The Wexford Games Development Action Plan included the creation and entering of a Combined Schools team in the Leinster Schools Senior ‘A’ Hurling championship. The reasons are straight forward.
Currently Kilkenny have approximately 405 students in panels competing annually in Leinster ‘A’ Schools Hurling (juvenile, junior and senior). This includes Kilkenny boys attending Good Counsel. Wexford has 135 boys in panels competing in Leinster ‘A’ Hurling annually.
Over a ten year period that equates to 4,050 Kilkenny boys while Wexford would have 1350 boys competing in Leinster ‘A’ Schools Hurling. There is a gap of 2,700 boys between Wexford and Kilkenny. Dublin currently has three teams in the Leinster Schools Senior ‘A’ Hurling championship.
There were many obstacles to be overcome from inside and outside the county to get the Combined Schools team in the 2013-14 championship. However, all the roadblocks were eventually cleared and the panel has been training and playing matches since the middle of September.
Students from the following schools are included: Adamstown VC, Bridgetown VC, Bunclody VC, Enniscorthy CBS, Enniscorthy VC, FCJ Bunclody, Gorey CS, Kilmuckridge VC, Meanscoil Garman, New Ross CBS, New Ross VC, Ramsgrange CS, Wexford CBS and Wexford VC.
The students can play with the combined team and also with their own schools in their respective championships at the lower levels.
All schools were contacted with regard to sending players in their schools forward for trials.
the management team is Paul Carley (manager) with selectors (teachers) Jimmy Meaney (former Waterford minor manager), Stephen Murphy (Wexford senior hurler) and Shane Walsh.
The structure of the Leinster championship is as follows: There are five combined teams – Wexford, Dublin North, Dublin South, Laois and Westmeath. One of these teams will enter the championship proper at the quarter-final stage with the seven schools (i.e. St. Peter’s, St. Kieran’s).
The Wexford Combined Schools team will play Dublin South on Saturday January 18th at a Wexford venue. If they win, they will proceed to the Group Team final on January 25th.
The Wexford Hurling Advisory Committee (chaired by Liam Griffin) in their Blueprint for Wexford Hurling (January 2013) state that “Wexford must aim to have at least four Secondary Schools participating at ‘A’ level in Leinster Schools Hurling within the next 5 years.”
It is planned to either split the existing Combined Schools team into North and South teams like Dublin or that some schools might operate at ‘A’ level on their own in that timeframe.
The team and management are busy preparing for the upcoming championship and they are approaching their task in a very professional manner. This will result in 30 young hurlers getting top class training, challenge matches (against the best schools in Leinster and Munster) and participating in the Leinster ‘A’ championship which up until this year they would not have had.
There are considerable costs in order to prepare the panel properly for the championship. These include hurls, balls, jerseys, transport and meals. Your contribution will go towards meeting these costs and ensuring that these boys can develop their hurling skills and go on to represent Wexford at inter-county level as better hurlers.
We’ve already received a number of generous donations and if you’d like to contribute please contact Coaching Officer Murt Flynn [email protected]
