THE West Cork Academy’s progress, both on and off the pitch, is evident having finished eleventh and third in consecutive SFAI Kennedy Cups.
Add to that, improved 2022/23 SFAI schoolboys and schoolgirls inter-league competition results across numerous age-grades.
These are remarkable achievements for a rural schoolboys and schoolgirls league without a permanent training or playing facility.
To put the rural set-up’s most recent achievement into context, West Cork regularly face inter-leagues drawing players from large urban (city) conurbations like Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Galway at tournaments like the Kennedy Cup.
Finishing in the top 12, let alone the top four, of the SFAI’s most prestigious 30-team tournament – involving opponents with year-round access to a far greater number of players – is nothing short of a miracle.
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So, what will the West Cork Academy’s legacy be following their best-ever Kennedy Cup result?
‘The biggest positive about our Kennedy Cup is that we have achieved it without any permanent soccer astro facility in West Cork,’ West Cork Academy Director of Football DJ Curtin told The Southern Star.
‘First up, the West Cork Academy needs a proper training facility.
‘The majority of our training sessions are conducted on a rented hockey astro pitch in Clonakilty's Sport Complex, something we are eternally grateful for.
‘To get to where we have, without our own resources, makes our recent Kennedy Cup accomplishments even better.
‘I believe that the West Cork region needs three full-size soccer astro pitches to cater for growing demand and for our academy to function properly. Even if we could start with one, full-size, permanent astro pitch. That would be a start.
‘It can’t be a long-term plan anymore. It needs to be short-term.
‘Bottom line, the West Cork Academy needs a proper astro facility. We need a permanent centre of excellence for our academy and as quickly as possible.’
West Cork's Luke Holland in action against Donegal in the Kennedy Cup quarter-final.
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In the past couple of seasons, West Cork’s Kennedy Cup and inter-league successes are no flash in the pan. DJ Curtin believes that footballing talent has always been and remains present in the West Cork region.
A new partnership with a long-term sponsor would allow the academy to develop players at a faster rate and build a sustainable future.
‘Talented players have always been in West Cork,’ Curtin said.
‘It is just the way the West Cork Academy has gone about preparing for tournaments that has changed. Our increased emphasis on things like strength and conditioning and video analysis has made a huge difference.
‘Academy teams, where possible, train twice a week and look at the improvement in our results.
‘Now, we have to take things on to the next level. It is important the academy pushes on and builds on its success.
‘Any company looking to become associated with or invest in the West Cork Academy will see that proper structures are already in place to accommodate growing numbers of schoolchildren trialling and representing our region’s U11, U12, U13, U14 and U15 teams.
‘JOMA is our official academy kit sponsor. Sports Gear Direct and Carbery Physiotherapy are on board with us as well.
‘Now, we want to keep building partnerships that will benefit our players and the academy’s long-term future.
‘In the short-term, finding an area of ground somewhere in West Cork suitable for a permanent academy pitch development would be the priority.’
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Ardfield's Tom Whooley represented the Republic of Ireland international schoolboys against Northern Ireland and Scotland at the 2023 Celtic Cup in Scotland last weekend.
Ardfield’s Tom Whooley represented the Irish Schoolboys against Northern Ireland and Scotland at the Celtic Cup in Scotland this past weekend.
Whooley was one of the West Cork Academy’s standout players at this summer’s Kennedy Cup, top scoring with six goals and producing a string of impressive displays.
Cultivating talents like newly-capped international Tom Whooley is a reminder of the quality coaching the young footballer has received in West Cork before making the step up to international level.
‘Tom is a special player, he really is,’ DJ Curtin stated
‘Already, he seems to have all the attributes of a top-flight footballer plus he is one of the most grounded, down -to-earth guys you could meet.
‘I, and everyone in the West Cork Academy, are thrilled Tom represented his country in Scotland last weekend.
‘I am even more thrilled that we had Tom available to us for this year’s Kennedy Cup and that he was not already signed up by a League of Ireland club.
‘The West Cork Academy runs over 50 training sessions a year. To get that level of quality coaching at such a young age is very important. We also have our away trips and various inter-league tournaments as well.
‘Tom Whooley representing Ireland shows that the pathway is there through our local academy for any young schoolboys or schoolgirl to be successful.’
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The 2023 SFAI Kennedy Cup may be in the rear-view mirror but these are busy times for the West Cork Academy’s Director of Football, coaches and emerging talent. Next up for the West Cork Academy is the Foyle Cup, an annual U13 schoolboys tournament held in Derry.
West Cork’s involvement is important as it gives next year’s U14 squad vital experience of competing in a big schoolboys’ tournament 12 months out from spending a week at the University of Limerick where the Kennedy Cup is hosted.
‘The Foyle Cup tournament follows the same format, four-team groups first and then knockout and placement matches, as the SFAI Kennedy Cup,’ DJ Curtin explained.
‘This year’s Foyle Cup kicks off on July 17th and will involve next year’s West Cork Academy Kennedy Cup squad.
‘Our U11 schoolboys and schoolgirls inter-league squads finished last week. They are off for the summer and will return to us in September to begin preparations for the U12 inter-league.
‘Academy coach David Hall has some European trips in mind for his U15 schoolboys too. There is always something happening in the West Cork Academy no matter what time of the year.
‘From a coaching point of view, once you see the improved end-product out on the pitch, it is easy to stick at it.’
