If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! In recent times, we have had terrible luck with our girls Senior Gaelic Football teams as we had suffered agonizingly tight defeats at the semi-final stage for three consecutive years. Many of the girls on this current panel have been involved in at least two of those heart-breaking defeats and as Lacey put it to me earlier in September, it was beginning to feel like 'we were cursed'! However, something felt a bit different about this year. After beginning the campaign with a tight loss to a very good Gaelscoil Clondalkin team, the girls regrouped admirably and produced a couple of excellent performances against Clonburris and St. Peter's to qualify for the quarter-finals. The girls kept working hard while never getting too far ahead of themselves and it wasn't until their truly outstanding team performance against St. Patrick's in the quarter-final that the dream of playing in Croke Park once again became an achievable possibility. Given that many of these girls have either played in or witnessed the two heart-breaking semi-final defeats of the past two years, it would have been more than understandable for our girls to have folded under the constant barrage of pressure by St. Canice's in the last 10 minutes of that semi-final. Instead, the opposite happened. Our girls insisted 'not today!' as they produced a steely performance of focus and resilience, unifying to form the proverbial brick wall making it impossible for the plucky St. Canice's side to get through for that clear goal chance that they so desperately needed in the final moments.
So on to Croker we marched, and what a wonderful experience it was for the girls. In the end, I don't think we can have any complaints about the result. We were beaten by the better team on the day. St. Laurence's were a superb team with outstanding players all over the pitch and they came out of the blocks faster as we admittedly struggled to come to terms with how tight the pitch was. While we still had many fine moments and created some great opportunities in the first half, we ultimately came into the half time break down six points. However, these girls have proven their character on numerous occasions this year already and they were never going to lie down without a fight. Unsurprisingly, they produced a spirited comeback closing the gap to 2 points at one stage, making believers of us all! However, the talented St. Laurence's forwards were always a menacing threat to our defenders and their two late goals unfortunately put the game beyond reach for our girls with the match finishing 3-5 to 0-6. It may read as an 8 point loss but ultimately St. Laurence's only registered two more scores in the match than us but as the saying goes, 'goals win games'! The girls were understandably devastated after the final whistle blew but we are so proud of how gracious in defeat and congratulatory to the St. Laurence's girls they were and indeed they weren't long turning their attention to cheering on the boys in the second final! Each and every one of them deserves massive credit and will receive a special mention in this write-up ( as well as all our brilliant girls from the Go Games Team who emerged as the 2024 Champions of the Go Games League!).
And where better to start than with our ultra-reliable goalkeeper Amelia! Goalkeepers like all other players are human and make mistakes, but I actually can't remember Amelia making even one mistake all year! Amelia is remarkably brave, is a superb catcher and possesses a powerful but accurate kick. However, one of the most underrated aspects of Amelia's game is that she can actually kick with both feet and on numerous occasions in the final in Croker, she urgently had to scramble the ball away with her left foot before the St. Laurence's forward could apply the pressure. This girl also has nerves of steel! With two minutes left in the semi-final when we were desperately trying to protect that vulnerable two point lead I will never forget how cool Amelia was under pressure when a huge high ball was kicked in and Amelia had no choice but to come out and collect. With the full forward charging towards her, the ball could easily have bounced over her head but Amelia timed her run to perfection and calmly collected the ball before immediately releasing a monster clearance up the wings! Now a Towers star, Amelia is one of those girls who will try out for every sport and always give her best and thankfully we will be seeing a lot more of her in a Sruleen jersey for the next two years!
If you're looking for a tight-marking corner back, you may look no further than Maisey. Last year, Maisey was wing back and was very effective at feeding the ball to our star players at midfield but this year we made a conscious choice to have a physically strong full back line and Maisey was a big part of the reason it was generally very hard to score goals against us. She is always on high alert, she is a top class tackler and when Maisey gets the ball in her hands, you just breathe a huge sigh of relief as you never have any doubt that the ball is going to make it's way safely out of the danger zone! Again, Maisey was one of the most instrumental players in keeping St. Canice's out in that all-important semi-final and she also produced a typically gritty performance in Croker. Maisey is also a big fan of talking tactics so even when she leaves Sruleen in June, we may still need to call on her for some tactical advice for the big matches come next year's Cnmb campaign! In any case, Maisey is Towers through and through, and there will be plenty more big games ahead of her in a Towers jersey over the next few years!
