Schoolboys News

Welcome to the Shamrock Rovers Schoolboys website. Shamrock Rovers Schoolboys are based in Tallaght in South Dublin and have teams from under 7's to under 18's playing in the Dublin District Schoolboys League.

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Hoops Narrowly Defeated By Man United

Shamrock Rover's U17 side were narrowly defeated 3-2 by Manchester United in the Milk Cup semi final in Coleraine. Both the hoops goals were scored by Theo Smyth. Well done to Martin's side who had a fine tournament and did Shamrock Rovers proud.

Hoops Face Man United in Milk Cup Semi Final

After a fantastic 3-1 victory over Co. Antrim on Wednesday evening Martin Heffernan's U17's will now face Manchester United at 5pm this evening(Thursday 29th July). A Jason Murphy hat-rick sealed the hoops spot in the semi-fnal and everyone at the club would like to wish Martin's side the best of luck for this evenings game.

Milk Cup Update

Well done to Martin Heffernan's u17 side who this evening(27th July) had a fantastic 3-1 victory over Co. Londonderry in the prestigious Milk Cup in The Rugby Avenue Stadium,Coleraine. Goals for the Hoops came from a Paul Connolly brace and a single strike from Jason Murphy. Martin's side now await news on who they will face in the draw for the next round.

Welcomes

Shamrock Rovers FC would like to welcome Ian Cummins, Paul Nugent, Ritchie Purdy who all have professional playing experience and are fantastic additions to the club’s coaching staff, Ritchie in particular is well-known having played for the Hoops under Mick Byrne.

In addition we would like to welcome Ger Desmond from Cherry Orchard AFC and Alan Delamere from Home Farm FC who will be managing our under 12s and under 13s respectively.

Good Luck

The schoolboy section would like to wish Michael O’Neill and his players the very best of luck in the Europa Cup in Israel. A positive result would see Italian giants Juventus visiting the Tallaght Stadium.

Trials

Shamrock Rovers FC would like to thank all players that attended our recent trials and for those that could not make them please check out our managers contact list below. Also, we would like to thank all our coaches and volunteer staff who put in hours of work to ensure its smooth operation.

Coaches Development

Currently we have one UEFA A and four UEFA B coaches in the youth department of the club. Looking ahead to this season our standard will increase to three UEFA A and six UEFA B coaches with all our coaches having undertaken the youth certificate course as a minimum.

Future Projects

Junior Academy

In addition to Shamrock Rovers Academy which catered for over 250 of our own players. Shamrock Rovers FC will be launching a new Junior Academy for ages 5-10. This will commence in late August with details to follow….

Skills Development

We are appointing a skills development coach with the responsibilities of overseeing pure skills and technique development.

Fitness & Flexibility Programme

With the lack of PE now prevalent in Irish schools programme there is a void in the physical education of all young people. We are introducing a programme that involves greater and improved balance, flexibility, speed, agility and core stability. This physical programme will naturally compliment the technical development of our players.

Pre-Season Training Commences

All our teams have started pre-season training and are looking forward to a successful season. Should any player wish to participate in pre-season training please contact below for the relevant age groups:

Age Group      Contact No.

Under 7          087 6966094 (Sean)

Under 8          086 6021881 (Alan)

Under 9          087 1251293 (Ritchie)

Under 10        086 0727806 (Paul)

Under 11        087 2242117 (Keith)

Under 12        087 7920653 (Ger)

Under 13        087 0515899 (Alan)

Under 14        087 2676771 (Ian)

Under 15        087 2449785 (Mick)

Under 16        085 1473088 (Shane)

Under 17        086 2655424 (Martin)

Under 18        087 2047057 (Justin)

Successful Season For Schoolboys

The 2009/2010 season proved to be a successful one in the schoolboy ranks for Shamrock Rovers with several teams picking up honours in both the 7-a-side and 11-a-side sections.

