The July school holidays saw the first ever Cul Camps come to Perth hosted by the Gaelic Games Junior Academy of WA. We were lucky enough to have Longford footballer Damien Sheridan, come to Perth for a month to coach in schools and oversee and navigate the running of the 2 week school holiday program.
Based on the very successful Cul Camps in Ireland, Perth saw 64 children aged between 6 and 12 take part in the action packed fun camps. There were a few differences notable, one was the length of the day, with a starting time of 9am and a finish time of 3pm (drop off after 8.30am and pick up no later than 3.30pm), makes it nearly 2 hours longer per day than the Irish counter part. The weather however was on par with an Irish summer with plenty of rain falling in the first week!
The coaches were equipped with lesson plans and plenty of game idea’s to keep the kids busy, happy, challenged and eager to learn.
Every morning Damien would have a chat with the coaches to discuss the days plans and any issues/concerns/idea’s etc. He was always on hand to help out with kids who were finding a particular task difficult or to have a chat with a ’restless’ child. On day 2 of each week, teams were made up to bring competition into the camps and we would have Cork, Kerry, Dublin or Tyrone fight for glory in football and hurling, with some surprise results! Other ways of earning points throughout the week were through a daily quiz, and a few minutes spent on art, skills challenge’s and other talents displayed.
Kids were rewarded at the end of the week with medals, 2 different types, one for fair play and taking part in the daily activities, but those kids who excelled in a particular aspect was noted, and were awarded a special engraved medal. BBQ’s at the end of each Friday session added to the fun atmosphere where parents were invited to come along a few minutes early to join in, and see how well their children were doing in the Cul Camps.
During his time here Damien Sheridan hosted a Level 1 Coaching Course for coaches of the Junior Academy, whereby new idea’s for training and games were put straight into practice the following Sunday, and skills honed and ideas shared among coaches to make our own Academy even better for our children who train every Sunday.
The Gaelic Games Junior Academy Facebook page was a hotspot for positive feedback from happy parents, with many asking if we were to host a Cul Camps again in October! Since its success we have committed to doing it all again next year!
Special thanks to our coaches, committee, Damien Sheridan, the GAA of WA, Gerard Roe and Croke Park for assisting in helping us pull this off and add to the growth and development of junior GAA in Perth.
Hats off to all involved and roll on Cul Camps Perth 2016!
Thanks to Debbie Teahan for submitting this comprehensive report.
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