25th Anniversary Programme

2009 - A Year to Remember for Leixlip Handball

Leixlip Handball Club celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2009.  To mark this milestone, a comprehensive programme of initiatives was developed and implemented. This programme was aimed at

• Improving the club structure and management capability so that the club is best positioned to provide an appropriate, attractive and effective service to the Leixlip community.
• Providing an enhanced coaching programme for its young people to meet the twin aims of the Irish Sports Council viz. increasing participation and enhancing the skills of those players who wish to achieve and who are committed to achieving competitive success.
• Continuing our emphasis on achieving excellence in the key area of communications
• Enhancing our playing facilities, and
• Marking and recounting support, friendships and achievements over the past 25 years.

• Improving the club structure and management capability

The club developed a vision for the future of handball in Leixlip. This was done through the development of a series of fundamental ‘Operating Principles’ which cover  the entire spectrum of activity at club level and which will be the template for all future club activity both inside and outside the court.

These Operating Principles are set out in single statements preceded by a brief contextual note and are arranged in two categories:  Working Culture, and Respecting the Game. Each category contains six principles. They are displayed prominently in the club premises and are also available on our club website and in our anniversary publication. We would like to think that they might be considered useful and helpful to others involved in the development, management and promotion of handball

• Providing a high quality coaching programme

Providing high quality coaching to our young boys and girls is probably the single most important task to be undertaken by any club. In this regard, the club put in place a comprehensive coaching, providing 16 hours of coaching weekly and supplementing this with visits to other clubs etc. The objectives of the programme were re-evaluated and updated and are available on the club website together with substantial coaching support material.

Exposure to good quality handball is also considered to be an important element of youth coaching and in 2009  the club hosted a major Youth Invitational Tournament. Three competitions were held – Girls under 14, Boys under 15 and Boys under 17. Seventeen of the top players in these age groups in the country took part in what was generally agreed to have been an exceptional weekend of handball. See Results

The fruits of a good coaching programme will also be reflected in competitive successes and in this regard the club can point to a consistent record of high achievement over the years. In 2009 we achieved World Championship success (Niall O’Connor -17-and-Under Doubles, with his partner Martin Mulkerrins (Moycullen)),  a Leinster title (Áine O’Keeffe/Doireann McNamara) together with a range of successes in prestigious tournaments-Golden Gloves, Paddy Grugan  Memorial, McGee International and Abbeylara.
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• Continuing emphasis on excellence in communications

The development in 2009 of a high quality website, www.leixliphandball.ie  was the centrepiece of the club’s drive to ensure that its communication and publicity structures would be as streamlined as possible.   The website has comprehensive coverage of all club affairs and is designed to be both relevant and accessible to members and to the wider handball public. It is updated regularly and a page specially dedicated to our young players, Ardán na nÓg, has been added.  More and more, this is the medium that young people use and it is our intention to respond to that requirement.

The club profile has been considerably strengthened with weekly reports to all local media. An archive of these reports is maintained on the club website. Regular inputs are also made to the national handball website, www.gaahandball.ie. Internal club communications have also been facilitated by the development of dedicated group e-mail address lists for committee members, coaches, parents and general membership respectively.

In addition, the club produced a publication, ‘Lorg Láimhe, Tradition in the Making’, which, through invited and local contributors, recounts, in a personal way, the history and achievements of the club. There is also considerable focus on the future as well as a range of material of general interest.  The publication also includes a comprehensive record of the competitive achievements of the club since its foundation. Reaction was very positive and copies were distributed to all handball clubs throughout the country.

• Enhancing our playing facilities

The club has refurbished its court and ancillary facilities. This was done primarily through the provision of voluntary labour by club members, with generous support from our own GAA club and members.

We now have a one-wall court which is used extensively by our members and which no doubt contributed to the significant number of players from Leixlip who competed in the national one-wall championships 2009. We also have the use of an indoor one-wall facility in our sister GAA club in Confey .This will hopefully help to spread the handball gospel in Confey GAA Club and in the local schools. The popularity of one-wall is increasing and we aim to encourage that trend.