Ringtown are beginning to make huge strides at underage level, which is starting to pay dividends.

In 2008, the club annexed an under-14 championship title and they followed this up with success in the under-16 'B' campaign last year. Ringtown secretary Stephanie Corrigan was part of that side's management team and she speaks to the Maroon & White about that success and the work that is being done within the club.
Not since 1987 have Ringtown lifted the Westmeath Examiner Cup, which is now 23 years ago and far too long for such a hurling stronghold. The eighties were certainly the club's best ever period, but since then there has been a decline in their fortunes.
The need for a proper underage structure is essential within any club, but especially for rural clubs like Ringtown, who don't have the luxury of calling on a plethora of players. In recent years, they have realised this and set about establishing a system that caters for all the youngsters in the area.
Stephanie revealed that at the start of last year's campaign, it was unlikely that the club would even have an U16 team let alone win a championship.
"We only had five or six lads at the start of the year. So I got a list of all the players in that age group and rang them all over the following two weeks," said Stephanie.
"Once they were all together, there was a panel of 22 for the year and we started training from there. A few of them had been on the under-14 team the year before and we knew that it was a very strong team that we had."
Stephanie admitted that a lack of hurling was a major problem for some of the lads and the management team of herself, Anthony Nea and Colin Murtagh set about rectifying that problem throughout the course of the year.
"We played 13 challenges in total, which is a huge lot at underage level. This definitely benefited the players as some of them had very little hurling done beforehand. We will be looking to do the same this as you can do all the training you want, but it doesn't compare with playing games."
The attention to detail that the management team gave to the side was evident in the deliberations they took in choosing a captain for the year and the club secretary was delighted with the choice.
"You need leaders on the pitch and far too often young lads are chosen because of their size or who they are, when they could be very quiet out on the field. We picked Michael Connors as captain and I have to say he led by example throughout the year. Not only did he play very well, but he was also very vocal on the pitch, which is essential. He had an outstanding year overall as did all the players."
Ringtown faced St Oliver Plunkett's in the under-16 B final and the game was certainly not for the faint-hearted as it turned out to be a classic encounter.
The town team sat in the driving seat at half time as they lead by seven-points and there looked like no way back for the green and golds. However, the spirit and determination of the side became apparent in the second half as they produced a devastating performance to run out winners by 5-6 to 4-7.
Stars of the match included Stephanie's son Emmett, who finished with a personal tally of 2-4 and was the sides' top scorer throughout the campaign. Others to shine included Anthony Nea, Ian Kilcoyne, Shane Murtagh, David Stell and the diminutive Shane Moran, who registered 1-1 on the day.
"These were the most passionate bunch of young lads that I have ever had the pleasure of working with. It was through sheer determination and love of the game that made them winners.
"The lads were so nervous in the first half and they just needed to be told at half time that they were capable of winning and to have belief in themselves. Sometimes you would have lads on the line at half time giving out to them, but as a few people said to me, it's good to have a woman's voice there too. We've got a more personal touch," she joked.
The win followed up the previous year's success, which proved that the hard work was paying off, although Stephanie acknowledges the fact that there is a lot more to be done.
"We saw that there was a greater need for a better underage structure in the club and I'm glad to say that we have a good group of people on board now who are willing to put in the work with the kids.
"Nonetheless, it is important to keep up that work and one of our main aims for the coming year is to promote hurling in the local schools, which is not being done at the moment.
"We hope to start training the kids in the schools, whether it be during the day or after class. It is essential that we work on this and ensure that the kids become interested and then we can get them down to the park.
"From under-8s to under-14 we will be fairly strong this year. Hopefully with some more success, it will attract more kids. This is essential for the future of the club."
Ringtown seniors had a less than satisfactory campaign in 2009 as they failed to win a match in the senior championship. However, uncertainty over the format of this year's campaign gave the Whitehall outfit a reprieve and they will remain in the top flight for another year at least.
"It wasn't the best of campaign's that's for sure, but we feel that we have the hurlers that can do well in the championship. It's really up to themselves to put the effort in. This year Michael John Corrigan is taking them over. He is a passionate hurling man and hopefully that will rub off on the players." Tweet

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