Tag: Kerry Ladies Football

January 28, 2017January 28, 2017

New Kerry Ladies Captain Kelly Has What It Takes To Lead.

Caroline Kelly is the new Kerry ladies senior captain for 2017. Kelly has gained the captaincy after being nominated by her club – 2016 Senior County championship winners Southern Gaels- and it is a well deserved award for the Ballinskelligs native.

If you were to create a template for what a captain should be then the choice of Caroline Kelly would fit right in to the profile that you were about to create. Ok let’s line it out this way :

Experience Now 30 years of age Caroline has played over 12 years as a senior footballer with Kerry. She has played in the All Ireland final in 2012 and a has won Munster senior championships as well as representing the Munster interprovincial team and travelling on All Star trips.
Excellent Player Caroline’s natural ability as well as her excellent aptitude for hard training is well known amongst her peers. She has always been a vital cog in the Kerry senior set up and has driven her team forward from the back on numerous occasions when the chips were down. You don’t get nominated for 4 All Star awards unless you have the footballing ability to back it up and she certainly has that.
Leader A leader is someone that gets the job done and inspires others to follow suit. Kelly has been doing this for years – the only difference now is that she has the title of captain as well.
Game Intelligence There is no point in being an excellent footballer unless you have the smartness and common sense to play the game the right way- to have the knack of knowing when to go and knowing when to stay, and to have the ability to dictate the pace in which a game should be played. Kelly has this and it makes her a hugely important asset to the Kerry Ladies.

Best of luck to Caroline and the girls on Sunday and for the 2017 season ahead.

January 25, 2017January 25, 2017

New Manager Shine Looking For A Performance Against Cork.

Picture this – you are the new Kerry senior ladies manager, you are in the job just over 3 and a half weeks and your first game in the Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1 is away to reigning league and All Ireland champions Cork. A daunting task but one that newly installed Kerry manager Graham Shine is looking forward to. “I suppose Cork are the kingpins really but it’s time for us to step up to that level. What I’m really looking for is a performance, I don’t expect miracles but I want the girls to go out and try to make the right decisions on the field.We are in a heavy set of training at the moment so the girls legs are bound to be tired. Some of the new girls that we have brought in for training have very little work done so it will take a bit of time to adjust”.

Kerry had a very good league campaign under Alan O’Neill last year. There record reads; 4 wins and 3 losses as well as a heartbreaking 1 point loss to Mayo in the semi final. Cork will provide a formidable challenge for the Kingdom girls on Sunday. In the corresponding fixture last year Kerry defeated the Rebelettes by a single point , 11 points to 2 goals and 4 points in rainswept Brosna. Manager Shine knows that it will be difficult to garner such a result again, especially as Kerry are down some very experienced players from 2016. Former All Star nominees Bernie Breen and Aisling Leonard are unavailable due to work reasons while Jane Lynch and Kate O’Sullivan have pulled out because of college commitments. While the loss of such talented players will of course be felt by Kerry, Shine feels that the league can be used as a learning curve. “Look our main aim will be to stay in Division 1” he said, “that won’t be easy but we will certainly give it our best shot. I want to bring back the hunger into the team again, to get our system right and introduce some new players. We are currently looking all over the county for players, we don’t want to let anyone slip through the net, it’s important that we see everyone that has the potential to be an asset to Kerry. After that it will be all about hard work, the results will come if the work is put in”.

Cork have been keeping very much under the radar since their dramatic All Ireland final win over Dublin last September. Manager Ephie Fitzgerald and his background team are still in place and naturally they will be looking to retain the league title that they won last May when they defeated Connacht kingpins Mayo by 3 points in the final. They will once again call on talents such as All Stars Briege Corkery, Bríd Stack, Deirdre O’Reilly, and Orla Finn to lead the line in this years league and there is no doubt that they will introduce some new blood as well to sharpen things up in the camp.

Graham Shine has never tasted defeat against a Cork team. He has twice been on the winning side as his u/16 team defeated them in successive Munster finals in 2015 and 2016. The senior players are no strangers to victory over their near neighbours either – after all Kerry defeated Cork to win the Munster championship in 2015 and there was that win in Brosna as well last year. It probably is a bit too early into Shine’s reign to expect Kerry to defeat Cork in Mallow next Sunday, but the sight of the red jersey should be enough for Kerry to give a credible performance.

–

January 20, 2017January 20, 2017

Exciting News For Kerry Ladies Football !

There are exciting times ahead for Kerry Ladies Football as they will launch their new High Performance Academies on Saturday 28th January. The Academies will be by invitation only and girls in the u/14, u/16 age brackets will be invited to attend initially. There will also be an Academy for minor players but this will not start until the minor trials are finished.The aim of the high performance academy is to identify and improve players that have shown the potential to progress to Kerry county squads in the future.

