Tipperary's Samantha Lambert joins team of Gaelic4Teens ambassadors

THE Ladies Gaelic Football Association has confirmed the list of ambassadors who will assist in the delivery of the 2022 ZuCar Gaelic4Teens programme.  

The list of 13 ambassadors is made up of past and present inter-county stars, with new ambassadors Cathy Carey (Antrim) and Samantha Lambert (Tipperary) being added to the team this week.  

Cathy was recently appointed as Antrim senior team captain for the 2022 season while Samantha, who has retired from inter-county football, captained Tipperary to TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate titles in 2017 and 2019 and still lines out with her club Ardfinnan.  

Cathy and Samantha will join eleven returning ambassadors for the programme which gets underway this Monday, January 24, with an induction evening.  

This will be followed by the first coaches session on Monday, February 14, and the programme continues through to the National ZuCar Gaelic4Teens Festival Day, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 30.  

The returning ambassadors are Fiona McHale (Mayo), Jackie Kinch (Wicklow), Laura Fleming (Roscommon), Cliodhna O’Connor (Dublin), Bronagh McGrane (Louth), Cassandra Buckley (Kerry), Orlagh Farmer (Cork), Emily Martin (Down), Máire O' Shaughnessy (Meath), Sharon Courtney (Monaghan) and Sinead Delahunty (Tipperary). 

Representatives from the 30 participating clubs will attend six sessions delivered by the ZuCar Gaelic4Teens ambassadors, and engage with self-led modules between the various dates.  

The clubs will also receive a visit from a ZuCar Gaelic4Teens ambassador or a county player to conduct a coaching session, and witness theory in action.  

Following a hugely-successful pilot in 2017, Gaelic4Teens has grown considerably to over double in size, and this programme will help clubs to retain their current playing bases while also recruiting players in the 13-17 age bracket, which has been identified as a group with a high drop-out rate. 

The programme will work closely with coaches, influencing the content of their coaching sessions as well as establishing the best ways for coaches to communicate and engage with their players. In addition, the programme will examine the coaching environment required to ensure long-term development of players is being facilitated in the club. 

The programme will be monitored and evaluated to ensure that it achieves the aim of having a direct impact on the retention of players. 

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