< Previous© May 2020 The Meath Coaster 40 www.instagram.com/eastmeathunited www.twitter.com/EastMeathUnitedwww.facebook.com/eastmeathunitedfc East Meath United The Coaching Corner, by Dave Gaffrey Football in Challenging Times and the Back Yard T hese are challenging times, indeed and from a football perspective very frustrating. Coaches regularly try to adapt to the chal- lenges that arrive before us. External fac- tors like players missing through illness or injury, poor weather conditions, shortage of kit and equipment or lack of facilities can all test our resolve weekly. Never have we had to face a challenge like this, a global pandemic. Even at the highest levels of the game, players, coach- es and clubs are being tested like never before. Football is very much a team game, and immediately this dynamic was pulled apart as we all recognised the importance of social distancing. Being taken away from our football families mid-season was a shock to the system for all of us, and very quickly, the disappointment turned to boredom. School teachers have done an excellent job keeping their students ticking over, and with the help of parents, homeschool- ing is becoming the norm. Clever use of technology is helping make this possible and tools like the laptop, and I pad can also be used to continue our football education. YouTube sessions, watching old classic matches, enjoying the freestylers do their stuff, the online material is endless. Young players need to mix this up with their own practice. We all need some form of daily exercise but for many finding the space to manoeuvre is an issue. Not hav- ing much space to play can be turned into a positive, a real opportunity to become a better player; having the ability to operate in a tight area is a great skill. I grew up in a home with a back yard measuring 6m wide (20ft) and 9m (30ft) long. © May 2020 The Meath Coaster 41 Plant pots were wrecked, the grass strip worn and the shed window was broken, but we played on. Some children don't even have this much space so they can potentially be even bet- ter players. The value and importance of Keepie Uppies can't be overstated. Close control, lots of touches with all surfaces of both feet. Progressing to the use of thighs, chest, shoulders and head. All this requires quick movement, good reactions, good coordination and balance. All the while, you are building strength in the quad (thigh) muscles. Just 20 minutes a day in a tight space can make such a difference, and of course, the challenge is each day to beat your own re- cord. Ideally, it'd be great to combine this with a couple of more intense sessions. Included is a link to an excellent little SAQ session devised by Mark Costigan from Irish Soc- cer Networks. The objective is working on short bursts of speed, tests of agility with sharp turns and quick reactions using the ball for lots of touches and control. Keep up the good work, and we'll all be back to our teams in the not too distant future. www.facebook.com/irishsoccernetwork/ videos/521159162124204/. FC Barcelona sharing some tips in this link© May 2020 The Meath Coaster 42 C2 General Stamullen F.C. Club news W e hope everyone is keeping healthy and safe during these uncertain times with Covid 19 pandemic. We are all still missing training and matches but are keeping busy practicing and doing chal- lenges and following the FAI homeskills challenges. We are hoping normality will resume soon and we can get back training and playing matches. In the meantime keep practicing social distance and washing your hands and of course your football skills. Competition winners We had lots of entries in our top bin chal- lenge, thanks for all the entries! Our ul- timate winners were Caiden Skelly from our u8 boys team and Shauna Martin from our u12 girls team, well done guys. Club roundup Stamullen Football Club was formed in 2011. The aim of the club is to coach and develop boys and girls in the skills and movements of the modern football game. Our boys teams play in the NDSL and our girls teams in the MGL. Our academy is based on the FAI coaching standards for kids aged 4 to 6. Our senior men's team play in the AUL and we also have an over 35s men's team On the girls side - we have an academy, u8s team, u11s, u12s, u13s, u14s and u17s and on the boys side we have academy, u8s, u9s, 2 u10s, 2 u11s, u12s, u13s, u14s, u15, a senior team and an over35s. Club Contact Details: Email - stamullenfc@gmail.com Facebook - www.facebook.com/stamullenfc Club Secretary Marcus Kelly – 0851477825 Website – www.stamullenfc.com § 43© May 2020 The Meath Coaster 44© May 2020 The Meath Coaster 45© May 2020 The Meath Coaster 46© May 2020 The Meath Coaster 47© May 2020 The Meath Coaster 48 Cilles Athletic Club www.cillesac.ie www.facebook.com/CillesAC W ell a month has passed and COV- ID-19 is still very much with us and impacting our lives in different ways. Group training for the club is still off the menu, as are races for the foreseeable fu- ture. This however does not stop us get- ting in some exercise (in a socially distant and responsible fashion!) Our lovely vil- lages offer plenty of routes that are scenic enough to stave off boredom on a walk or run and still keeping within your 2km ra- dius, so keep active and healthy and above all stay safe. Happy 6 th birthday to Cilles AC, we usu- ally like to celebrate with a bash in Morans after the Boyne 10k, sadly neither event will occur this May but it just means we have to celebrate further into the future. I look forward to running and celebrating with you all as soon as it’s safe to do so. Duleek AC 10k Cystic Fibrosis fund- raiser Our friends over at Duleek host a fund- raiser each year for Cystic Fibrosis Ire- land. Months of planning had already gone into organising the event before the current crisis stepped in and cancelled pro- ceedings. Even though the race was can- celled, CF Ireland still need funding and with this in mind Duleek CF converted the run into a virtual race. Make your dona- tion, run/walk your 10k and submit your time, the Duleek crew will then send on your medal and tee. Anne Noone and her crew have created a wonderful event and even though we couldn’t run together they kept the whole spirit of togetherness alive with personal touches like emails and notes with your medal and tee. Cystic Fibrosis Ireland has a special place in the hearts of the Cilles AC members, some of our runners and their families are affected by this illness... “Hi, I’m Karen Coyle, I am a first time mum, due April 30 th . At 38+ weeks preg- nant I did a virtual 10k walk to raise funds for Cystic fibrosis Ireland. Why? I have three young nephews with CF and when I became pregnant after getting married last Summer, I decide to get tested and found I am a carrier of the CF gene. Ireland has the highest incidence of CF in the world and with fundraisers being cancelled all over Ireland, I thought this was something I could do to help. I want to thank every- one who donated to my fundraising page. This will help CF Ireland continue to sup- port our vulnerable cocooning families all over Ireland. Stay safe, lots of love Karen and Baby Coyle X”© May 2020 The Meath Coaster 49 Club member Alan is involved in fundrais- ing regularly for CF, “CF is close to my heart because my niece Olivia (pictured here) has CF and is cocooning in Ratoath. Due to Covid-19 awareness CF fun- draising is vital this year to protect vulner- able families, thanks for the support” At the time of going to print over €19,000 has been raised, wouldn’t it be great to push that over the €20,000 mark. The race was due to fin- ish on the 26 th of April but due to demand it’s been extended to the 10 th of May. If you’d like to get involved you can donate on the just giving website www.justgiv- ing.com/campaign/DuleekCysticFi- brosis10k then contact “Duleek Cystic fibrosis 10k mini marathon” via facebook to request your tee and medal. Even though this has been a serious fun- draising event everyone has enjoyed tak- ing part, tracks have been worn in back gardens and estate greens clocking up the 10k, there’s been plenty of banter via whatsapp and everyone has been keen to show off the tops n medals. Check out the posers we have at Cilles AC! A huge thank you to everyone who has supported this worthy cause and many thanks to Duleek Cystic Fibrosis, Anne Noone & Co. and all at CF Ireland who organised this race. See y’all next month. Bronagh, Jason & Chelsea, Caroline and AnthonyNext >