Shannon Notes Weekending August 29th 2009

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future", so said the great John F. Kennedy in June 1963. Applicable to all aspects of life, and perhaps relevant to our club after the events just past. There's no doubt that we have had a turbulent summer and requests of the recent EGM have been acted upon by the Executive committee and hopefully, through the inclusive dialog between several members, the club is on a sound footing heading into an exciting era of the AIB league. Democracy has always ruled our club and it is the members that elect the executive committee to run the club on behalf of every member, and as in any democratic organisation not all decisions are meet with universal approval. Also it must be remembered that executive committee members are all volunteers that give freely of their time for Shannon RFC and despite specific differences that individuals may have, everyone works towards maintain our clubs position in the highest echelons of rugby in Ireland. It would be great to see a few more of the members that attended the EGM volunteer a small portion of time to assist in the onerous task of running the club.

Rugby is what the club is all about and after the eventful summer off the pitch we're back full steam ahead. The seniors have been in training for well over a month with vigour and enthusiasm not seen for a while in summer training and have already played two training games against young Munster and Bruff as well as the Meteor Munster 7's last weekend. Colm Tucker has already stamped his methodology on the squad and the response had been very positive. There's no doubt the new AIB league format will bring additional challenges to everyone with the retention of the title our number one goal, the mindsets of the squad is already focused on the main event. However, as we all know the drive for success in the club doesn't stop at the AIB league and I know the aim for the senior side is to win every competition we compete in.

The squad has been bolstered by the arrival of a few new players along with a couple of notable returnees. A player that received a lot of attention during the Churchill cup, Felix Jones was suitably impressed with the club and has signed. How much playing time he will get for Shannon is unclear, but he is certainly a valuable asset to the squad. Despite being unable to take part in training sessions, he has been a regular visitor to Coonagh and is an enthusiastic spectator. Batt Duggan, previously of UL/Bohs, will be pushing hard for a regular starting place at hooker while the return of two of our more senior players is a further embellishment of our squad. The experience of Mossy Lawlor and Andrew Finn will be vital in the coming season and with last seasons squad remaining very much intact we are in a healthy position.

Saturday sees our first competitive game of the season when we begin the defence of the Limerick Charity Cup when we play Thomond in LIT on Saturday at 2.30. Access to the pitch is via the Moylish roundabout and through the College. Although this is a home game for us, Coonagh is undergoing major surgery at the moment and will be out of action for another month at least. The work being undertaken is fantastic to see, with the main pitch getting a complete new drainage system which will ensure we will have a superb playing surface all year round. The schools pitch running beyond the main pitch will be a totally new playing surface with floodlights while the Well pitch has received much needed remedial work. Ger Mc Closkey has worked tirelessly over the summer months and the fruits of his labour will benefit the entire club. The advice from the contactors is to leave the pitches as long as possible to bed in so we won't see many games in Coonagh for four to six weeks , but the long term benefits will be to everyone's advantage.



Age grade changes are now in place throughout Munster which sees U/20's become U/21's and its there that we have placed a huge emphasis on at the end of last season and through the summer months. Coach George Murray has been joined by James Hickey and between them, and John Paul Tucker a development programme has been put in place. Most of the players involved have come through the underage structure, but some very astute signings at that level will see this side be very competitive this season, Already several U/21 players have been involved with the senior side and with such an array of talent in the squad don't be surprised if we see youngsters make an AIL debut at some stage throughout the season.



A change of underage Chairman sees Vinnie Leonard take over from Mike Ryan who served the underage tremendously during his tenure. New personal will always have new ideas and fresh approaches to matters and already Vinnie has implemented a number of positive schemes. Over 30 underage coaches took part in a series of summer coaching sessions which will see a streamlined approach to how the club playing ethos is instilled in our teams. Some of our underage sides are back training already and others will begin in the next week or so. New members are always welcome and we cater for U/7's through to U/19's.



Ticket packages for the Mangers league and Heineken cup are available to all our members with category A costing ?360 and category b costing ?330. Any members interested should contact Tadgh Crowe as soon as possible.



Finally on behalf of the Executive committee I wish all our players, coaches and management a successful and safe season ahead.