Former Olympic boxer and current Head Coach for the Irish boxing team, Billy Walsh, was the special guest speaker in Corduff Sports centre on Tuesday 3rd November to speak to the participants of the Gloves, Sweat & Careers Programme. The programme was launched by Sporting Fingal Community Trust and supported by Corduff Youth Project, Corduff Sports Centre and Fingal County Councils Sports Office.
This programme highlights the important link between education and sport and is aimed at teenagers from the Corduff area to get them to start thinking about a possible career path in sport. The 7 week programme sees participants undertake a 45 minute session of Sports-Conditioning and Boxing training, prior to a 30 minute session on career development.
Billy spoke to the participants about his time as a boxer and the elation he felt in qualifying for the Olympics in 1988 and the agony of missing out on the games in 1984 and 1992. "I'm delighted to be here today to speak to you; I had a dream - I made it to the Olympics, if you have a dream it’s up to you to ensure it comes to fruition but less than 1% of the world’s population make it to the Olympics, that’s why your education is so important and this programme will help you find the career just in case that Olympic dream doesn’t come through!" he said.
Gloves, Sweat & Careers takes place in Corduff Sports Centre every Tuesday between 13th Oct – 1st Dec 2009 and on the penultimate week all participants will be brought down to the newly opened Mulhuddart Boxing Club to spar in the ring.
The Sporting Fingal Community Trust was officially launched in April 2009, by Niall Quinn, former Irish International footballer and Chairman of Sunderland FC, and is strongly influenced by the work of the Sunderland Foundation. The Community Trust is the charitable arm of Sporting Fingal FC, and is the first such initiative to be associated with a League of Ireland football club.
SFCT is developing programmes and initiatives to address issues such as early school leaving, alcohol and substance abuse, racism, healthy lifestyles, and higher participation in sports, and recently launched the innovative Men’s Pitstop Programme aimed at unemployed men from around the general Swords area.
The Pitstop Programme runs over 8 weeks, with morning classroom sessions focused on career development, and afternoon sessions on the pitch working towards FAI Kickstart Coaching badges and refereeing badges.
