Secretary’s Report...

A Chairde Ghael,

As Secretary of Bride Rovers Juvenile GAA Club I would like to extend a huge welcome to you all, to this our 41st  Annual General Meeting.

Our highlights for 2018 include:

U6’s competed in numerous blitzes throughout the season showing tremendous skill at such a young age.

U, 7’s, 8’s & 9’s competed in numerous blitz’s also but under Rebel Og format, playing in Pairc Uí Chaoimh.

U10 represented the club in the annual Ballyduff Tournament and competed in the Rebel Og League.

U11 winning the Gerard Kenny Memorial Blitz, unsuccessful in the Celbridge blitz, defeated in the semi-final.

U12 Winning the Jimmy Myles Perpetual Cup for the third year in a row.

U13’s reached semi final P2 Hurling League.

U14’s victorious in winning the P1 Hurling League and also victorious in winning the Theresa Walsh Memorial Tournament, where a fantastic day was had by all.

U15’s reached semi-final of both championship and league.

U16’s progressed to 2nd round of Championship.

Minors crowned County Champions in P2 Hurling and are in waiting to play the final of the League.

The representation from our club playing for Cork this year was phenomenal.  Cork U14 hurlers Adam Walsh, Conor Hazelwood, Cillian Tobin, Ronan O Connell, Josh Ahern and David Barry in winning both the Tony Forrister & Sony Walsh All Ireland Series Tournament in Waterford.Edmund Cashman representing the club in U15 Cork team, reaching the Final against Galway.

Kieran Kearney made and competed in games with the Cork Minor Development Squad of 2018.

Patrick O Flynn represented the club in the Cork Minors  this year, Eoin and Brian Roche on the U21 Panel, wining the Munster Title, beating Tipperary, but unsuccessful to Tipperary in the All Ireland U21 Hurling Final.

Sciath Na Scoil was another great achievement this year, big congratulations to Rathcormac NS in reaching the final  and Bartlemy Ns, reaching the semi final both contesting amazing games.

The Cul camp was a great success again this year thanks to Annemarie Knox and Jerome O Driscoll and Jamie Barry for co-ordinating.  Also big thanks to Alan Cadogan for attending.

Team Reports 

BRIDE ROVERS  U6 Team ReportU6 training commenced at the end of March this year. We began with football on Saturdays only.  We started hurling a few weeks later on Wednesday evenings. From the start numbers were phenomenal , with 25- 30 at every session and nearly 50 players in total on our books at the end of this year. We hosted our first blitz at home playing Watergrasshill and then in June Glenville invited us to their Bonfire Festival to take part in their hurling and football blitz, all our players were excellent and enjoyed themselves immensely. Throughout the rest of the season we travelled to Castlelyons and Ballynoe for further more blitz’s and fun.We finished up on Saturday 29th October with a Halloween kids costume and games party and a party.We had an excellent coaching team this year at U6. I would like to thank all the mentors for all their help throughout a busy but very enjoyable year.Special thanks to all the players and parents for their attendance also.Paddy Croake Fé 6 Runaí

BRIDE ROVERS U7 Team Report U7 training commenced at the end of March this ye.  We had a consistent panel of 23 players but could have up to 28 for some training sessions.We were very active in Pairc Ui Chaoimh this year competing in the Rebel Og Blitz, we competed in hurling and football on two occasions each.  We also competed in blitz’s in our neighbouring parishes Watergrasshill and Glenville.This is a very talented and dedicated bunch of players and their improvement over the year was very impressiveI would like to thank Mike Mohally, Emma Roddis, Mark Collins, Sean Murphy, Kevin Quinlan, Pamela Hogan, and Alan Broderick for all their help and support throughout a very enjoyable year.

