Welcomed to the Royal County by Navan’s Lord Mayor Padraig Fitzsimons, Meath County Council Chief Executive Jackie Maguire and North East Football League secretary Gerry Gorman, the group were introduced to the players and coaches by Richie Smith, the FAI’s Development Officer for Meath.
CEO Jonathan Hill, a qualified coach, was delighted to meet and greet the players and engaged in some coaching drills with the boys and girls at the North East Football League camp. “It was brilliant to visit the camp in Navan and brilliant to see all the kids out enjoying the football and the sunshine after the long pandemic. For them to be back playing football and enjoying themselves again is just magical,” Jonathan told FAI TV.
“Seeing the camp in action has been great. We want the boys and girls to go away having learnt some new skills and some new techniques but having been locked up at home for so long, being out and kicking a football is such a joy. People have realised during the pandemic just how important sport is to their lives and we are really pleased that football is a big part of so many people’s lives. I’ve seen that at first hand here in Meath and I know it will be the same across the country for our young players. We want them to enjoy the opportunity and the chance to play again and we are really pleased to be back up and running with these brilliant camps.”
As bookings remain open for upcoming camps across the country, Jonathan Hill paid tribute to the work of the FAI coaches at the camps and also to sponsors INTERSPORT Elverys. He added: “You can’t have a Summer Soccer School without coaches and we have some great young coaches helping us on the coaching side at the camps as well as part of their education and again they are all having fun. It ticks all the boxes for all involved, players and coaches.
“We couldn’t do many of things that we do, like our FAI Summer Soccer Schools, without the help of our partners like Meath County Council and sponsors like INTERSPORT Elverys. INTERSPORT Elverys are part and parcel of the fabric of Irish football and their support for our Summer Soccer Schools is greatly appreciated.”
FAI President Gerry McAnaney said: “I have visited a number of camps around the country this week and just like everywhere else, fun is top of the agenda in Navan. It has been fantastic to see the boys and girls playing our game and learning new skills with these great coaches as well. They are all delighted to be back on the pitch after missing out on so much during the pandemic and I look forward to seeing many more happy faces at our INTERSPORT Elverys FAI Summer Soccer Schools in the coming weeks.”
Development Officer for Meath Richie Smith added: “We have been really happy with the first week of camps here in Navan and across Meath and we are looking forward to more great camps across the county and all over the country over the next eight weeks. The participation levels are great, we are nearly up to full capacity with female participation at 40 per cent and we can assure anyone thinking of signing up that there’s a great fun element to the camps.”
To book your place at an INTERSPORT Elverys FAI Summer Soccer School, visit http://summersoccerschools.ie/bookings