In the 7-a-side section Alan Kelly's U7A1 side remarkably won all their matches after the christmas period which will give them great confidence for U8A football next season. John Shortt's side clinched the U8D1 title with a game to spare at the end of April on the same day that Stephen Sheldon's U9A1 side sealed promotion to U10A next season. Keith Kearn's U10A1 side finished runners up losing only one game all season, Keith's side eventually sealed promotion with a penalty shootout victory over WFTA in a runners up play-off. Niall Nolan's U10C side clinched the league title to add to the success of the 7-a-side section.

On the 11-a-side front Alan Gaffney's side won the U12B league title aswell as the Welsh Challenge Cup. Mick Fitzsimons U14 side beat Belvederre on penalties in the Harmon Cup final in the Aul Complex. Shane Connolly's U15A1 side clinched promtion to U16A next year. The biggest honour in the 11-a-side section went to Martin Heffernan's U16 side who had a fantastic season winning the major league and losing one game all season. Bobby O'Connor's U17Major1 side sealed promotion to 18Super on the final day of the season with an away victory over Stella Maris. Well done to everyone involved in the schoolboy section this season.

2010 Goalkeeper Coaching Sessions

Venue: Carolan Park, Kiltipper

Any Queries contact Dave Foran: 0861677137

U7s to U11s 5:00pm U12s to U18s 7:00pm

All on the below days

February: Monday 1st Feb, Tuesday 9th Feb, Tuesday 16th Feb, Tuesday 23rd Feb

March: Wednesday 3rd March, Monday 8th March, Thursday 18th March, Tuesday 23rd ,Tuesday 30th March

April: Wednesday 7th April, Monday 12th April, Tuesday 20th April, Tuesday 27th April

May: Tuesday 4th May, Wednesday 12th May, Monday 17th May, Tuesday 25th May

June: Tuesday 1st June, Tuesday 8th June, Wednesday 16th June, Monday 21st June, Tuesday 29th June

Milk Cup Team On Look Out For Summer Friendlies

Martin Heffernan's Milk Cup side are on the look out for summer friendlies between the end of June and mid July. Martin is looking to play teams of a U17 Premier standard that may be touring Ireland from abroad. If interested contact the email address above for details.

2010 Milk Cup Draw

The draw for the 2010 Milk Cup was made today (11th May) and Shamrock Rovers have been drawn against Mechelen of Belgium and Co. Derry in their first two games. The competition is scheduled to take place in Coleraine in the last week of July.

U16s Crowned Major Champions

Yesterday (Sunday 9th May) our Under 16s played out their final match of the season finishing the season as Champions and promoted to 17 Premier for next season 2010/11. Congratulations to our Under 16 squad and the coaching staff Martin Heffernan, Joe Howell and Shane Howell.

In an interview with team manager Martin Heffernan we asked him for his thoughts on the season. "It has been an excellent season for us and a great pleasure to have worked with such a fantastic group of players. It was a new squad with just 5 players left from the previous season so we knew it was going to take some time before they would gel into what we hoped would be a championship winning team and the lads worked very hard all season. As coaches we could see the talent, it was just about having enough time to get them playing the exciting brand of football that Shamrock Rovers teams are renowed for.

We had 22 league games and lost just once in the league with an unbeaten home record dropping just 7pts out of a possible 66pts for the season with 5 of those points dropped by the end of October so in fairness to the lads they have played some fantastic football and have gone unbeaten for the last 7 months.

We feel that we have some very promising talent in the squad and hope to see some of them progressing through the ranks to our senior squad."

Whats next up for this squad? "The lads are now on a well earned 3 week break then its back to the hard work of pre-season at the begining of June when every other team will be on break we will be back preparing for the famous International 2010 Milk Cup Tournament taking place in Coleraine during the last week of July and of course we will be targeting winning 17 premier next season."

U14s Crowned Harmon Cup Champions

It was joy in the AUL Complex on Saturday afternoon as Mick Fitzsimon's U14 side were crowned Harmon Cup Champions 2010. The young hoops battled out a nil all draw with Belvederre with chances coming few and far between for both sides.