And what can we say about our inspirational captain, Shona! We have had some captains on the girls' Sruleen team that have also been sensational footballers but in general, the captain doesn't always have to be the best player on a team. However, in Shona's case, I don't see how we can do anything other than declare her as our 'Player of the Year!'. As all great captains do, she produced her most outstanding performances when we needed her most - in the quarter-final, the semi-final and again in the final! When we were struggling to get a grip of the match in the first half in Croker, Shona was on her A-game from the first minute. I could wax lyrical about her magnificent high fielding, tremendous reading abilities and the vast improvements she has made in pretty much all aspects of her game but it's her leadership that has stood out above all else. Shona pretty much took all the warm ups herself, delivered clear and sensible instructions but more than anything else, instilled a powerful belief in the girls that we could do it! Shona is so passionate about her GAA and I have no doubt that she will be competing hard for Towers not just for years but decades to come! And after that, management surely beckons!! Thank you Shona for being the best leader this wonderful group of girls could hope to have!
We almost lost Ella-Fleur! Her family have moved to Rathcoole and she told me a few months ago that she would most likely be moving schools in Sixth Class. What a stroke of luck for us that she stayed! I've always rated Ella-Fleur highly (she has been getting game time on the school senior team since Fourth Class, after all) and I knew that she would be a big loss if she left but I don't think I fully realized how much of a loss until I witnessed her brilliant performances this year. I honestly don't think we would have got to Croker without her. Ella-Fleur possesses all the attributes to play GAA at a high level, in my opinion. She is one of the most naturally athletic girls in the whole school but her overhead catching has also really stood out this year. Above all, she is a true team player. You ask her to do a player-marking job on a dangerous forward, she will do it and do it brilliantly. You ask her to move to midfield (like we did in the final) to do the same, she will do it, no questions asked. She just has a brilliant attitude and I really hope she considers going back to playing GAA with a club as she'd be a massive asset to any team!
If, hypothetically, we had a statistician taking count of the total number of turnovers each player accumulated this year, Hannah B would undoubtedly be at the top of list of players with the most turnovers! She has been quite simply brilliant this year. Hannah was our powerhouse in the half back line that just wouldn't let any high ball over her or any jinky half forward go past her! She is a fearless player who never holds back if she sees an opportunity to win the ball for her team even if it means she could get a hard knock in the process! In a team that had more than its fair share of small players, Hannah's strength and aggression proved to be crucial throughout the whole campaign! She was the player of the match against the Gaelscoil and has consistently stood up and made herself counted throughout the GAA season. I really hope Hannah considers joining Towers because she has so much to offer and if she is this good now, imagine how good she could be with a few extra months of training under her belt!
Though she had spent a good part of the year playing at midfield, our under 10 star, Keeva, ultimately ended up making the centre back position her own. If Hannah had the most turnovers, surely Keeva has made the most blocks this year earning her the nickname 'the Queen of the block'! Keeva is quite simply a class player! Her balance is what sets her apart. She can be running at full speed in one direction and immediately stop, set herself and catch a high ball that is going in the other direction - that's a rare skill! She's also a true team player and will battle and run for the cause all day long. Keeva was marking a very tall girl in the final but she had plenty of lovely moments in Croke Park that showcased her talent and indeed from our viewpoint on the sideline, she thwarted a whole bunch of moves from St. Laurence's by just getting her near hand in before the pass was released which may not have been visible to the supporters far away in the stands. Keeva is a skilled solo runner and her kicking off her left is improving all the time. She is already determined to come back even stronger next year and is even eager to play camoige and soccer now which is very good news for Sruleen indeed!
