Minis celebrate end of fantastic season

 

 

Our Minis finished up their fantastic season last Saturday with a huge party and medals/trophies awards at Aghadoe. The clouds loomed over Killarney earlier in the morning and as it got closer to 10:30 am, the weather cleared up and a fantastic training session was had by all. The children were delighted to be able to show off the skills learned across the season to their biggest fans – their parents. Aghadoe was absolutely buzzing.

 

Special guests on the day were the much coveted Martin O’Sullivan Cup and the Galwey/Foley Cup – the culmination of the most successful season for our Seniors. It was great to explain the significance of these cups and the season recently completed by our seniors. The children were delighted to get their photos taken with the cups on the day.

 

 

 

Over 100 children received medals following a final training session and lots of games. Trophies were presented to children at each age level for ‘Player of the year’ and ‘Most Improved Player’. It is very difficult to single out players for awards as every single child has trained so hard and represented their club with pride at all the blitzes we took part in right across the season. The kids were well deserving of their medals as well as the big party afterwards.

 

 

 

 

The minis completed a hectic season of blitzes right across the county as well as hosting many clubs in Killarney. We hosted U8’s from Abbeyfeale RFC for the first time ever and a fantastic day was had by all. Listowel, Tralee and Killorglin also visited Killarney for friendly matches outside of the usual Blitz schedule. The U11’s played at half time in the European Cup quarter final where Munster took on and beat Toulouse at Thomond Park, only last month, while the U12’s had a very memorable trip to Cork to take on Sunday’s Well. Trips to Thomond Park were enjoyed by the U8’s and the girls section.

 

 

The club now has girls playing rugby for the first time and thanks to the hard work of the coaches – in particular Denise Treacy, the girls section thrives. The girls are well able to hold their own and had a fantastic training session with Holly, Morna and the girls at Tralee RFC a few weeks ago. It is great to see so many girls playing rugby in Killarney.

 

 

A special presentation was made to outgoing U12 Head Coach in recognition of all his hard work over the past 7 seasons. “Ian has worked tirelessly to bring fun into training and to ensure his charges went away with the skills as well as a love of the game” Liam Murphy, Minis Coordinator said. Ian will be missed at Mini rugby and the U12’s had a fantastic season under Ian with the trip to Sunday’s Well and Collins Barrack’s in Cork being a stand out memory for all involved.

 

 

Thanks to all the coaches who spent their Saturday mornings giving up their time to ensure the kids enjoyed their rugby. We can safely say that everyone enjoyed their season and will look forward to the new season kicking off in September. Thanks also to Minis Coordinator Liam Murphy for all the hard work right across the season even though he missed much of the season due to injury, he ensured the new coaches received Coaching certification as well as First Aid training. Well done all. See you in September.