Special thanks to all the players and parents for their attendance all year also.  Aine O Grady Fé 7 Runaí

BRIDE ROVERS U8 Team Report U8 training commenced at the end of March this year. We began with football on Saturdays only.  We started hurling 2 weeks later on Saturdays and moved football to Wednesday nights. We had a full programme with Rebel Og this year, consisting of Monster blitzs in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Regional Blitz’s and Club based blitz’s.We attended 2 hurling and 2 football Blitz’s in PUC. We attended a Regional Football Blitz in Aghada in June.  For the Club based Blitz’s we were in groups and we travelled around to the groups during the year.Football Group: Bride Rovers, Aghada, Lisgoold, Midleton and St ColmansHurling Group: Bride Rovers, Whites Cross, Watergrasshill, Carrig na bhFear, Whitechurch and Mayfield We hosted a Hurling blitz in May and a football Blitz in September. We also did home and away hurling matches with Watergrasshill during the year. Our last game of the year was a mixed Hurling blitz with the U9`s in early November. This is a very talented and dedicated bunch of players and their improvement over the year was very impressive.We had an excellent coaching team this year at U8. I would like to thank Donncha Carr, Charlie Scanlan, Damien Healy, Brendan Merrigan, John Ahern, Michelle O`Donovan, Dermot O`Brien, Declan O`Donovan and Ken Harrington for all their help throughout a busy but very enjoyable year.Special thanks to all the players and parents for their attendance all year.John LynchFé 8 Runaí

BRIDE ROVERS U9 Team Report Our boys started back training in early March, however with the weather issues at the start of the season we didn’t get up and running properly until mid April. We started with approx. 24 players which meant that we entered a 2 team league...9 a side and played each weekend against similar sized clubs. Each league was meant to comprise of 12 teams however we probably only played 9 of each due to weather and scheduling issues.We trained each Wednesday night and played games each Saturday morning...hurling and football in rotation. In playing with 2 balanced teams each week it meant that all players got plenty of game time, experience and had the ability to develop. We were extremely competitive. Even though these games were still “non competitive” we found that for the vast majority of our games that we have players who are capable of holding their own against the strongest players from opposition teams and the balance within the team is developing.During the year we gained a few extra players who certainly have added to the skill mix within the team. This year it was noticeable that the physicality against some teams has certainly increased but our lads are able to handle themselves. Our team has certainly turned into a proper “team”....as one of our competitor mentors told me. Our lads are chasing in packs, and have the skill levels to compete. We finished up the year by playing in a “parish league” format with the u10s and then with the u8s. Despite the cold weather these were great fun for the lads as it got them an opportunity to play against their mates. This year has certainly enhanced the skill levels within the lads. Combined with their natural competitive ability and their love for the game it augurs well for their step up next year.Many thanks for the parents that have continued to offer great support to the lads. On a personal level it’s been great to work with a great team of coaches. So to Blaithin, John, Vincey, Batt, Richie & Paul I say thanks.Jerome O Driscoll  Fé 9 Runaí

BRIDE ROVERS U10  Team Report The following is the report on behalf of the Under 10 team for 2018:The panel consisted of a total of 24 boys and met twice weekly, on Tuesdays or Wednesdays during the week and Saturdays mornings.  There was a high rate of participation with 15-20 boys turning up to the majority of training sessions.  The training commenced in March and will continue until the last week of November.  The training and matches generally alternated between hurling and football.  The team entered the Rebel Óg U10 League in both hurling and football with 2 teams entered in each (9 a side).This was well received by the players with a high rate of participation.  Approximately 8 league matches took place in both hurling and football. In hurling our opposition included (among others) Youghal, Kiltha Óg, Watergrasshill,Castlelyons, St Colmans, Mallow, Croke Rovers and Cobh; and in football such teams as Aghada, Mitchelstown, Kilara Óg, Kiltha Óg, St Michaels, Kilavullen, SliabhRua.The year culminated with twoRebel Óg final blitzes  which in football consisted of Nemo Rangers,Carrigtwohill and Lisgould. Unfortunately, due to a local bereavement we were unable to participate in the hurling blitz. Overall the year progressed smoothly and by year end it was clear that the boys had made significant progress in their skill levels.  It was also reassuring to see the same level of commitment and participation rates from the start to the end.  This was in no small part down to the work put in by my fellow trainers: Padraig Murphy, David Morey, Denis Fitzgerald, Seamus O’Farrell and Michael Walsh; I’d like to thank them for their efforts throughout the year.Brendan Lyons Fé 10 Runaí