We had a Fourth Class superstar playing at left half back for most of the year! Leah is without doubt one of the most outstanding prospects I've seen in the school for many a year. This was her first year playing at Senior Level and she was more than able to hold her own. In fact, I would go as far as to say that she was the 'Player of the match' in the quarter-final against St. Patrick's. There is no better sight than watching Leah charge out towards a ball, catch it over her head and embark on one of her trademark solo runs before releasing a nice left-footed pass into the forwards that even Hannah Tyrell would be proud of! She's already one of the most skillful Gaelic footballers in the school. But not only that, she is also a quality camóige player so I'm sure she will only be raring to go for the upcoming camóige season in the spring. I have massive belief in Leah's talent and make no mistake, Leah is going to be an absolutely vital player for us over the next few years and I wouldn't at all be surprised to see her don the Dublin Jersey some time in the future!
What a difference a year makes for Kyra-Jane! She only picked up a GAA ball for the first time this time last year as she started playing for the Go Games team in Fifth Class. She then joined Towers and fast forward a year later and she is playing midfield for the school Senior team in Croke Park! This achievement speaks volumes about both Kyra-Jane's own natural talent and her determination to improve. Kyra-Jane was an absolute battle axe at midfield all year! She has incredible natural strength and if she is charging up the field with the ball, a bus could be trying to come through and it would bounce off her! Kyra-Jane very much played the role of the disrupter at midfield this year but she also contributed some crucial, quality scores including a great point in Croker! Above all, what stands out the most about Kyra-Jane is her unshakeable self-belief. 'We're going to win!' she confidently declared before the big semi-final and there is no doubt that her positive 'can-do' attitude filtered through to our younger girls too. Kyra-Jane loves her GAA and will no doubt be battling hard in a Towers jersey for many years to come!
If there was any other school team playing in Croke Park last week with a 9 year old at midfield, I'll eat my hat! But that's exactly what we had. Ciara's performances at midfield this year have been nothing short of sensational! Ciara is lightning fast, has seemingly endless reserves of energy and is as feisty a competitor as they come - don't be waiting for the ball to come to you when Ciara is around because there'll only be one winner there. There have been times this year where I have been in awe of what Ciara was doing out there - not just holding her own against the best Sixth Class players that other schools have had to offer but more often than not coming out on top in the midfield battle! The coaches of St. Canice's couldn't believe it when I told them she is only 9! On top of all that, Ciara has been one of our main scorers. In a performance for the ages, she scored 1-3 in the semi-final and she scored another 3 points in the final in Croker. She's quite simply a generational talent and how lucky are we that we will get to witness Ciara's brilliance for Sruleen for another two and a half years!
If I had to pick out only one player from the whole team as an example of what you can achieve through constant practice, hard work and having an insatiable appetite to keep improving, it would have to be Emi! Emi will always give you 100% for the cause, but she is not just a battler - she's a very, very skillful player indeed. She can snap up a ball coming at full speed at her on the bounce and she is without doubt one of our most accomplished solo runners. Emi has been consistently excellent all year but she was particularly determined to make her mark in Croke Park. Her tackling was typically tenacious (as the photographs so obviously depict!)and she was so unlucky to have a beautifully taken goal disallowed for a foul ! However, I want to highlight one moment especially that shows what sort of character Emi is. At half time, in the biggest match of her own life, she expressed that she thought that the subs deserved more game time. She was right, of course, but for Emi to be so vocal in vouching for her fellow teammates speaks volumes about how much of a true team player she is! I hope Emi won't mind when I say that I think she is a little bit obsessed with GAA but you love to see it and I confidently foresee her battling it out for big honors in the Green and White of Towers for many years to come!
All great teams need their great players to stand up and produce their best performances on the biggest occasions. Cometh the hour, cometh the Molly! Molly plays with a composure and maturity that defies her young age (she's on the Towers Under 10 team). There is no player I trust more under a big high ball than Molly and indeed her talent for catching was on full display in the final as she claimed all sorts of high and low balls under pressure. Her first touch is first class but she's also a highly intelligent player who has a terrific instinct for reading the game, always seeming to know where the ball is going and always taking up the right positions to provide an outlet for her teammates. Sometimes when I watch her play, I am reminded of Ms. Kearns' favorite Donegal player, Michael Murphy! To give you an example of Molly's talent for quick thinking, against St. Peter's, surrounded by defenders with her back to goal, she had the presence of mind to do a blind overhead fist pass over the bar! Maybe they teach that sort of thing down in Towers but she certainly didn't learn it here in Sruleen! Molly is a GAA lover and I strongly believe she'll be in this sport for the long haul but boy are we lucky that we'll be able to call on her services for next year again!