The dreaded penalty shoot out was needed to seperate both sides and it was the hoops who held their nerve to seal a memorable win. Paddy Reilly was solid all game in the hoops goal and continued that form in the shoot out with two fine saves. But it was captain Mark O'Connor who held his nerve and slotted home the winning penalty to send the large support wild.

Notable performances on the day came from Lee Valentine at the heart of Rovers defence and the energetic Michael Fitzsimons who put in a man of the match performance in the middle of the park. The lad's now have 5 league games left in their hunt for major football next season and no doubt this massive victory will give everybody in the camp a big boost. For all the action and celebration photos of the cup final click here.

Barcelona Trip Success

Ian Brady's U13 trip to Barcleona proved to be a great success. Ian's squad were in Barcelona for 3 days in which time they played a friendly against local side Ce Jupiter in a 7,000 seated stadium. They young Hoops narrowly lost out 2-1 to a very competitive Jupiter side. The Rovers goal coming from Dylan O'Brien. Team Captain Anto Murray led by example at the back with Brian Kinsella pulling the strings in the Hoops midfield.

21 players took part in the trip and manager Ian Brady is delighted with the conduct and attitude of each player. The lads were a credit to Shamrock Rovers and did the club's name proud on the trip. The trip proved to be a valuable experience for Ian and the lad's and will no doubt stand to them as they continue in their league duties over the coming weeks. Well done to everyone who took part in the weekend.

Congratulations

Well done to Alan Gaffney's U12B side who recently traveeled to Wales to compete in the Challenge Cup. Alan's side came home victorious and can be seen below with their medals and trophy. Well done to all who took part.

Academy and Coaching Updates

Speaking to www.shamrockrovers.ie, Stephen Fennell is delighted with the coaching progress of our new academy. "We have focused on technique and ball mastery in addition to basic skills in our 25 week technical programme. Catering for 270 players in 3 1/2 hours is a logistical challenge for all our coaches but overall we are very pleased with the progress and technical development of our players. Alan Kelly who is a holder of a UEFA A license is a tremendous asset to us and has been doing fantastic work with our younger players in particular. Since the commencement in October, we have also brought in Justin Gleeson and Kenny O'Toole who both have their UEFA 'B' coaching licences".

"It is important that we not only have pathways for our players but also for our coaches and in Ian Brady (u13) and Mick Fitzsimons (u14) in particular they have progressed very well in the Academy. From the feedback of our teams, the academy has been a big success but we will strive to improve further the development of our players in the second half of our 25 week programme".

Shamrock Rovers FC would like to thank Sean Kelly for his sterling work not only as 7-a-side coordinator but also in his help in administration of the academy. For u7 to u10 queries: contact Sean at 087-6966094.

Shamrock Rovers FC goalkeeping coach Dave Foran holds weekly goalkeeping sessions for all goalkeepers and has been pleased with the progress to date. For details on the next session: contact Dave at 086-1677137

Note

Shamrock Rovers FC would like to thank FAI South Dublin Regional Development Officer, Jim Crawford, for all his help and technical assistance.

Fergie Kane

Shamrock Rovers FC would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the work that Fergie Kane has done over the past number of years. Fergie has stepped down as manager of our u12s and we wish him all the best for the future.

Cubs

Wednesday night is Cubs night in the Kilinarden Leisure Centre running from 5pm to 6pm

New Goalkeeper Coach

Shamrock Rovers Schoolboys are pleased to announce the appointment of Dave Foran as our new Goalkeeper Coach. Dave, who is a former 'keeper in the League of Ireland, has already taken up his post. "I believe Dave is an excellent appointment, he is very experienced and no doubt he will bring goalkeeping standards in the club up to a new level", said Stephen Fennell, Youth Development Manager.

Meet new youth development manager Stephen Fennell

“Schoolboy Scene” is Shamrock Rovers Schoolboys new on-line featuring the schoolboy scene. In its first feature, Schoolboy Scene caught up with Shamrock Rovers FC new youth development manager Stephen Fennell (SF) and asked him a few questions about his role and his thoughts on the future of the schoolboy section. Click here to see the full interview with Stephen.