Rainey Old Boys have been awarded the first Ulster Carpets Club of the Month award for the new season, in recognition for being the club with the most players on the Ulster U18 Clubs squad.
Charlie Clarke, Nathan Jeffers and Ciaron McGlone all represented club on the Ulster U18 Clubs squad during the recent Inter-Provincial series.
While the club and the players themselves are reaping the rewards now, club Youth Convenor Ronnie McCullough feels this is just the culmination of many years’ work:
“What we’re seeing now started way back almost 10 years ago when we focused on the minis. When you consider those guys players for Ulster U18’s, they all came right up through the club, starting as Under 8’s with the minis. This year we have in excess of 250 kids registered to play in the minis so we hope that the investment in that section of the club will produce plenty more players for Ulster in the future.”
Equally as important as the club being represented on provincial squads is developing a base of players to populate the club’s adult teams, of which there are currently three.
Having secured promotion into Division 2B of the Ulster Bank All Ireland league last season, the club’s 1st XV have more than held their own so far this year, winning 5 of the opening 6 games.
“As a club we put huge emphasis on the youth section of the club because we want to build something that will sustain our senior teams long into the future. We want to try and retain as many of our youth players as possible, so they will enjoy their experience here and hopefully go on to play for our adult teams.”
Last year the club’s U14’s reached the Ulster Carpets Youth Cup Final at Kingspan Stadium, only to be narrowly beaten by Portadown, while the U16’s won the Ulster Carpets Plate final with a fine performance against Ballyclare.
Like any club, McCullough is keen to acknowledge the considerable volunteer effort that is required to achieve this success.
“If those coaches and those parents aren’t there to give their time to help these kids, then the whole thing just won’t work so we’re hugely reliant on, and grateful for, the work of all the volunteers throughout the club.”
As part of their prize the club also win a bag of Ulster Carpets branded rugby balls plus 30 tickets to an Ulster game at Kingspan Stadium.
Charlie Clarke, Nathan Jeffers and Ciaron McGlone all represented club on the Ulster U18 Clubs squad during the recent Inter-Provincial series.
While the club and the players themselves are reaping the rewards now, club Youth Convenor Ronnie McCullough feels this is just the culmination of many years’ work:
“What we’re seeing now started way back almost 10 years ago when we focused on the minis. When you consider those guys players for Ulster U18’s, they all came right up through the club, starting as Under 8’s with the minis. This year we have in excess of 250 kids registered to play in the minis so we hope that the investment in that section of the club will produce plenty more players for Ulster in the future.”
Equally as important as the club being represented on provincial squads is developing a base of players to populate the club’s adult teams, of which there are currently three.
Having secured promotion into Division 2B of the Ulster Bank All Ireland league last season, the club’s 1st XV have more than held their own so far this year, winning 5 of the opening 6 games.
“As a club we put huge emphasis on the youth section of the club because we want to build something that will sustain our senior teams long into the future. We want to try and retain as many of our youth players as possible, so they will enjoy their experience here and hopefully go on to play for our adult teams.”
Last year the club’s U14’s reached the Ulster Carpets Youth Cup Final at Kingspan Stadium, only to be narrowly beaten by Portadown, while the U16’s won the Ulster Carpets Plate final with a fine performance against Ballyclare.
Like any club, McCullough is keen to acknowledge the considerable volunteer effort that is required to achieve this success.
“If those coaches and those parents aren’t there to give their time to help these kids, then the whole thing just won’t work so we’re hugely reliant on, and grateful for, the work of all the volunteers throughout the club.”
As part of their prize the club also win a bag of Ulster Carpets branded rugby balls plus 30 tickets to an Ulster game at Kingspan Stadium.