What a nightmare it must be to have to mark, Ayda! Ayda is out in front for every ball and once she is out in front, the defender has no chance to get it because her first touch is so exceptional. And here's the thing - once she is in possession, she never gives it away! She either gets her shot off or provides a team-mate with a perfectly executed pass. Ayda has contributed some fine scores for the team this year but what was really striking about her performances this year was how unselfish she was in possession - always willing to make the right decision and provide a pass to a teammate in a better position. And my goodness, is this girl tough! She may be small but there have been so many times high balls have been sent into crowded areas in our forward line and Ayda has been the one to jump out and win it against far bigger opponents. There were plenty of 'how on earth did she get that one?' moments this year - put it that way! She even took a knock in the penalty area against St. Canice's that would have made your average UFC fighter cry. Ayda just got up straight away and played on! She's a fine young footballer and I'm sure some of these Towers girls won't relish the prospect of having to mark her as St. Mary's and Towers go to battle in the coming years!
And what can we say about Heidi? She is one of the finest Gaelic Footballers we have in the whole school and there hasn't been one match this year where she hasn't stood out as one of the best players on the pitch. If I could pick out the most impressive aspect of Heidi's game it would be her ball-carrying Heidi can solo off both feet and still maintain control of the ball under severe pressure. But Heidi didn't become the outstanding player she is today by accident. She has worked incredibly hard on every aspect of her game. Indeed, the sublime goal she scored off her left foot in the quarter-final vs St. Patrick's speaks to that point. It is moments like that which would never occur without a player being dedicated to their craft that can be the difference maker between a team playing in Croke Park and not. Her point off her right foot from an acute angle in Croke Park (one of two) was a peach and probably the highlight of the match for us. Above all though, Heidi is a fighter and she was there winning the hard ball for us when we needed her most in the most important moments of the semi-final. Needless to say, we're very excited to see what 'the Enforcer' will have in store for us in a Sruleen Jersey come this time next year!
This time last year I mentioned on the blog how Lacey was the sort of player who fans would love to watch. Well, she finally got the opportunity to play in front of a big group of adoring fans in Croker last Tuesday! That spark of hers was on full display and boy, did she rise to the occasion! Lacey was literally everywhere! She probably got on the ball more than any other player on the day and thrilled the fans with those eye-catching solo runs of hers! Lacey is blessed with natural speed (she is the first ever Fourth Class girl to represent Sruleen in the 80 metre sprint event at Santry, after all) but she has no shortage of skill - her catching and solos have particularly improved. But what has impressed me the most about Lacey this year is how hard she has battled. As I said at the top of the blog, Lacey claimed a few weeks ago that she believed that Sruleen girls are cursed....well, she certainly didn't play like she believed it! Lacey is very highly rated down in Towers and she is going to be absolutely integral to our plans to try and go one step further this time next year!
With about 10 minutes left in that absolutely nerve-wrecking semi-final against St. Canice's, we had a player that produced a moment of magic that will live long in the memory! That player's name is Sadie M! Sadie raced out ahead of her marker to receive a pass, then had the skill level and speed to solo past her marker before unleashing a huge long range shot that sailed straight and true over the bar! It was the score of the year and proved to be crucial. However, as far as I'm concerned, it wasn't surprising. Sadie has that sort of magic moment 'in her locker' as they say! She is one of our most accurate sharp-shooters and her catching is also superb! However, perhaps the most impressive aspect of Sadie's game is that she can solo run at full speed! This is a particularly impressive feat given that she doesn't play for a GAA club but it's all down to the fact that Sadie has been so determined to practice her skills in her own time. You can't but admire that sort of dedication and I'm very excited to see even more magic moments from Sadie come the GAA season next year!
Speaking of magic moments! What about Ella's goal against St. Patrick's that effectively won us the match! Ella has an uncanny knack for positioning herself in the right place at the right moment and when she got her opportunity in front of goal in that quarter-final, she didn't hesitate and let loose with a powerful shot that gave the goalkeeper no chance! Ella doesn't play GAA for a club but her importance to our school team cannot be overstated. She's definitely the joker of the pack but most of all, she is a proper team player. The sheer positivity she brings to every match and training session is infectious and when she is on not on the pitch, there is no girl as vocal with her support for and encouragement to her teammates than Ella and when she is playing, she absolutely relishes being in the thick of the action. She is absolutely fearless and a great woman to get an important block in! Soccer is Ella's main sport and indeed she was a prominent member of last year's league winning side and I've no doubt she is counting down the days for soccer season to start next term!
