GETTING STARTED: Who Wants to Play and Where to Find Them?
By RONAN DEANE
This is part three of a four part unsanctioned and unofficial rough guide to setting up a Gaelic football team in your area.
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Spring is a time of growth and renewal. In the past few issues, I have been attempting to persuade our readers that there is room and a need for growth in Gaelic games circles in the Pacific Northwest.
If you have been reading these articles in the last few months, you may agree with me that there should be more Gaelic football played in the region, and you may have even thought about the criteria that the city or community that you live in has fulfilled that suggest it could support a team (i.e. suitably large and young population, within driving distance of an existing club and even a few Paddies living in the neighborhood). But even if you agreed with these thoughts, how are you going to get people playing this new sport?
Daunting to think that you have to go out into the wilderness preaching the gospel of Gaelic football to Canadians and Americans. And don’t get me wrong, it isn’t going to be a cake_walk! But here are a few pointers. The first question you have to ask yourself is, “Who wants to play Gaelic football?”
The answer to this is not that hard. Everyone, potentially, wants to play Gaelic football: they just mightn’t know it! Lots of people have never heard of Gaelic football. This should not stop the promoter from pressing on in their attempts to convert these people into players. In fact, there are plenty of examples of so_called “newcomers” playing the game and playing it very well for that matter.
The most simple thing is to ask people if they want to play. If you are a member of an Irish club (or Irish dance troupe, Irish music group, or Celtic Supporter’s Club), ask those guys and gals, if they want to play. A few of them will, no doubt, and now you’re on your way.
Ask them to check it out with any of their friends or family. Don’t worry if there is no Irish community that you know of, you may have heard of a certain St. Patrick’s Day, that occurs in mid_March, and I have to say that if you can’t recruit some people that weekend, you have a fight on your hands. That is the extended Irish community taken care of.
Other good places to promote (with flyers, posters, etc.) are sports centres and clubs (rugby and soccer clubs in particular), universities and colleges, and pubs. On your promotional material, you must SPICE it up a bit.
Remember sex sells, and Gaelic football is one of the sexiest sports there is. OK, so I’m pushing it now, but I urge you to jazz it up a little. People often respond to a catchy slogan. The girls in Edmonton had a great t_shirt that read: “Gaelic Football – It’s not what you think.”
Remember: As you promote the sport, collect the names and e_mail addresses or phone numbers of anyone who shows an interest, and tell them you’ll get back to them. And DO get back to them.
Now someone might ask, “so what is Gaelic football?” Now this is a critical moment. Your answer might determine if someone plays or not. “Gaelic football is.... “
I’m not going to tell you. If you’re serious about starting a football team, you either already know or you will have done the research.
You must be passionate about playing the game yourself – there’s no point in trying to convince a new person to play if you don’t really care too much for the game yourself.
If this series of articles interests you, then I want to add that there will be plenty of people to help. Here are the contact details for clubs already in place in Vancouver (www.isscvancouver.com), Edmonton (www.edmontongaa.com), Calgary (www.calgarygaelicfootball.com), and Seattle (www.seattlegaels.org).
All of these clubs would love to hear from anyone that wants assistance, guidance, or words of wisdom. I am also available to chat, just contact me, Ronan Deane at ronandeane@hotmail.com, and ask me anything you want.
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