Bride Rovers U11 & U12 Team Report 

Our U11 were very competitive in both hurling and football Rebel Og League basis games all through the season  They won all their hurling games in which the completed in, and all but two games in the football.  They won the Rebel Og football final league played in Youghal where they beat all three teams consisting of (Youghal ,A, Youghal B, and Lisgoold) We were unable to participate in the Rebel Og hurling final but I’m sure the lads would have made a good account of themselves there too.We hosted  3 teams (Sars A, Sars B and WhiteChurch) in the hurling summer league blitz.  The format of this blitz only allowed ground, if took the lads a few minutes to get used to this but they won all three games convincingly.They travelled to Celbridge to participate in the annual blitz in July  and played outstanding games of hurling, narrowly being defeated in the semi finals by Killmallock. .The team also won and retained the shield in the annual Jerard Kenny Hurling  Memorial Blitz with participating teams from Castlelyons, Watergrasshill,Lisgoold and Killara Og .A number of our players joined the panel of the U12’s to form a team which  participated in various blitz’s and challenge matches throughout the year ,they won and retained the cup winning it “3 in a row “ in the annual Jimmy Myles Araglen GAA hurling Blitz defeating Killara Og in the final .The U11s had a great year and they tasted success and a little bit of defeat.  Importantly they all improved individually and improved as a team.  They are a great team always wanting to learn and do better.  They are great to deal with and always turn up in great form for training and matches.   A big thank you to Ken, Mark, Paddy and Will for their time throughout the year. A big thank you to all who helped the U11s, from washing and ironing of jerseys,  baking, tea and coffee making, and our young refs who helped ref our games.  To the parents we’d like to say thanks for letting your child play for us, they are a credit to ye all.  Big thanks for your continued support and hope 2019 will be as enjoyable as 2018. Sean Cronin Fé 11 & 12 Runaí

BRIDE ROVERS U13  Team Report Hurling :This year the Under 13’s stepped up two grades in hurling to Premier 2from last years East ‘A” grade, our first match was away to Na Piarsaigh where we suffered a heavy defeat, however the lads took the defeat on the chin, and remained unbeaten throughout the remainder of the league, finishing a very creditable 2nd in the standings.Our final hurling  match of this season was a semi final defeat to Na Pairsaigh.League:13/04/2018  NaPairsaigh 6:14 v 2:08 Bride Rovers23/04/2018 Bride Rovers 2:13 v 0:09 Inniscarra30/04/2018 Blackrock 3:05 v 6:11 Bride Rovers18/05/2018 Ballincollig 2:07 v 2:11 Bride Rovers04/06/2018 Bride Rovers 3:16 v 4:07 Bandon18/07/2018 Bride Rovers v Ballinhassig w/o03/09/2018 Erins Own 3:13 v Bride Rovers 4:1017/09/2018 Bride Rovers 4:14 v Mallow 3:06League semi final play off:03/10/2018 Bride Rovers 1-09 v Na Pairsaigh 1-15Football:Our football season was confined to July with what felt like a hastily constructed championship being run off over consecutive weekends, it gave little time for idealpreparation with such short notice but the lads progressed through the first stages to move onto the next stage where they lost out to Aghabullogue. Notes:In every match the team played they gave their all for the club and for each other, and no more could be asked of them, hopefully the club will see further progression from this group next season.Best of luck and thanks to Eddie O’Callaghan as he moves on from this mentor groupThanks to all the parents for their help, support and encouragement throughout the season. Nevan Butler Fé 13 Runaí

Bride Rovers U14, U15 & U16 Team ReportU14 HurlingWe feel we made a very strong progression this year.  We won all of our hurling league games.  As we were top of the table we went straight through to Semi Finals where we met Midleton.  We won this game by 6 points.  We then progressed to the final against St Finbarr’s.  This was a great team performance.  We were the hungrier team on the day and ran out with an easy win in the end beating them 1-13 to 0-5.  This is the first ever win at the grade for the club.  It is a huge achievement for this group of boys and the club.

U14 Féile Hurling.Qualifying rounds were held in St Ita’s were we came up against Youghal and Killeagh.  We won both games and progressed to a final against Midleton which we won by a few points.  This meant that we qualified for the Cork Semi –Final against Na Piarsaigh.  We had a brilliant performance for the 30 minutes and we won by 6 points.  We met St Finbarr’s in the final again but lost out by the narrowest of margins.

