Getting young lads interested in hurling.

[Bud Wiser]

The principal of the local school here in Firhouse is retiring in June this year.  Mr. Curtin whose son David plays for the Dub's is originally from Kilkenny and was responsible for putting hurleys into the hands of young lads as soon as the walked in the gate of the school. I remember the excitement years ago whe he hired a bus to drive the young lads around he roads and estates after they won the county championship.

I wonder what is going to happen when the likes of Maurice Curtain is gone from all our primary schools?  Will the criteria for replacements of principals around the country ensure that our national game is foremost in the sports activities to be promoted? I hope come June Danny Lynch or at least the local club, Ballyboden St. Enda's put a piece of Crystal Glass on Mr. Curtains desk for his contribution to the GAA over the last twenty five years and for the number of young lads playing hurling today who would not be doing so without his efforts.  Maybe we should have, instead of Manager of The Month type thingy in the Independent, some recognition for what is done at schools level as well, but whatever the incentive, we must ensure that every young lad gets a chance to play hurling from an early age.

[Hardy]

The GAA needs to organise itself to fill the gap that used to be occupied by GAA-committed teachers. We all know the list of reasons why there are so few teachers promoting/actively involved in the games in the schools, where there used to be so many. This is the field that must be cultivated - we need more and more full-time juvenile-level coaches.

Someone came up with the germ of an idea here a while ago. Perhaps a better use of resources than building unneeded stadiums in nearly every county, would be to offer to fund teachers in the primary schools system and maybe school pitches, equipment, etc. in return for a commitment of a certain number of hours per week for GAA coaching.

It's not as off-the-wall as it may seem. I know the government has refused offers of free hospitals, etc. before, but surely it would be an attractive proposition to them in helping to meet their goals of reducing pupil/teacher ratios. The GAA giving back to the community again, etc. It would be hard to refuse.

Of course we couldn't afford a GAA-funded teacher in every primary school, but certain urban areas could be targeted – the rural areas will still largely take care of themselves as always.

[neilthemac]

gaa sports are only a very small part of the PE curriculum in primary school

so i doubt that would be a runner.

PE provision doesn't rank very high in many school's priorities

I think just having someone coming into the school (part time) to do the sport with them helps. Once the kids are playing they are interested. Of course the local clubs should be keeping a very close eye on how much GAA games/material children are exposed to in school to ensure a steady supply of interested underage players.