Eager to succeed
April 01, 2010Pollard are a club that have placed a huge emphasis on their underage structure in recent years and that has certainly begun to pay off as victories in the under-12 division 2 championship and the under-16 division 1 championship prove.
Right from under-8 up, the north Westmeath outfit are catering for players at all levels. This year saw the youngest group being treated to a day out in Croke Park, where they got to play on the GAA's hallowed turf, a situation that many club hurlers never get the opportunity to do.
Under the guidance of Brian McCabe and Seamus McCormack, these youngsters are getting the best of training and already many of them are tipped for a bright future in the game.
Men like Anthony and Eugene Fagan, Jody and George Murray, Alfie Devine, Mick Macken and Pat Gaffney have been working hard with the various underage teams and it may not be too long before Pollard adds the next SHC title to their roll of honour.
This is a proud club with a proud tradition and the blue and gold jersey is adorned with a sense of pride that has been the catalyst for much of their success down through the years.
Club secretary Jody Murray revealed to the Marron & White that placing a greater importance on the underage structure was imperative to the successful future of the club.
Let it be noted that Pollard has produced some fantastic underage teams down through the years and many of these players have gone on to represent not only the club, but the county as well.
However, every club in the country realises that to have triumphs at adult level, the work has to be done the whole way up and not just every few years.
"There is good work being done at underage level, but it's important that is kept up. We have people looking after the various teams, but you can always use more and there's never enough to be honest," said Jody.
"We do have good numbers at the young lads' training. There is a good interest there. It always seems to be the same in the younger groups, but it's harder to bring them through from minor onwards. In saying that we have been fortunate enough at those levels in the last couple of years and we have to happy with the way things are going at the moment."
The club has a new chairman this year in Eugene Gallagher, who is a lifelong member of the club and is one with high ambitions for the future of Castlepollard GAA club.
There were plenty of positives to take from last year's senior campaign, but ultimately it ended in disappointment for the club at the quarterfinal stage.
The draw for the first round saw Pollard pitted against neighbours and old rivals Ringtown. These sides have had some close battles in recent years, but this was not to be one of them as the 'Town' team ran out convincing winners to consign Ringtown to the losers' group.
The win placed Pollard in a group alongside Raharney, Lough Lene Gaels and St Oliver Plunkett's with the first named being the opening opponents in this stage of the championship.
Raharney were defending champions and in many peoples' eyes, they were favourites to win this match. However, you write Pollard off at your peril and were it not for the width of a crossbar, the blue and golds would have won this game. It had been a close contest all the way through and in the dying moments Raharney had their noses just in front when a Darren McCormack shot rattled the crossbar much to the relief of the Deelsiders.
The second group may not have been the classiest of games, but from a Castlepollard perspective, the object of the exercise was to garner two precious points and they achieved this against a disappointing Plunkett's side, who managed a mere three scores from play over the hour.
Not for the first time, and almost certainly not for the last time, wily veteran Barry Kennedy came up with the all-important goal which effectively won the match, flashing the sliotar to the net in the 23rd minute of the first half. While the Mullingar lads played their best hurling early in the second moiety, Kennedy's goal always looked likely to swing the tie in favour of the blue and golds, and so it proved.
Arguably the best performance of the campaign came against fierce rivals Lough Lene Gaels. There is no love lost between these two sides, although there is a mutual respect. The Gaels put in a massive effort last year and went into this game full of confidence.
Nonetheless, as was mention before, the pride in the Pollard jersey is rivalled by few and produced an excellent display to run out winners by 2-17 to 4-8. The 'Town' were ahead by eight points going into the last quarter, but the concession of two late goals left them sweating in the dying moments, but they held on for a merited win.
By virtue of conceding those late goals, Pollard missed out on a place in the semi final to Raharney and therefore had to play Castletown Geoghegan in the quarterfinal.
Pollard went into this game with confidence high and they started brightly, but Castletown slowly took control. However, the north Westmeath side fought back to narrow the gap. It all looked set for yet another great escape, but unfortunately Castletown held on for the win.
"It was very disappointing to lose the quarterfinal. We really thought we had a great chance of winning that game and we would have loved another crack at the Gaels, but it wasn't to be."
During the course of the year, a number of young talented players emerged and together with the experienced campaigners that are already there, hopes are high that the 15th senior title can be won in the very near future.
Former Athboy and Meath hurler Seamus Ennis has been handed the task of managing the side this year and he will be ably assisted by selectors Noel Devine and Joe McLoughlin.
"This year is a big year for us and we won't fear anyone in the championship. Training is going well and we are looking forward to playing Raharney in the first round." Tweet
