Lifford Strabane Athletic Club, in partnership with Naomh Comcille GAA Club, is delighted to announce the start of a brand new athletics initiative in Netowncunningham.
The initiative, which started a number of weeks ago has already seen upwards on 100 children attending the weekly Thursday evening session.
Athletics itself is not new to Newtowncunningham, having had its own club over thirty years ago, and it still boasts an all weather running track on the grounds of the impressive Naomh Colmcille facility.
While the Newtown Athletics club disappeared and few opportunities were available for athletics training, in recent years, the Lifford Strabane club has been active in local schools, with a number of children from the area making the trip to Lifford for weekly training.
In addition, local athlete Paul Dillon had a number of Operation Transformation and Couch to 5K initiatives under way for adults which all pointed to a demand locally for a co-ordinated athletics project.
In April, Lifford Strabane Coach Chris Cuskelly and Development Officer Brendan O’Donnell met with the Naomh Colmcille Coaching Officer Gerard McFadden to discuss a new Athletics initiative for the area.
The outcome of the discussions was a win win for both clubs, with the Lifford Strabane Club working with children on all aspects of fitness and athletic development, with the local GAA club being afforded more time with children to work on ball and skills development. The work of both clubs in local schools has also built up a network of contacts both for children, teachers and parents from which the club can only thrive and grow.
Every Thursday evening, local coaches from the area, Paul Dillon, Mark Logue, husband and wife duo Adrian and Cathriona Walsh Callaghan as well as a number of parents work along side coaches from the Lifford Strabane Club including Chris and Olivia Cuskelly, Naomi McCrossan and Brendan O’Donnell. Currently, training is targeted at children from the ages of 5 to 15, with upwards on 100 children regularly attending.
While the project it still very much in its infancy, the success to date has provided an impetus to purchase new equipment, explore facilities development and hopefully expand the training base to additional evening sessions and training groups.
Training is every Thursday evening at 7pm. For further information, contact Paul Dillon on 087-6341929
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