The coaching at the High Performance Academies will be run on a level similar to county squad training sessions and players in the academy will have the opportunity to improve their skill , technical proficiency, fitness, game management and also enhancing their nutrition education and knowledge in an elite environment. Players will be expected to progress to a level where they can seamlessly advance to underage county squads in Kerry.

The Kerry u/14 team won a Munster title last year whilst the Kerry u/16’s won the All Ireland title in 2015 and 2016. The talent is available in Kerry but it is now felt that it is time to broaden the net and improve standards all round. The High Performance Academies are a huge step in the right direction as Kerry ladies football is determined to develop the standards of all players in the county.

It is hoped that the players that are invited to attend do so. This is a bright new venture for Kerry Ladies Football and it will be very positive for the long term development of players that are very close to making the county panel.The coaching will be of a very high standard and will not alone benefit the players but also the clubs that they represent.

Kerry Ladies Development Officer Donal O’Doherty will be on Sunday Sport on Radio Kerrt this Sunday at 2.30 approx to speak about the Academies – not to be missed!

This video of the U/14’s All Ireland triumph in 2014 will give a taste of what can be achieved. Click on the link below…

https://youtu.be/sVljrYv3S0Y

January 10, 2017

Chairman MacNamara’s New Year Message.

Kerry Ladies Chairman Maurice MacNamara isn’t in the job too long but he has already put his own particular stamp on affairs with his willingness to strive for improvement. Here Maurice outlines his vision for Kerry Ladies Football in 2017 :

2017 has arrived and the winter break is over for all involved in Kerry Ladies, this year is a pivotal year for us all as we have many challenges to face when we look analytically at the place our game has nationally, within the county and in the hearts and minds of our patrons and players.

I am very privileged to have been elected as custodian of the football futures of so many dedicated and skilful footballers for the year, I know that it is a very important role and I did not seek election lightly. I look forward with a sense of excitement and trepidation as even though I have been in club administration for nearly twenty years this is an onerous task that I have been granted.

So I welcome you to the New Year, we have so much to look forward to, I urge you all to volunteer your time to your club or your county with a positive outlook, the executive will not succeed without you and without your imput both physically and mentally. Every person who gives an hour to the development of our game, their club or their players is a very important tool in adding value to our organisation and believe me your efforts are valued for what they are: An investment in our greatest asset – our members.

The County Board have a large remit with huge plans to re-organise our games, our structures and our administration and we are already hard at work gathering together the expertise required to fulfil as many of our plans which are deemed valuable by the Clubs.

With this in mind I invite all clubs to use the county board as a sounding board for their problems, barriers and suggestions by inviting myself or our development Officer to visit with your committee and sit down to discuss and resolve anything we can.

I would encourage all administrators, players, coaches and parents to embrace the changes that are coming in 2017 and let us all go forward into the future with a co-operative attitude and a positive outlook, remember there is no problem that cannot be surmounted with a bit of lateral thinking and compromise.

Maurice MacNamara

Chairperson Kerry Ladies Football

January 4, 2017January 4, 2017

Kevin Casey RIP

Former Kerry Ladies PRO Kevin Casey has passed away after a short illness. Kevin served as PRO in the 2007/2008 season and his drive and energy were instrumental in ensuring a positive media profile for the Kerry ladies at all levels.

Kevin started working for WLR FM 10 years ago and was promoted to Sports editor in a short period of time having previously worked for Radio Kerry. Originally from Glenflesk, Kevin is survived by his wife Marguerite, the couple’s three young sons Paul, Mark and James, his parents Paddy and Mary, sisters Marie and Majella and his brother Martin.

His family has thanked his medical team and said they were particularly grateful to his oncology unit, oncology liason nurses and home care team.

Kevin has been honoured many times for his work in sport with WLR FM, winning a GAA MacNamee award in 2010 for his programme which celebrated the jubilee of Waterford’s All Ireland win in 1959.

Last year he won another MacNamee award for his interview with Waterford hurler Maurice Shanahan where Maurice gave an open and honest account of his struggle with depression. Last October he won a prestigious PPI National Radio Award for the same programme. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Picture credit WLR FM.

January 2, 2017January 2, 2017

Aislinn Desmond Speaks Of Her Immense Pride Captaining Kerry

2016 Kerry ladies captain Aislinn Desmond spoke to Eamon Hickson on Terrace Talk and spoke of the pride that she felt in captaining her county last season. She also gives us an insight into what it takes to be a senior inter county footballer. Click on the link – well worth listening to !