FAI Chief Executive John Delaney visited the Finn Harps Schools and Academy impressive setup at the Curragh in Killygordon on Thursday. And the soccer chief was fulsome in his praise for the work being done by the Academy coaches and Schools Programme team. Co-ordinator of the Schools Programme John Campbell said he was delighted that the FAI CEO seen at first hand the work that was going on through out Donegal with boys and girls with the support of teachers.
“John was with us the whole day and got a feel for all the projects we do in our schools program, skills, competitions, disability awareness, road-safety and nutrition, not to mention our competitions. He spoke at length about how impressed he was with the wide variety of projects that the Finn Harps Schools Programme covers and how we cater for both boys and girls in every competition.
It took us a long time to get to this stage. We’re 10 years on the road now and it’s great to have the CEO of the FAI to recognise the good work we do and hopefully we can build on everything we are doing to date. The Finn Harps Schools Program is one of a kind nationally and we have the opportunity here in Donegal to set the standards and I think John Delaney seen that at first hand on Thursday” Mr Campbell said.
Head of the Finn Harps Academy, Kevin McHugh said the words from John Delaney were a very positive signal that the Club was doing the right thing in terms of giving young boys and girls the proper pathway to develop their footballing careers with coaching tailored to their age groups.
“To have someone like John Delaney approve everything we are doing within Finn Harps Academy was just fantastic,It just reassures everyone within our setup that we are on the right path. Yes we have loads to improve on and we have a busy few years ahead of us, but at least we are heading in right direction
. The group of people we have involved in our Academy and schools projects from grounds men to coaches are brilliant.
“They are prepared to roll up their sleeves and do whatever is necessary to help drive things forward It’s been a hectic few months for our Academy with the new structures being implemented and the addition of U13 national league will see things take shape in 2019.Regardless of how well things are going, there is always room for improvement and we will sit down next month to draw up a list of things we can all improve on for 2019. We are all about the bigger picture within our Academy.” McHugh concluded.
Among the other guests in attendance on Thursday and who work with Harps on the Schools Programme were Brian O’Donnell (Donegal County Council Road Safety Officer); Frank Larkin (Disability Awareness) and Gerald Coyle (Nutrition) who all spoke during the John Delaney visit.