Faye was the only player on the squad who had absolutely no GAA experience whatsoever up until two months ago. In the space of two months, Faye impressed so much that truthfully, she wasn't too far away from making the starting team. Indeed, she played a good bit of the match against St. Canice's in the semi-final and was also responsible for some vital interceptions in the quarter-final. I'd like to say I'm surprised but I saw enough of Faye playing for the school soccer team last term and I know the strengths she has to bring to the table. One of those being strength itself but Faye is a powerful runner, has great anticipation and is a natural at catching high balls. She also brings more than a whole lot of aggression to the table! In fact, I think Faye has all the attributes required to really excel at this sport and I'd love for her to consider joining Towers as she still has so much to offer. I must also acknowledge Faye's beautiful gesture to the team as she made no less than 22 bracelets with all the girls names and jersey numbers on them for the girls - a really lovely, thoughtful gesture!
What a remarkable sporting resume Ria G has already built for herself in her short career playing sports for Sruleen school so far! She has a Go Games league title medal, a Clondalkin League title medal (soccer), has represented the school at the Santry Athletics championships for the Under 12 relay team (at only 10), is an FAI Dublin 5-a side Champion (a rare feat indeed) and now has a Cnmb finalist medal from Croke Park under her belt! At this rate, she could end up being the most successful sportsperson in Sruleen history! As for Ria's Gaelic Footballing prowess, she has no shortage of talent. She started off the year a bit rusty but the signs were there towards the business end of the season that she was getting back to her brilliant best and indeed saved her best performance for when she came on in Croker last week, winning a huge amount of primary possession and breaking ball for us! Ria is super fast, really strong for her age, can kick with both feet and above all, is very brave. Ria is also a superb soccer player and is the captain of a very strong Booth Road Celtic team and who knows, maybe one day she will be captaining the Sruleen team too!
Kylie is another one of our Towers stars on this Sruleen team and she is as committed a young player as they come! Kylie was involved with both our Senior Panel and Go Games panel and one thing is for sure, she will always absolutely give her absolute best for whatever team she plays for her. However, one thing I have really noticed about Kylie this year is that she has a really keen eye for goal! She scored a really important goal for the Go Games team which ultimately won us the title against Lucan EET and produced a lovely finish from a tight angle in the friendly match last week against Scoil Íde. Not only that but she's a really tenacious tackler and I've seen her make some really brave blocks this year. Kylie is passionate about her GAA and I know she is absolutely thriving down in Towers and long may that continue! Her attitude is second to none and I would point to Kylie as the perfect example of how a young sportsperson should conduct themself on and off the field of play!
For the past 12 months, Geraldine has always been very eager to get involved in our Gaelic Football and Camóige teams here at the school and has made great progress in this time period. She is a very versatile player and has had spells in pretty much every position on the pitch at some stage for our school! I believe she is at her best when she is in defense as she is excellent at not letting high bouncing balls get past her. She is also very unselfish in possession and when she gets her hands on the ball, she always looks to quickly find a teammate with a handpass. I must also compliment Geraldine for being so helpful to her good friend Amelia at the start of trainings as she often helped Amelia practice her catching! Above all, Geraldine's behaviour has always been exemplary at trainings and a day out at Croke Park is no more than she deserved for all the effort she has put into improving her GAA skills. Hopefully, Geraldine is already looking forward to getting back competing for Sruleen once the camoige season comes around!
Ellie G very much impressed for the Go Games team last year and proved that she was more than ready to make the step up to Senior level this year! She is a tigerish competitor and was well able to hold her own any time she was called upon to do so for the Senior Team this year. In fact, she had a super game when she came on at half back vs Gaelscoil Clondalkin and made some great catches when she was in goals vs St. Peter's. And just to highlight how versatile she is, she also managed to bag a few great points when she was playing in the forward-line at the Round Towers blitz earlier in the year. Ellie has always showed a huge interest in GAA since even Fourth Class and I would love if she considered joining a GAA club because with more training, I don't see any reason why she couldn't blossom into a really good player. In the meantime, I reckon she'll be raring to go come Camóige season!
