Creating a Youth ClubPresented by Paul Mulcaire, Chairman,Buffalo Fenians and Shannon Welton, Vice President and Head Coach, San Diego Youth GAAMaterial by Brian O’Callaghan, Chairman, San Diego Youth GAA

Creating a ClubThe San Diego Model

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

Creating a Club - Top Down

• Buffalo Model

• Existing Adult Team• Existing Board• Dedicated Youth Committee

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

Creating a Club Season Planning in Advance

San Diego Youth GAA

MASTER SCHEDULE 2014MONTH DATE DAY GROUP TIME / Location

March 15th Saturday St Patricks Day Parade/Games at Balboa Park 9-1pm Balboa ParkMarch 23rd Sunday Local Tournament 1-4pm BMRApril 12 and 13 Sat and Sun Cul Camp 2-4pm BirneyApril 28th Sunday Local Tournament 2-4pm BirneyMay 12th Sunday Local Tournament 2-4pm South Clairemont FieldMay 16th/17th Sat / Sun West Coast 7’s San Diego Tournament San FranciscoJune 8th Sunday Local Tournament 2-4pm BMRJune 16th Sunday Irish Fair Irvine 11-2pm IrvineJune 21st Saturday Coaches Foundation Course 9am-2pm June 30th Sunday Local Tournament 2-4pm Birney July 6th Sunday Blitz 2 – 4pm BMRJuly 15th-16th Sat / Sun Finale/Presentations 2- 4pm BMRJuly 23rd-27th Thu-Sun New York -CYC Thursday - Sunday

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

Creating a Club – Branding

• Crest• Jerseys• Website• Team Management• Image and Community Awareness

Creating a Club - The Crest

Creating a Club - The Jerseys (Home)

Creating a Club – The Jerseys (Away)

Creating a Club- The Website

• SDYGAA.com– Facebook link– Twitter link– Pay Pal link– Schedule– Photos– Publicity– Contact Information

Creating a Club -The Team Management System

Creating a Club – Impression & Image

Creating a Club - Awareness

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.

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

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

Final Thoughts

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

Thank You

•Questions?