Kids enjoying the summer camps in Ballyboden St Endas
Ballyboden camps go from strength to strength
BALLYBODEN St Endas first established their kids camp program for the summer in 2005, 20 years later and the camps have just gone from strength to strength with not just the camps improving but the overall youth structure and system in the club.
The summer camps now are capped at 250 children each week with the camps running for four weeks in total over the summer, three in July and then one in August. Camp Coordinator Sean Og Boyce offered his insight as to the importance of recruiting players at a young age.
“It kind of starts from nursery, our nursery is Boden Og, but because of space issues and just managing numbers with the nursery we traditionally didn’t recruit below the ages of six or seven and now we do with Boden Og Spraoi.
‘Now we take in kids that are five but we couldn’t do that without the help of the likes of St Marys Boys and Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna in Firhouse.
‘They’re two facilities that are outside of our Ballyboden facilities. The community helped facilitate us.”
The staff is made up of volunteers, often transition years and young students who volunteer with the nursery from September to June. They are then promoted and rewarded with coaching roles for the summer camps in summer.
The club has a wide reach encompassing five neighbouring parishes. Areas included include Ballycullen, Ballyroan, Ballyboden, Rathfarnham and the likes of Sancta Maria as well.
The juvenile section of the club is huge and can have over 700 kids from ages 8-12 and the summer camps gives a chance for parents and regular coaches a chance to switch off.
“It’s just about facilitating parent coaches that volunteer from January to December really and giving them a chance to switch off. They’re volunteers, parents that just get involved when their kids hit the age of seven.
‘They’re coaching twice a week at times and then at the weekend as well. It’s good for them to be able to send their kids to be coached by TYs and young students as well.”
