Celtic coaches teaching Don Boscos youngsters the values of the game

The weather has been awful this week but that has not effected the enthusiasm of over 240 footballers from Don Boscos who are taking part in a Summer Camp hosted by coaches from Glasgow Celtic.

As part of the ongoing relationship between Celtic and Boscos – seven years and counting – coaches from one of the most famous clubs in the world make the short trip across the Irish Sea each year to provide the local kids with a summer holiday memory to never forget, even if the weather has not played its part.  

Senior Soccer Academy Manager at Celtic Football Club, Jose Romero is at the heart of the summer camp, and he explained it’s about developing players off the pitch as much as it is on the pitch.

“Probably talking about this week in isolation doesn't really mean much. It's more talking about perhaps the seven years that have come before that,” he explained.

“The relationship that we have with Don Boscos is massive. And it’s down to Marty Crumley and the kind of work that he's done within the club. He's obviously very well respected within the community, but he's also very well respected at Celtic Football Club because of how he's brought his club along and he's brought us along for the ride.

“So what we try to do whenever we come here is perhaps maybe just give them a little bit of a flavour of what we do in Scotland, how we work with our players, the values of Celtic Football Club, which are kind of known around the world. We talk about the integrity, the respect, the commitment and the support that the club stands for and it's a case of just passing those little things to the players.

“On top of that, it becomes about then trying to give them as close of an experience in terms of what our Celtic players go through in Scotland. It’s bridging the gap from a cultural point of view, from a values point of view, but also from a football point of view.”

Marty Crumley is at the heart of things for Don Boscos, his hard work and commitment a huge reason for the continued strength of a relationship with such a global club. And at the heart of everything for both Jose and Marty are the next generation of footballers.

“We’re looking for like-minded clubs that believe in values, believe in not just football for the sake of winning a trophy,” Jose continued.

“Celtic are renowned for winning so many trophies, but it's the way we do things and it's the way we look after our fans and our supporters. So yeah, I think trusting Don Boscos with the brand of being a Celtic official partner is massive, because we're nothing if we're not careful of who we align ourselves with and representing the brand in the right way.

“Don Boscos do that. They are fantastic and the community really pulls in together in everything that they do. They come over to Scotland quite regularly as well with age groups, come over, watch games, take part in the International Coaches Convention also. They've come over a couple of times to that as well. Us coming here with nine coaches happens once a year, but to be fair, they're over twice a year and then they come over to the convention as a third time. So it's not just a one hit that we do, it's a regular sort of programme that we do over the year.”

Celtic family

The Summer Camp is not about identifying talent for the future, and it is by no means a scouting mission. Instead, it is about giving the Boscos kids the opportunity to be a part of the Celtic family as Jose explains.

“I think I have to say I've been very impressed,” he said. “Cameron, one of our coaches, is working with the 2013's, which have been a fantastic group. I was lucky enough to have the 2019's yesterday and I've got t-shirts that are a lot older than this 2019's and they were excellent. Their attitude was fantastic, all the parents were very supportive of the kids as well.

“So yeah, they're showcasing themselves really, really well. And again, we don't come over to Don Boscos or anywhere around the world, as far as Soccer Academy is concerned; we're not looking to identify talent to play for, it's not about that at all because that would be such a false thing to come and claim. It's more about sharing the values, it's more about giving these kids an opportunity to be a part of the Celtic family, which they firmly are, but just making sure that people around Northern Ireland or even in the Republic of Ireland know that Ireland is where we want to be on a regular basis and coming here regularly is fantastic for us.”

The Boscos kids hung on every word Jose said before things kicked off at Magee earlier this week, and it is that enthusiasm which makes his job so much easier for Jose, who will return to Northern Ireland soon for the SuperCup NI.

“My voice has gone after two days, so that tells you everything,” he laughed. “But yeah, I think the enthusiasm is there. Some coaches and some people think that the kids are motivated by the coaches, but I think it's definitely the other way round.

“I think the enthusiasm of the players rubs off on the coaches, and then you just want to give a little bit more in terms of whether it be that football detail. But more importantly, as I mentioned to us, it’s more the stuff about the values, the stuff about discipline and making sure that they give themselves the best account of themselves.”