U14 Hurling Championship.In the Quarterfinal’s we met Na Piarsaigh.  This was a high scoring game that we won by 6 points.  IN the Semi-Finals we came up again against St Finbarr’s.  We just did not show up on the day and we ended up losing by 6 point.

U14 Football ChampionshipWe played Ballincollig in championship.  They were just too strong and beat us on the day. We also entered the challenge cup.  We received a bye from Midleton in the semi-final.  We then progressed to the final where we played Glanmire in Ballygarvan.  We missed a lot of chances on the day and we ended up losing by 3 points.

U14 Theresa Walsh Memorial CupWe had three teams visit Rathcormac, Mount Sion, Lismore of Waterford and St Mary’s from Tipperary.  Our boys remained on top throughout all their games and we came out deserving winners and once again kept the cup at home.

U15This year in U15 hurling league P2.  We played 7 games.  We won 4, drew 1 and lost 2.  We lost the semi-final of the league to Valley Rovers after extra time.  We won the first round of championship to Killeagh Ita’s in Rathcormack.  We lost the semi-final versus Blackrock in church road to a strong Blackrock side.  We feel we made good progress this year considering that we have only 4 on the age.

U16 HurlingWe only entered the U16B North Division hurling championship due to only having two on the age.  First we up we met Killavullen who we defeated by 8 points.  We progressed to meet a strong Ballycastle team with 5 Regel Óg team members and they were just too strong on the day.

U16 FootballWe played in the B Championship where we got a bye in the first round.  We then met Castlelyons in the B1 Football championship and unfortunately they were too strong for us. Brendan Walsh Fé 14, 15 & 16 Runaí

Bride Rovers Minor  Report

Football Coaches: James Ahern, Joe Barry and Martin O’ Sullivan.

Hurling Coaches: Alan Fitzgearld, Barry Johnson, Denis Ahern, Martin O’ Sullivan  and Jerome O’ Driscoll

Hurling :- Level: Premier 2 

There was a panel of 25 players (13 U18s, 10 U17s and 1 U16 and 1 U15).

Training commenced on the all-weather surface on 05/02/2017.

Our 1st league game was played on 06/04/2018 beating Watergrasshill.

Our next game was a loss against Blackrock on 11/04/2018. 

Further league wins over St. Finbarrs, Fermoy, Valley Rovers, Glen Rovers and Shandrum meant that we finished top of the league. We beat Valley Rovers in the league semi-final and will now play Shandrum in the final on 02/12/2018.

In the 1st round of the Championship we were drawn against St. Finbarrs – a game played in PaircUiRinn on 26/04/2018. Rovers played well on the night and won by 11 points. The next round was played on 11/07/2018 due to the break for the leaving cert. and we beat Fermoy by 9 points.

On September 12th we played Blackrock in the semi-final and we came through by a single point. Our opponents in the final were Shandrum and the game was played in PaircUiRinn on October the 8th. This turned out to be a great game of hurling and at the end of the hour it was all square. The replay went ahead in Mourneabbey and we won this by 10 points.

Football :- Level: Premier 2A 

There was a panel of 21 players (11U18s, 9 U17s and 1 U16).

Our 1st game of Football was played on 24/02/2018 and ended with a home win against Cobh. 

Our 2nd game was the long journey to Baltimore to play Ilen Rovers and thankfully the journey was worthwhile as we won by 7 points. Our next game was against Granard Gaels in the Championship and we won this by 5 points.

We played the next round of the Championsip on 13/08/2018 and ended up with a loss against Cobh. We then played Fermoy in the losers rounded but lost.

The hurling victory was a fitting end to a year in which our team and mentors put in a huge effort. All of our 18-year old’s have played adult hurling with Bride Rovers this year. A big thank you to our coaches who gave up so much of their time.  A special word of thanks to John Arnold for the Trojan work he puts in year in year out.

I’d like to thank the officers of the Juvenile club for their huge contributions this year to the success of the club.  Thanks to the adult club for the support and providing great facilities. At lastly a big thank you to our supporters so are always there to shout us on. 

Donal Roche

Fé 18 Runaí

COACHING OFFICER REPORT 

The last year has again seen significant numbers brought into our playing membership. Currently we have an average of 4-6 coaches for each team from U6 to U11. These are the critical age groups in regards numbers as currently there are 22-30 players at U6. U7, U8, U9, U10 & U11. 

