As Westmeath GAA's Games Development Manager, Noel Delaney is responsible for games management activities within the county. 'Maroon & White' recently spoke to the former Laois hurler about the various initiatives he is implementing at underage and schools level, which are aimed at increasing playing numbers and improving playing standards.

In many ways, the appointment of Noel Delaney as Westmeath GAA Games Development Manager last year was just as important as those of Brendan Hackett and Kevin Martin as senior football and hurling manager respectively.
While the Laois man's appointment to the full-time role failed to grab the headlines, it was still a hugely significant development in Westmeath GAA as the initiatives he is currently implementing at juvenile club and schools level will almost certainly determine the future success or otherwise of the county's senior teams.
"My role is to develop initiatives and put structures in place at primary school, secondary school and juvenile club level which will help increase playing numbers and improve playing standards. Ultimately, it is hoped this will lead to successful county teams at minor level and beyond in the future. I'm over a year in the job at this stage and things have been going very well so far," he says.
Noel, who hurled with Laois for 10 years from 1989 to '99, is one of 12 Games Development Managers employed by the Leinster Council. The fact that he is based in Portlaoise may surprise many people, but he still spends several hours each week working at the coalface in Westmeath.
"It's a slight disadvantage not to be based in the county, but that's the arrangement I have with the Leinster Council and you have to plan accordingly," says Noel, who oversaw the Westmeath-Offaly Hurling Development initiative for three years before taking up his current role in February of last year.
"I live in Cullohill and I'm based in the Leinster Council offices in Portlaoise. This is not a nine-to-five job. In fact, a lot of my work takes place in the evening time or on Saturdays when you could be meeting clubs or overseeing some of the initiatives."
The Harps clubman works closely with the Westmeath minor board and with full-time coaching officers, Michael McHugh, Eddie Bouabbse from Castletown-Geoghegan and James Heffernan from Mullingar, with the latter two positions partly paid for by Westmeath County Council, Athlone IT's GAA's Development Officer, Garry Sammon, also comes under his remit during the summer months.
"I'm constantly in contact with the minor board secretary Michael McHugh, who is also the Westmeath Games Development Officer, and the minor board chairman John Weir.
"Eddie Bouabbse is designated to the greater Athlone area and James Heffernan to the greater Mullingar area. You saw the disparity between the numbers playing soccer and GAA in the Athlone area in the Strategic Report and that is something we are trying to redress. Garry Sammon also helps out with the coaching side of things during the third level holidays."
Delaney continues: "As I'm also secretary of the Westmeath Games/Coaching Development Committee, its chairman, Billy Foley, is another man I deal closely with."
Among the initiatives Noel has/is implementing are: the Laois/Offaly/Westmeath under 16 football and hurling leagues; Primary school indoor hurling and camogie blitzes; under 13 football regional coaching; under 15 regional hurling coaching; First and Second Year hurling league; Primary school Astroturf football league; Astroturf under 8 football and hurling blitz; Senior cycle football league; Cluster coaching at juvenile club level. He is also involved in organising the annual GAA Summer Camps and the Athlone Easter Camps.
The Laois/Offaly/Westmeath under 16 football league, which is currently taking place, consists of 15 clubs from Westmeath, 10 from Offaly and six from Laois. Rounds Towers from Kildare and Eire Og of Carlow are also taking part. The hurling equivalent comprises 12 Laois clubs, nine Offaly clubs and eight from Westmeath. There are nine groups in the football and eight in the hurling.
Thirty-two schools participated in the primary school indoor hurling blitzes which were run during January and February. These eight-a-side games, which encourage ground hurling, proved very popular with the children and five schools were subsequently chosen to represent Westmeath against schools from Longford and Louth in a blitz, which took place at the JJB Indoor Arena in Dundalk.
The under 13 regional coaching initiative, which was launched by Westmeath football manager Brendan Hackett and was run over six weeks, saw the county divided into four regions with approximately six clubs in each. For the first two weeks, the focus was on inter-regional games, while for the other four sessions, the focus was on coaching.
"This project is an exciting new development that will significantly enhance the development of young players in Westmeath as they prepare for underage county squads and beyond," Noel explains.
The First and Second Year hurling league was run on a blitz basis in February. The competing schools were Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan, St. Joseph's, Rochfortbridge, St. Finian's College, Mullingar, Colaiste Mhuire, Mullingar, Mullingar CC, Moate CS, Marist College, Athlone, Athlone CC, Columba College, Killucan and Athboy CS. Moate CS emerged as winners of the 'B' section, while St. Joseph's, Rochfortbridge were crowned 'A' champions.
The primary school Astroturf football blitzes were organised in conjunction with Cumann na mBunscol Iarmhi. The senior cycle football league was open to non-exam students (pre-Leaving Cert and post-Junior Cert). Over the Easter holiday period, a Vodafone GAA camp was staged in Garrycastle and Athlone.
Meanwhile, preparations are currently being made for this summer's Cluster coaching sessions throughout the county. This initiative is aimed at helping club members to develop their coaching and mentoring skills.
Noel is grateful to the primary and secondary schools for their cooperation in staging the competitions. "We have got great cooperation from the schools and teachers, which is very important." he says.
"Second level schools are hugely influential in developing players and we are lucky to have a very good working relationship with all in this sector."
During his time as Westmeath-Offaly Hurling Development officer, Noel developed the combined Westmeath Schools hurling concept which is already bearing fruit. Earlier this year, the Westmeath Schools team made history by beating Dublin South in the Leinster Colleges SH 'A' championship before going on to lose to Kilkenny CBS in the quarter-final.
"We developed the amalgamations over four years ago at juvenile (under 14) and since then have gone on to have teams at junior (under 16) and senior level along the lines of what has been used in Dublin.. This year was our first in the senior grade and while we were delighted to win the first round, the scale of the defeat to Kilkenny CBS shows we still have a quite a way to go to get to the very top."
In conclusion, Noel says: "All the activity at schools and juvenile club level will eventually feed into the county system. I am committed to nurturing young players and increasing GAA participation in the county. Hopefully, at minor football level, county teams can get back to the level of the mid-1990s while in hurling, hopefully they can become more competitive and make a breakthrough or get to a Leinster final - and then win it!
"With quality players coming through to under 21 and senior teams, hopefully they can be then successful at that level. A successful inter-county team lifts all boats in a county and that is what we all want to see." Tweet

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