Joe Gamble heads up Player Development Academy to nurture next generation

SOMEONE once said practice makes perfect. 

It makes sense but only proper practice makes perfect. You can practice for hours but if you are practicing bad habits then you will never be perfect.

Former Cork City star Joe Gamble is very aware of that. Now a UEFA A licenced coach, he has teamed up with Craig Donnellan and some of the best coaching talent in the city.

They recently set up Player Development Academy to teach kids how to develop their skills in a professional but fun environment where progression is at your own pace. Assisted by senior coaches Mark McNulty, John O'Flynn, Barbara O'Connell, Declan Coleman, and younger ones Jesse and Alix Mendez, Muireann McHale, Rian O’Riordan Conor Walsh, Alan Barry and Adam Walsh.

"Our aim is to provide a professional environment for players to develop their footballing skills, by challenging themselves against players from various clubs around Cork City and County, all while making friends along the way," said Gamble.

Our academy players are coached by professional coaches who focus on reality-based training, where players are encouraged to express themselves and continue to grow as footballers."

An exciting few weeks ahead where Cork PDA will host girls and boys tournaments along with camps during the Easter break. It all kicks off next Monday when they will host their first girls-only tournament at College Corinthians.

With 10 teams invited at U12 level to compete, it is guaranteed to have an abundance of talent on show. Wilton, Riverstown, Douglas Hall, Midleton, College Corrnthians, Ringmahon, Avondale, Carrigaline, Lough Derg of Tipperary and PDA will feature with each team having representatives from their inter-county league teams, which will make it an elite standard no doubt.

Gamble and Donnellan have been hectic in creating an elite environment and playing numbers are increasing weekly. Their attention to detail with each individual is second to none. Holding tournaments such as these will further showcase the wonderful work they're doing to give kids the extra sessions they need outside of club training.

For many, it's an opportunity to play with, and against players from different clubs so when it comes to going to league centres for trials further on in their careers, it's not as daunting, having experienced the atmosphere at PDA. 

The PDA currently run sessions five days a week across five different venues throughout Cork. Next Monday will be a great day to spend at the tournament as over 120 girls will compete in a fun but competitive tournament. 

PDA decided to enter a team also to facilitate their players whose clubs may not be competing. Clubs such as Kinsale or Park United who have quality players that are part of the PDA Academy and who are also part of Cork teams.

PROMISING

The current Cork U12 team are in an All-Ireland semi against Sligo/Leitrim and it will be great to see as many as eight of those players represented at the tournament.

The tournament will be followed by a three-day camp for anyone interested details will be on the PDA website. While it's a busy time having got the girls up and running, the coming weeks will be huge preparations for the boys' tournament on April 5. The cream of the crop will be in Cork as the U9s tournament will take place with teams from all over the country.

Shamrock Rovers, Cherry Orchard, Crumlin Utd, teams from Limerick and Waterford plus three Cork teams with battle it out for what's expected to be an extremely high standard and anyone interested in underage football should go and watch.

Gamble is looking forward to both events and hopes that the kids can be supported for what he expects to be two very enjoyable tournaments.

"We are delighted to be hosting two very high-standard tournaments," said Gamble. "It is fantastic to see such a huge interest in the girls game with the current talent in Cork been very high. Many of the girls in our PDA are on representative sides and while they'll play with their clubs on the day of the tournament we're still very proud that we are playing a small role in their development as players and we look forward to seeing them compete on the day.

We are also really excited about the boys tournament. We are thrilled to bring such talent to Cork to compete against some of the best players in Cork. 

"In order to improve as a player, you need to be constantly challenging yourself and what better way to be doing it than playing against players from top-class clubs across the country."