Six Westmeath players take part in the GPA Rookie Camp

Six Gaelic games players from Westmeath were among 316 young inter-county players from across the country took part in the Gaelic Players Association’s annual Rookie Camp which was run online recently.

This event, part of the BEO360 programme, is designed to welcome new members to the players association and support their transition as senior inter-county players.

Jonathan Lynam (The Downs), Jack Gillen (Cullion), Aoife Temple (Athlone ladies), Robert Forde (Moate All Whites), Caoimhe Scally (Clonkill Camogie Club) and Kacey Geoghegan (St Mary’s, Rochfortbridge ladies) all participated.

Over the course of this half-day session players heard from a wide range of speakers such as Dr Ciara Losty, who provided practical tips and tools to protect psychological wellbeing; Westmeath’s own Jennifer Rogers, GPA Player Development Manager who spoke about the GPA’s BEO360 Programme; and Enda King from The Sports Surgery Clinic, who gave an insight and practical advice on the fundamentals of physical wellbeing as a rookie athlete.

Player speakers on the day included Donegal footballer Michael Murphy, Kilkenny camogie star Katie Power, Mayo footballer Lee Keegan, Donegal's Aoife McDonnell and Tyrone’s Conn Kilpatrick, as well as members from the internal GPA staff led by CEO Tom Parsons.

Speaking about the event Tom Parsons said: “The GPA Rookie Camp is an important milestone for new members to inter-county panels as it equips them with information which will be fundamental to their journey for, hopefully, the years ahead.

“The most important thing now is that those young players take action to put what they learned into practice.”

Players who could not attend or wish to watch back any of the content from the GPA Rookie Camp can do so via the Udemy platform. They can contact tommy.doyle@gaelicplayers.com to request access.