Several of the Laois minor hurlers and footballers got a virtual taste for college life at IT Carlow this month when they took to Zoom in two separate sessions to hear first-hand from the Institute’s sports coaches and management about the opportunities there.
Alan Nolan, GAA Officer at IT Carlow and Waterford Senior Hurler Colin Dunford, who is part of the School Liaison Team at IT Carlow, organised the Zoom sessions in collaboration with the Laois hurling and football management teams.
The Zoom session with Laois minor footballers, which took place last week, featured Pat Critchley, IT Carlow’s Sigerson Manager and Laois Senior Footballer and Sigerson player for IT Carlow Trevor Collins. Also on the call was Kilkenny selector Michael Dempsey, who is the Course Director of the BSc in Sports Coachinig and Business Management at IT Carlow. He was joined by IT Carlow Head of Sport Donal McNally, Alan Nolan and Colin Dunford.
The hurler’s session, which took place earlier in the month, featured DJ Carey, who is the hurling coach and Fitzgibbon manager for the IT Carlow team. He was joined by Michael Dempsey, and Alan Nolan.
“We had a really informative session with the Laois minor hurlers and footballers. We spoke to them about courses at IT Carlow, our fantastic sports facilities, the atmosphere around college and, of course, what it means to play for IT Carlow. We then held a Q&A session that was facilitated by the Laois Management team, with a few questions around the area of our High Performance Entry scheme. This is a scheme that enable athletes and other high achievers who are committed to their activity to achieve their dual ambition of a high quality education and performance at the highest level within their field”, said Colin Dunford.
“We’re living in extraordinary times but we’re not letting the pandemic restrictions prevent us from assisting young sportsmen and sportswomen from experiencing what life at IT Carlow is like”, added Colin Dunford.