varied reasons, there will be players lost along the way. But we must fight to keep this slippage to an absolute minimum. Creating a band of brothers atmosphere of togetherness with the ultimate resolve of securing a senior win would help. Joining Co Development squads would help too for those selected. Their chosen second and third level participation in football would benefit too. But ultimately it will come down to their own ambitions. If they want it badly enough they will get it. We have the personnel to guide them along. The mentors of this week allied to a few that may be coming along, gave us a glimpse of the way forward. Let all of us stand behind it.

Lean  na  Clairsigh
Bye for now
P J McKeon    for  Kerry McKeon  R.I.P.