Page 41 - DLS Spring Newsletter 2023

Football on the Rise

Mr C Boyd

De La Salle College Churchtown is often seen as a
rugby empire and while yes rugby and all it brings
is central to our history and traditions, football is
growing and it’s growing fast. It is after all the
world's most popular sport and many of our
students play for clubs or just play for fun with
friends on their local green or road.

We have 4 teams this year playing in the FAI
Division 3 schools league and all teams have done
incredibly well. Both our U19 seniors and 1st years
went unbeaten in the preliminary rounds of their
league and progressed to the quarter finals of their
leagues. All teams and with special mention of the
U19 and 1st years produced incredible displays of
resilience, grit, creativity and teamwork. We are
very new to playing football competitively and are
amazed at what can happen when a group of
people come together and play as one.

Ultimately sport offers a vehicle to grow in so
many ways and football, the world's most popular
sport, is simply another path where our students
can learn so much along the way. It is not without
its challenges. Learning on the field of play is hard?
It involves challenging moments and with
incredible coaches and culture the teams and the
students that make those teams are meeting those
challenges. They have revelled in them.

A special mention has to be made for the coaches
who are at the forefront of this learning. Mr.
Chambers, Colm Byrne and Charlie Byrne. A
fantastic team whose skills and insight into football
and sport have been at the heart of the rise of the
game and all that it brings.

So, we look forward to playing a game that can
give our students and our school so much.
We will also continue to meet those challenges,
learn what it can teach us and game by game,
season by season, be better than we were before.
And don’t forget whether it's a rugby ball or a
football: We Are Salle!