And last of the Senior Panel but most certainly not least, we have the 'Pocket Rocket' herself, Carly! I just love watching this girl play football! She's a player of real flair. She can jump up and catch a high ball in the middle of a crowd of big Sixth Class girls and before they even have a chance to react she is already gone off on a solo run. She just has tremendous balance and that extra special skill of being able to catch the ball first time even if it's coming at her awkwardly. Her soloing is also already top class and I know that she's making it her mission to develop her left foot to the point that it's almost as good as her right! No doubt Carly has been inspired by her sister Emi this year but she may not have experienced as much game time for the Senior Team as she would have liked herself. However, I'm fully confident that next year will be a different story as not only do I expect her to make the starting team, but I believe she will be one of our most important players!
We also had a hugely successful year in the Girls Go Games competition as our super-talented girls ultimately emerged as the champions of 2024! We have never before had this many young girls interested in playing GAA and the Go Games competition has given these younger girls a chance to showcase their talents that they would not otherwise have had in years gone past. And what exciting prospects these young girls are! Most of these girls are still very young so they will not be receiving as comprehensive a write-up as the Senior girls because there will be plenty to say about these great talents in the coming years but they still deserve a special mention for their achievements and efforts this year.
Where better to start than our Captain Fantastic, Sadie R! Sadie has been a Towers star for a few years now and her experience certainly showed on the football field this year. Sadie was solid as a rock all year, not letting anything past her at full back. She has an exceptional pair of hands and has the strength to shake off numerous tackles while driving up the field. As captain, Sadie lead by example admirably in this campaign and I fully expect her to make the step up to Senior level next year!
Ava also had a fine year for the Go Games team this year. Her hand passing has always been good but it's her catching that has improved the most in the past year. She is also getting much more power behind her kicks now so all in all it's great to see how she has progressed this year. You'd also be hard pressed to come across a more mannerly and respectful girl on the football field - not just in Dublin but in any county in the country!
Sophie joined Towers last year and it's been heart-warming to see just how far she has progressed in the short space of a year. She is like an energizer bunny out there! She just doesn't stop!! She fights for every ball, her catching is superb and she is at a level now where she is going off on solo runs for fun! I know Mr. Behan and Ms. Molony have been very impressed with her performances this year as she was regularly highlighted as one of the star players!
Isabella's brother actually plays soccer for UCD so there is certainly sporting pedigree in her family. As for Isabella herself, she seems to be absolutely loving playing GAA for Towers and she had a superb campaign for Sruleen too. She loves being in the thick of the action and she is a great girl to get out in front and win the ball. She's also developed a bit of scoring touch of late too, scoring two brilliant points for Towers in their last outing so there is plenty of reason to be excited about Isabella's progress!
Ellie K is as brave as they come! She never shies away from a tackle and is certainly not shy about making a block either! She was particularly impressive in the match against Scoil Íde last week making numerous last ditch interceptions. Ellie K plays both football and camoige for Towers Under 9s too so we have a dual star on our hands. And what a great attitude she has.... always so enthusiastic and eager to do her best!
Lucy Woods joined Towers about a year ago and within a few months, she was already kicking off both feet. Lucy has explosive speed and fantastic battling qualities. Her nickname is 'the Hoover' because she just hoovers up any ball that comes anywhere near her! She has impressed so much that she may well be challenging for a starting place on the Senior Team next year. I also hope her younger sister Ava considers joining Towers as I think she also has the potential to be an amazing player!
Emilia was one of our 3 Fifth Class girls playing for the Go Games this year. She doesn't play for a GAA club but if I was a scout trying to recruit new players for the local GAA club, she would be on top of my list of players to recruit as she has massive potential. She is capable of catching big high balls over her head and has the speed to get away from defenders easily once she gets the ball! Hopefully, she considers joining Towers because she always wants to practice GAA at school and I think she'd love the experience down in Towers!
