Majella's Little Stars
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The under 8 girls had their first go game on Sunday, 16th March and despite being an away match against Na Fianna, on a bank holiday weekend at the awkward time of 10am on a Sunday morning, we had three teams of seven turn out...though at 9.55 with 5 girls still to turn up we were getting a little worried, especially given that about 35 Na Fianna girls were there from 9.30 enthusiastically warming up!
Our three teams played 2 full games, each half against a different Na Fianna team and they were well and truly exhausted at the end. There were flushed cheeks and stripping of layers after the first half! They displayed great football skills - the girls and coaches alike can be very proud. There was excellent teamwork and passing, persistent shadowing, plenty of near hand tackling and some mighty long kicks, not to mention the countless scores, under and over the bar. Na Fianna had some great players on each team and they certainly put our girls to the test. Surprisingly I don't believe there were any cases of players playing in the wrong direction, which can sometimes happen at this age, though there was one instance of a defense player (on the opposing team of course!) displaying great defense skills on the kickout from her own goal - she would have been playing a blinder as a forward! We had a couple of players on our side taking "a few more" than four steps and we had to put one of our stongest players in goals a little more than her share for, well, simply playing too well!
It appears like the girls really enjoyed the games and are already looking forward to the next game in two weeks time. Yes, a new generation of Crokes girls footballers has been born!
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