News

From Carlow to Catalonia!

12/12/2014

IT Carlow Sports Graduate To Train Footballers, Catalan-Style.   A graduate of IT Carlow has established a company with legendary Spanish coach Albert Vinas as its mentor to teach Irish footballer players and coaches the elite skills of their European counterparts.

Colm Barron, who graduated from IT Carlow in 2012 with a BA in Sport & Exercise (Soccer), returned to the Institute last week to talk to the sports students about his new company, Catalan Elite Football Academy, which was launched just two weeks ago.

Catalan Elite Football Academy which kicks off in the summer of 2015 offers players, aged 10 to 15 years, from around the country specialist coaching from UEFA Pro Licence Catalan coaches from clubs like FC Barcelona, Liverpool FC and RCD Espanyol. The foundations of Catalan Elite Football Academy are built on the close relationship with the visionary Albert Vinas and the Catalan FA. The enterprise is fully backed by the Catalan FA.

Albert Vinas has educated many well renowned coaches such as Tito Villanova (ex FC Barcelona), Oscar Perarnau (RCD Espanyol) and Rodolfo Borrell (Manchester City Global Technical Director) and worked with players such as Sergi Roberto (FC Barcelona),Isaac Cuenca (Deportivo La Coruna), Marc Bartra (FC Barcelona).

Catalan Elite Football will introduce pro licence Catalan coaches to Ireland as well as offering coaching workshops, player development camps, elite academies, junior academies, and player placement services. Based on the unique Catalan player development model – the Catalan FA is a separate entity to the Spanish FA – Irish youngsters will work with technical, tactical and physical coaches all in the one session each week supervised by a PRO License coach from the region. The project will kick off with its first camp in February 19th-20th in North Dublin which will see one pro license coach work alongside one Irish coach for every twenty players.

“To be able to bring the methodology of Albert Vinas to Ireland for the benefit of Irish players is something very special that I think will have a huge impact over here”, commented Colm Barron.

Colm Barron studied sports at IT Carlow and graduated in 2012 with a BA in Sport & Exercise (Soccer), a degree course which is delivered by the Institute in association with the Football Association of Ireland. It provides an academic qualification that combines coaching, fitness and player development with a broad-based management curriculum relevant to the development of sport. 

ENDS