After consultation between the Management of the Under 17 Hurling Development Squad and the County Board, the Wexford U17 Management Team regrets to announce that Wexford cannot now participate in the National U17 Tournament in Mallow at the end of August. It is unfortunate that after a successful District League, hosting a National Blitz and playing a Shinty International, our U17 season has to be brought to a premature end.
With so many of our younger players now involved in Adult teams within their Clubs, the Fixtures which need to be played in late August would not allow a strong representative Wexford squad compete in Cork.
If the best possible Squad was chosen for Cork it would impact on players from probably 12 different clubs and inevitably result in conflict between Club loyalty and the desire to be involved in a Wexford Squad.If a Squad comprised only players from those Clubs not affected by fixtures, it would be unfair and unrepresentative of the County’s best Hurling Talent .
We hope that our current U17 players will look upon their involvement this year as positive and that they go back to their clubs as better hurlers or at the very least with some momentum and desire to improve and perform both at club and county level for many years to come.
We wish to thank the 16 mentors , 35 Clubs,100 players and all the parentswho participated and have given their commitment since last January .
We the Management have greatly enjoyed being involved with a talented bunch of lads who are capable of making a huge contribution to Wexford Hurling over the next decade.
Wexford U17 Management Team