Planning for Success
Micheál Martin, County Development Officer
With the busy playing season coming to a close it affords us all-both club and county-an opportunity to look at where we are currently, where we want to be and how we are going to get there. All clubs have a number of core aims. They strive to be a central part of the community, to recruit and retain players, have adequate playing facilities and most importantly to be successful on county final day. From a county point of view, the ultimate aim must always be for our adult teams to be successful on September Sundays. The reality is that successful and strong clubs lead to a strong county. Planning ahead for the future is now accepted as a crucial step to ensuring success both on and off the field.
Many Wexford clubs have already engaged in development plans and have seen the benefit, through fabulous facilities, and/or success on the field of play. Autumn 2011 will see a further roll out of the The GAA Club Planning Programme in County Wexford. This programme provides clubs with a structured approach to developing a plan. The main part of the programme is the club planning workshop, where all of the clubs members are invited to attend a facilitated workshop to discuss all aspects of club activity. Following this Focus Groups are established to create a plan in the following areas
1. Club Structures and Administration
2. Communications and PR
3. Facilities Development
4. Coaching Games Development
5. Finance and Fundraising
Each club that is doing a club plan will receive a ‘club plan pack’ that will have all resources in hard copy form. A short meeting for clubs who are interested in developing a plan will be held on October 10th in the Ferrycarrig Hotel. It is important to note that Leinster Council now stipulates that any club who is applying for grant aid should have Club Development Plan.
The Wexford GAA Strategic Plan 2011-2015 was developed and launched in 2010. A key component of the plan is the organisation of an annual review to ensure that the document is a “live” document and that it changes (if deemed necessary) to reflect the challenges faced by the county. A review forum will take place on Wednesday 9th November in the Ferrycarrig Hotel at 7.30pm. Each club is requested to send three representatives to this forum. The forum will include a presentation outlining progress made in the different areas and will encourage feedback from clubs as to what the priorities should be moving forward.
For further information on club or county planning please contact County Development Officer, Micheál Martin at [email protected].