Mia is one of the most outstanding young talents we have in the school. She may only have turned 9 a few months ago but she was actually pretty close to being considered for the Senior Panel even this year. She is a feisty competitor, brilliant at winning primary possession and so elusive and tricky on the solo run! She was comfortably the top scorer on the Go Games team this year and I fully expect her to explode onto the scene at Senior Level next year!
Kick-boxing champion Georgia is not just a serious athlete but a Gaelic Footballer with massive potential. She is so powerful and brave and once she really starts to perfect her GAA skills, she is going to very hard to stop indeed! Above all, I just love how she competes out there! She's the type of girl that loves going to battle and is always eager to make an impact. She is certainly one to watch out for in the next GAA season!
Zofia is quite simply just a special talent! She doesn't play for Towers (yet)-as much as the Towers coaches are hoping that she'll show up one day - but she is so eager to practice her skills here at school and it shows on the football field! She has lightning speed but is also incredibly skillful on the solo run and even coaches of adult teams could learn a thing or two from observing her tackling! She was 'Player of the match' against Lucan EET and will certainly be a secret weapon for Sruleen next year - maybe even at Senior Level!
Shamrock Rovers star, Lucy Wisely is one of the most technically gifted players in the school. She is lethal in front of goal and her ball striking is of the highest quality. She just has that extra bit of class which was no more apparent when she caught a ball vs St. Louise's and without hesitation stuck it over with her left realizing she wouldn't have the time to switch to her favorite right. That sort of quality in front of goal will come in very handy in next year's GAA season!
Alisha was a real powerhouse at midfield this year. She was absolutely outstanding in all her matches. Alisha absolutely loves her GAA and has made huge progress since joining Towers last year. She's a really talented player and is more than capable of running the length of the pitch on a solo run! I also hear she is quite handy with a hurl to so that only spells good news for our future camoige teams!
Cara is one of our Peamount United stars and is a really talented soccer player but she has plenty of natural ability for Gaelic Football too! She can kick with both feet, solo off both feet and is very pacy. If you give Cara a chance in front of goal, she will surely take it. She is a clinical finisher! Once Cara gets used to the physical side of GAA and starts to embrace it and get stuck in, I think we could be talking about a very special prospect indeed.
Ivy is another one of our Under 9 Towers stars but this has been her first year playing for the school and she seems to have really enjoyed the challenge. She loves getting in amongst the action and she could run all day long! She tackles tenaciously and is brilliant at charging out of tight spaces with the ball! Ivy seems to love playing down in Towers but also I'm also looking forward to see her perform in the Sruleen jersey next year!
Ella is only in Third Class but she has pretty much had to mark either a Fifth or Sixth Class girl at midfield in every match. But she wasn't one bit phased by the challenge! Ella is a hardy bit of stuff as they say and is already an outstanding high-fielder! She has also scored plenty of high quality goals and points this year and the signs are already very strong indeed that she is going to be a big, big player for Sruleen in the next few years!
Andrea is another very exciting prospect in Third Class. She's a Towers star with a keen eye for goal! If she gets the ball in the danger area the defense better be very afraid because she has only one thing on her mind and that's goal! And you know what, more often than not she gets that goal! She was more than able to mix it with the older girls this year and proved herself to be a great ball winner and she practices a lot so I've no doubt she is going to keep better and better and better!
And now to the terrific twins, Holly and Lilly. These girls certainly don't hold back on the football field! Holly had a superb campaign for the Go Games team this year. She has a great catch and she scored one of the goals of the year when she drop-kicked the ball into the roof of the net against Gaelscoil Clondalkin. She competes just about as hard as anyone out there and she seems very driven to keep improving so I look forward to seeing more of her next year.
As for Lilly, she has a great instinct for being able to knock the ball out of an opponents hands when they are least expecting it. She may be young but she had no fear of competing against the older girls this year and was well able to hold her own at the Go Games level this year. She's also a very accurate hand passer. Lilly and Holly are both playing down in Towers and I hope they keep practicing their skills over the off-season so that they can be ready for action once the GAA starts up again in the new year.
