A massive welcome to all our new and returning Nippers for the season ahead 2021-22.
All going to plan The Nippers Academy will start back on Saturday 11th September on the all-weather pitch in Gannon Park. This season the age groups attending the Nippers Academy will be for children born years 2015 and 2016. The season will run until early May breaking at bank holiday weekends and from early December to early January for a Christmas break (This is subject to change and government guidelines). If in the event of bad weather, the clubs Facebook page will be updated just before 10am.
The Nippers academy annual subscription is €225.
All new and returning places for the academy must be confirmed and secured by paying club fees by 4th September 2021. After this date unsecured places will be offered to the waitlist. If your plans have changed and you wont be taking a place this season please let us know rather than waiting til the 4th Sep so we can offer places as soon as possible to the children on the waitlist.
Click here to Pay Nippers annual subscription
Every week all nippers will need to be Signed in and out and all nippers must be accompanied by an adult for this process AND have an adult on site during the session. The pitch is an open area and coaches and volunteers will not be in a position to leave the all weather pitch to facilitate toilet runs.
Nippers are never to leave the all weather pitch unaccompanied.
The sign in is located on the far right hand side of the all weather pitch (near the 11 aside grass pitches).
Our session will run from 9:15am for sign in and kick off at 9:30am and will finish at 11:00am.
We will have a A Covid-19 online form that all Nippers guardians will need to complete prior to starting our new season. This will be sent at a later date.
The session will run from 9:30am to 11:00am with a gentle warm up, followed by drills and finishing with a small sided game from 10:30am – 11.00pm.
All players are to wear Astro Boots and Shin Pads and are to bring a small bag (with their name on it) with a bottle of water and a small box of fruit to refuel and rehydrate at our allocated breaks during the session.
There is no official uniform for the Nippers Academy. All new Nippers will receive a club top. The majority of Nippers wear football shorts with football socks or tracksuit bottoms, under garment gear is crucial particularly as the season progresses as Gannon Park has its own micro climate so always come prepared for all seasons!
Always allocate plenty of time for parking as Saturday mornings are very busy at the club.
The Nippers academy is run entirely by volunteers. If you are interested in coaching or helping at the academy when your child is there we would LOVE to hear from you. It is a very rewarding experience and we would highly recommend getting involved.
Team work makes the dream work!
Due to restricted numbers it is important to note and especially to avoid any unnecessary disappointment that the Nippers is not a walk-in academy so all players must be offered a place in order to train and play. The numbers allocated will increase when transitioning to U8’s league football and we offer places out if and when they come up during the season so all is not lost if you do not get a place straight away.
If you have anyone interested in starting at the Academy please register your interest by submitting an online form.
Here’s to a great season ahead.
Many thanks
The Nippers Committee