The challenge for the coming year will be the following:

To try to recruit further coaches who can help to lessen the load on the coaching groups. These can be parents, current adult players or former players. 

To have each and every coach garda vetted plus also have undertaken at least a Basic coaching course.

To have a core group of 8-10 players from U12 to U16 who will have undertaken the referee’s course. The requirement from Rebel Og is that referees for the blitzes from U7 to U11 are from this core group.

The ideology behind this is that it lessens aggression from the mentors and parents on the sideline as they are less inclined to give out to a teenager rather than a coach who they feel may be biased towards his/her own club. This has a run on effect as each of these referees are expected to be paid €10 per blitz. Some Saturday mornings we could have 6 or more referees required for the various age groups. 

We’ve submitted an application for a Bronze award in the Benchmarking process. This has been neglected over the last few years but is the first step towards streamlining the coaching education programme within the club. If successful we’ll be aiming for a Silver Benchmark next year. This involves much more than we’ve been doing up until now. We will be asked to run a few coaching courses throughout the year with the aim of increasing our coaching skills. We’ll also need to run a 2 day camp during either the Easter or Halloween holidays. This will have to be separate from the CulCamp. 

From a First Aid perspective the plan is to do a comprehensive check of all First Aid kits and replenish/ replace as required early next year. Also a Basic Course which will incorporate Basic CPR will hopefully be booked for February. Courses like this will also help towards the Silver Benchmark. Jerome O Driscoll Coaching Officer

Conclusion

In concluding my report I would like to offer a sincere thank you to the officers of the Adult Club for their support and help throughout this year, for all the trainers and mentors who took the time to help and train all our juvenile teams to where they are today and I would also like to thank my fellow offices of the Ladies club.  I would like to say a special thank you to John Murphy for looking after our pitch and always making sure facilities were available for East Region and Central matches.  Thanks also to our Eastern Region Board, Central Region Board, Northern Board and Rebel Og for all the help and support you have given both myself and our Juvenile club for the 2018 season.  To all the team secretaries who make my job so much in all your communications regarding Eastern, Northern  and Central Boards, I truly believe I would not be able to fulfill my role without your help and support, so thank you.

I would also like to acknowledge all the help and support from Liam Barry and all the staff of Fermoy Print, Fr Leamy with parish newsletter and John Arnold.

Thank you to our Eastern, Northern and Central Board Delegate for fixing and co-ordinating matches throughout the year.

To My Fellow Officers Mark O Connell and Ken O Riordan, thank you for all the support you have shown me this year as it has been an amazing year which to be honest hasn’t been easy on any scale but what this club has achieved in this year is phenomenal.  I truly appreciate the patience and understanding that you both have shown me.  

I would also like to thank all our juveniles as without you we wouldn’t be here tonight, your dedication and hard work is truly something that you, your families, your parish and your club should be proud of.

Finally on behalf of the juvenile club I would like to remember all our families who have lost loved ones during 2018, especially the late Dan Quill and Jim Bob O Donovan and offer them our sincere condolences.

Thank you to everyone who has come here tonight and I would like to wish Bride Rovers Juvenile Club and its Officers all the best for 2019.

Go raibh mile maith agat.

Eilis Ni Coilean 

Sponsors

Bride Rovers Juvenile Club would like to express their gratitude to all those who sponsored Jerseys and Signage Displays

JERSEY’S

U6 & U7Tree House Play School

U8Finn’s Veterinary

U9 & U10Ger Gubbins Construction

U11 & U12Rathcormac Fireplaces

U13 & U14 Martin Roche Groundworks

U15 & U16Fitzy’s Fast Food

U18Denis Ahern Hurley’s

SIGNAGE

Owen Cafferkey Construction.

Cotter & O’Sullivan financial services.

Murphy MacNamara & Co Solicitors .

Rathcormac Taekwon-do.

NSG- Northside Glass.

FDC Accountants

Dermot O Leary Agri Ltd.

Truck Doc Ltd.

Anthony & Associates Ltd.

Airwave Internet .

Finns Veteninary

Treehouse Play School

Ger Gubbins Construction

Rathcormac Fireplaces

Martin Roche Groundworks

Fitzy’s Fastfood

Denis Ahern Hurleys

Fermoy Print & Design