Nadia is really strong and brave for her age! As a player, she actually reminds me a lot of her sister Hannah and if she can end up being as good as Hannah come Sixth Class, well that will be very good news for Sruleen! She was in goals last week against Scoil Íde and made countless incredibly brave saves. I personally think she has massive potential as an outfield player and would love to see her joining Towers at some stage!
Last but most certainly not least is Saibh! Saibh is definitely one of the stars of the future. Every time I've seen her play this year, she has been even more impressive. She already has a very good first touch but she also has the strength to break a tackle and is no stranger to registering scores on the scoreboard either. She's a fierce competitor- that's for sure- and I've no doubt she will be a key player for Sruleen in future years!
So there you have it! As you can see we have so many girls enjoying GAA at school right now. Mr. Behan and Ms. Molony have really enjoyed being the coaches of the Go Games team this year and have been genuinely blown away by the talent! We expect to have a medal ceremony in November to celebrate their great achievement in winning the Go Games title this year.
As for the Senior team, a lot of the players we had in the central positions this year were from Fourth and Fifth Class. However, as vital to the team as our younger girls were, I feel that the run to Croker that the girls went on this year was very much a big success story for the Sixth Class girls! Like I said before, we lost some incredible players from last year's senior team so the Sixth Class girls really had to step up and the improvements they all made to their games have been nothing short of remarkable. For the past few years, when the current Fifths have played the current Sixths in challenge matches (ie back when the Fifths were in Third and the Sixths were in Fourth), our current Fifths used to generally win. However, the Sixths have improved so much that I believe that if they played each other again now, the Sixths would win! Shots fired!!!
As for next year's teams, we have so many girls who want to play now that it is going to be difficult to manage to accommodate everyone but we will try. Regarding the Go Games team, it is generally a team for Fourth and Fifth Class. However, we have a rule that if a Third Class girl or boy is playing for a GAA club, they will also be allowed to try out for the Go Games team. We have this rule because the numbers interested are already so big and we feel like it is a great incentive for girls and boys to join their local GAA club. For example, when we brought this rule in last year, within the space of a couple of weeks three girls joined Towers and they are absolutely loving it down there now!
As for the Senior panel, the competition for places on the panel and starting team next year will be the stiffest it has ever been. We will still have 11 players from the current Senior panel with us next year and I'm sure there are plenty of girls on the current Go Games team who will be determined to make it. We will try our best to accommodate all who want to play but given the numbers, it might be difficult to give all the girls a satisfactory amount of game time here at the school. This is why we encourage the girls to join Towers or another GAA club if they are really interested in playing GAA because Towers can field numerous teams and their GAA season lasts much longer than it does here in the school.
Mr. Kelly was extremely proud of all our girls and boys who took part in the GAA season this year. He is very passionate about the promotion of sport in our school and couldn't have been more pleased for the kids. As for the girls Senior team, Ms. O'Donovan has been a massive help this year as usual. She loves her GAA and was very emotional to see the girls finally making it to Croker this year.
It was a great achievement for the girls to get to Croker this year. No matter what happens in the future, this group of girls can always say that they are the first group of Sruleen girls to reach a Gaelic Football cup final in Croke Park. They are pioneers, if you will! ''The Originals''! And I'm sure some of them are already honing their skills to have a crack at the camoige come next year.
We also want to thank all the parents and grandparents who have been so supportive of the girls and boys throughout the campaign. We always had more than enough volunteers to provide lifts to the away matches. We want to assure you that these sacrifices do not go unnoticed. We also have to thank the Fitzsimons family for their generous donation to the buses for Croke Park, the Lennon family for the delicious doughnuts, the O'Connor, McQuaid and Kenny families for paying for and organizing the pizza and chip party, Frank Costello for his donation towards school sports and Kieran O'Toole for providing our players with all those energizer drinks! We also have to thank the Maldron Hotel and Wayne Gaynor from R'n'R cleaning for sponsoring our jerseys and the Fitzsimons and Kenny families for sponsoring the team jackets and bags respectively. Above all, it has been great to see so many people come out and support the girls and boys this year and long may it continue!
Finally, we want to extend our congratulations to the fantastic St. Laurence's team from Baldoyle who defeated our girls in the final. They are a superb team and were deserved winners on the day. They were also so gracious and respectful in victory and that's what sport is about!
Happy Halloween, folks!
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