Letter from the Rebels Chairman Cillian Flavin
A chairde,
D'éirigh linn ár gcuid spriocanna a bhaint amach agus tá painéal iomlán againn ag deireadh an bliain. Ba bhliain rathúil é 2018 do na reibiliúnaithe. Tar éis roinnt eochair-imreoirí a chailliúint, chuir muid imreoirí nua isteach go tapa a thug díograis agus dúthracht don chlub.D'éirigh linn ár gcuid spriocanna a bhaint amach mar scuad i mbliana agus tá painéal iomlán againn ar deireadh.
2018 was a successful year for the Albany Rebels. After losing some key players during the offseason, we quickly added new players who brought enthusiasm and dedication to the club. We achieved our goals as a squad this year and we finally have a complete panel.
Our major accomplishments included:
Winning the 2nd annual New York Cup
Adding 12 new players with 10 appearing in matches this season
Receiving a grant from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to begin the process of bringing youth football to Albany
Holding the club’s first ever youth clinic at a City of Albany elementary school
We had a mixed year in full-sided matches and tournaments. We had a hard time at the Montreal Tournament and Fairfield Tournament due to playing up in class against senior level clubs. We also had a number of tough games against our rivals from Hartford.
We struggled at times with our attacking play, especially due to the loss of key players from last year, but as the season progressed we began to find some level of fluency with our newer players coming into their own on the pitch. Hopefully we can continue to build on our experiences and become a better unit.
Our biggest achievement on the field was our victory against Syracuse that won our first ever New York Cup. This was an improvement from last year when we narrowly lost out to Buffalo.
Off the playing field we continue to build our relationships with the local Irish organizations who remain steadfast supporters of ours. The local AOH organizations, the Capital District Irish American Association, and the Capital District Celtic Cultural Association are long term supporters of ours. We also are indebted to the American-Irish Legislators Society. Our sponsors like Tipperary at Tara and Martin Electric provide us with the resources we need to keep our organization going. We owe them all a debt of gratitude and thank them for their support. We are also excited by our growing relationships with the Irish American Heritage Museum and the Conradh na Gaeilge Craobh Chumar an Dá Uisce (Two Rivers Gaelic League).
Of note, 2019 will see some major changes for the Rebels. Our long term club secretary Mike Lee will be leaving our executive board. He will be a great loss to our organization but we are glad that he will remain as a player. He brings skill and leadership to the team that are irreplaceable. The same goes for Tim Gerrish who is stepping down as coach. Tim brings an intensity to everything he does and displayed a knack for identifying problems with our play and creating drills and sessions that specifically addressed those issues. We are glad that he too will remain as a player in 2019. I offer them both my sincere thanks for all of their efforts for the club.
As we plan for 2019 we offer thanks to our supports and appeal for assistance in spreading the word about our club and sport. We want to continue to grow and hope to involve our community as much as possible.
Le meas,
Cillian Flavin Chairman Albany Rebels Gaelic Football Club