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St Kevins have been working in partnership with West Bromwich Albion since 2004
ST KEVINS Boys Football Club, the famous northside nursery, has completed the
signing of a unique Academy partnership with Premiership outfit, West Bromwich
Albion.
The partnership is yet another major achievement for St Kevins Boys - both on
and off the field of play.
Dan Ashworth, Centre of Excellence manager at West Bromwich Albion FC, hailed
the partnership as one of the most important signings since he moved to the
Premiership Club just over a year ago.
“I have personally had contact with St Kevins Boys Club for some years
and have always been impressed with their coaching set-up and approach to coaching,”
Ashworth said.
“Under Ken Donohoe and Pat Cleary the club has developed a coaching structure
that even we here at West Brom can learn something from. That’s a big
part of our new partnership, learning from each other, helping coaches and players.”
Ashworth added: “This is the only partnership we have with a club outside
the Birmingham area and we are more than happy that St Kevins Boys is that club.”
Ken Donohoe, St Kevins Boys’ Director of Football, added: “Under
the new system the most promising players at St Kevins would become familiar
with WBA coaching personnel from their visits to Dublin and also they would
become familiar with the set-up at West Brom from having been there regularly
for assessment and games, thereby making the transition, if they are good enough,
as seemless as possible from schoolboy football to the professional game.
“I feel that what we have to offer any schoolboy at St Kevins Boys makes
our club the ideal platform for young players to start in the game, get a proper
grounding - preparing them for a possible move into a career in football.”
Over the past five years much has been done to sustain St Kevins Boys position
as one of the premier clubs in Irish schoolboys soccer.
Development of the facilities includes the installation of an all-weather training
surface at the club’s Shanowen Road home, and the unveiling of its much
acclaimed, state-of-the-art pitch at the same venue in October 2002.
In 1999 St Kevins Boys established a vibrant and innovative Schoolboy Football
Academy, run under the direction of chief coach Pat Cleary and Ken Donohoe (Director
of Football), and assisted then by Alan Caffrey and Mark O'Shea.
The Academy impacted significantly on the standard of club players and on the
image of St Kevins Boys Club as a serious and well managed base for young players
to commence their football education in pursuit of personal and professional
excellence.
Cleary was instrumental in setting a high professional standard both on and
off the pitch before his departure to become head coach at Eircom Premier League
club Bohemians.
Coaches Alan Caffrey and Mark O’Shea also departed to become Academy coaches
at West Bromwich Albion and the club have since recruited the highly respected
clubman and former Irish Junior International Anto Wilkins on to the Academy
staff, along with experienced Tony O’Neill and Neil Fox.
A unique development in Dublin Schoolboy football, St Kevins Boys are proud
of the fact that we were standard bearers in this field. Being the first club
to develop such a structure, many other clubs have now followed the same path
and have actively sought our advice as our Academy is seen as the model template.
St Kevins Boys regularly invites highly acclaimed outside coaches to broaden
the club’s coaching perspectives. Amongst those who have coached at the
club in recent times are John Devine (Manchester United), Noel O’Reilly
(FAI Senior Coach), Ian Evans (Sunderland), and Adrian Boothroyd (recently appointed
manager of Watford).
The Club’s mini-league programme, which runs from September to May each
season, is also regarded as one of best in Dublin. Taking in youngsters as young
as five, it helps develop basic skills in an instructive but fun way on Saturday
afternoons.
The club has also put in place two new, innovative programmes to further develop
young players.
Under the guidance of John Shields, a top Irish schools athletics coach, a speed
development programme has started and a sports science programme in association
with Dublin City University will be finalised later this month.
St Kevins Boys Football Club has come a long, long way since its foundation
in 1959 to provide organised football for a team of schoolboys in the Whitehall
area of Dublin. This season the Club has 41 Teams, 700 Players and 82 Managers
in competitive football each week – with another 100 players involved
each Saturday in our mini leagues.
Amongst the club's most famous exports are Damian Duff, Liam Brady, Ian Harte,
Stephen Carr and Alan Maybury. No doubt several of the youngsters who have left
the club in recent times to join English clubs, and those who are still there,
will make just as much of an impact in the coming years.
For further details contact: St Kevins Boys Club Office at 01-8374411