Creating a Youth Club

1. Creating a Youth Club Presented by Paul Mulcaire, Chairman,Buffalo Feniansand Shannon Welton, Vice President and Head Coach, San Diego Youth GAA Material by Brian O’Callaghan, Chairman, San Diego Youth GAA

2. Creating a ClubThe San Diego Model

3. Creating a Club - Top Down • Youth Board • Separate from adult clubs • Dedicated members • Umbrella board for all clubs if more than one club • Centralize bank a/c’s, roster and scheduling databases if more than one club • Coaching Panel • The coaching experience is most critical • Recruit coaches before kids • Recruit dedicated youth coaches • All coaches must complete GAA coaches foundation course and background check • GDA (if possible) • Helps with recruitment and retention programs • Creates consistency amongst coaches and clubs • Creates link to NAYB

4. Creating a Club - Top Down • Buffalo Model • Existing Adult Team • Existing Board • Dedicated Youth Committee

5. Creating a Club - Philosophy • One League - Multiple Clubs • Increased integration amongst all Local Clubs • Kids practice during week with local clubs • Kids play with “combined league” at weekend blitz’s, tournaments and cul camps • Advanced coaching • All coaches must complete the following: • Foundation course • First Aid course • Referee course • Background check

6. Creating a Club Season Planning in Advance

7. Youth Season Structure • AGM and Monthly Youth Board Meetings • In Person • Local Practices • Once per week minimum • Local Youth Blitz’s • Bi weekly works best, when no tournaments or cul camps • Local Schools Programs • Schools identified to recruit into youth program • Regional Tournaments • In partnership with nearest youth programs • Cul Camps • Important for recruitment & retention • Coaches Courses • Foundation • First Aid • Refereeing • Attend CYC • The ultimate objective to be achieved within 3yrs of foundation

8. Creating a Club – Branding • Crest • Jerseys • Website • Team Management • Image and Community Awareness

9. Creating a Club - The Crest

10. Creating a Club - The Jerseys (Home)

11. Creating a Club – The Jerseys (Away)

12. Creating a Club- The Website • SDYGAA.com • Facebook link • Twitter link • Pay Pal link • Schedule • Photos • Publicity • Contact Information

13. Creating a Club -The Team Management System

14. Creating a Club – Impression & Image

15. Creating a Club - Awareness

16. Gaelic football’s popularity continues to grow in areaBy Joe Tash Some Carmel Valley children are learning a sport that is relatively unknown in America, but dates back for centuries in Ireland. Gaelic football combines elements of soccer, rugby and even basketball, and its popularity in San Diego is growing. “It’s fast and you need skill to do it,” said Eoin O’Callaghan, 10, whose father, Brian O’Callaghan, of Carmel Valley, is president of the San Diego Youth Gaelic Athletic Association, an umbrella organization for four local Gaelic football clubs. All three of O’Callaghan’s sons — aged 6 to 13 — play the sport. The association was formed in 2007, and there are now clubs in Carmel Valley, Hillcrest, University City, and Irvine, said O’Callaghan, a local businessman who was born in Ireland. In all, about 120 boys and girls, ages 5 to 15, play the sport locally, O’Callaghan said. Men’s and women’s teams have also formed. The sport is similar to soccer, but with a key difference — players can catch or pick the ball up with their hands and carry it down the field. A few complications make it trickier than it sounds, though. Players can run only four steps before they must either bounce the ball, drop it and kick it back up to their hands, or pass it to a teammate by striking it with a blow from their clenched fist. Players score one point by kicking the ball through a set of uprights at either end of the field, or three points by kicking the ball into the goal below the uprights. Gaelic football is not as physical as rugby or American football, but it is a contact sport, and players can bump shoulders with their opponents in an effort to gain control of the ball.Such shoulder-to-shoulder contact is called “jostling.” “You might call it physical assault but we call it jostling,” O’Callaghan joked. The teams practice on weekdays, and come together for a tournament every two weeks. On a recent Sunday afternoon, players ranging from small children to adults battled on playing fields set up at Standley Park in University City. Angus Taggart of Carmel Valley said his two boys, ages 8 and 10, were playing in a local rugby league when the family heard about Gaelic football and decided to try it out. Taggart, who was born in England, said his father, a Scotsman, played rugby when he was in college. Taggart said Gaelic football and rugby provide a link to the family’s heritage, while also serving as a physical outlet for his sons. “There’s coordination between hands and feet. I think it’s got a good range of skills for kids,” Taggart said.His sons have also played baseball, a sport in which players are often inactive, sitting on the bench or out in the field.“With rugby and Gaelic football, it’s non-stop. A lot of running, very fluid,” he said. The local Gaelic football league is open to anyone, O’Callaghan said, although many of the players come from Irish or Irish-American families. Some non-Irish families have joined as well. “It’s fun and it’s not taken too seriously,” he said. The league does not charge a registration fee, and instead is supported through fund-raising events. While Gaelic football is just coming into its own in Southern California, the sport is very popular back east, with hundreds of teams in large cities such as Chicago, Boston and New York, said Jim Foley, a league supporter who lives in San Diego. The sport is also extremely popular in Ireland, where amateur adult leagues draw tens of thousands of spectators to large stadiums for important matches, O’Callaghan said.

17. Short Term Objectives • Register with NACB, US Youth GAA and CYC • Obtain liability insurance –NACB • Fundraising & Sponsors • Incorporate, obtain an EIN • Establish non-profit status within your state • Establish 501(c)(3) status as soon as possible • Establish local fundraising committee • Establish pool of annual sponsors & supporters • Partner with regional clubs • Promote Regional tournaments • Promote more 7 a side tournaments • Send teams to CYC • Ultimate goal of every youth program

18. SDYGAA - Long Term Objectives • Access land dedicated to GAA • Access to public land prohibitive • Restrictions on usage increasing • Increased competition with other sports for access • Secure Subsequent Support from • NACB / NAYB / Croke Park • Department of Foreign Affairs

19. Final Thoughts • Plan • Organize • Recruit and retain • Stay the course • Ask for help • Engage your future volunteers

20. Thank You • Questions?