After a successful six-week debut, Valley Rovers鈥 GAA For All will return again at the end of August.
With such programmes having proven successful at various clubs around the county 鈥 inspired by the success of Midleton鈥檚 Magpies All-Stars 鈥 the Innishannon outfit is the latest to provide such a service.
Grace Whooley, co-chairperson of Valley Rovers LGFC, is delighted with how the maiden voyage went.
鈥淟ast year, I remember there being an enquiry as to whether there was any facilities for children with additional needs at C煤l Camp,鈥 she says.
鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 at the time but Kevin Canty took over as juvenile chair this year and we were chatting and he was very keen to get it going. The feeling was that we should be able to provide for everybody in the club.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 co-chair of the ladies鈥 club and I鈥檓 with the U13s but, in my head, I was saying that this was the most obvious one that I should run, so I said to Kevin that I鈥檇 do it.
鈥淵ou weren’t going to start the season in the middle of February in the freezing cold 鈥 it was always going to be short. Then, Bandon are doing it and a lot of Valleys kids go there and we thought we鈥檇 do it in conjunction with them 鈥 they might run it for a while and then we might run it for a while.
鈥淚 had a chat with Liz Gleeson, who runs it in Bandon, and Cork Sports Partnership were in touch to say they could provide us with gear but Valleys鈥 academy has plenty of equipment anyway. Then, it was just a case of seeing who would be involved.鈥
Thankfully, there was no shortage of willing and suitable volunteers on that front.
鈥淲e have SNAs, national school teachers, secondary school teachers, a secondary school pupil and some college students,鈥 Whooley says, 鈥渧ery qualified people, which is what you need.
鈥淚t鈥檚 inclusive and it鈥檚 fun. From my perspective, we wanted for parents to be able to drop their children and know that those children were going to be cared for, by people responsible enough to mind them and create a fun environment.
鈥淚 love seeing the parents being able to go for a walk on the walkway around the pitches here, or a parent might be able to take their other kids to the playground.
鈥淥bviously, if any parents wanted to get involved, they鈥檇 be more than welcome to be, but there鈥檚 no expectation.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a spectrum of children so obviously you have to meet kids where they鈥檙e at. They鈥檙e a lovely group.
鈥淭he kids are happy playing duck-duck-goose or kicking a few goals or playing with the parachute. It鈥檚 a pure and utter joy and everybody is buzzing coming off that astro pitch.鈥
The upcoming Valleys C煤l Camp will providing facility for children with additional needs, two hours for three days, and then it鈥檚 onwards and upwards for the return of GAA For All in the autumn.
鈥淢anpower might be a little bit of a challenge but I think what鈥檒l happen is that, the more it becomes embedded in the club, the easier it becomes,鈥 Whooley says.
鈥淪ometimes, you do things, they might go up on Facebook or ClubZap or whatever but you think that people don鈥檛 even know these things are happening but the feedback has been great, with plenty of comments and more people getting involved.
鈥淲e were blessed with weather 鈥 it was down on the astro every week and I didn鈥檛 have to go looking for a key for the hall or anything 鈥 and hopefully it鈥檒l be the same in September!鈥