Coaching and Games Update!

The U16 footballers trained in Marist College last Saturday, continuing their preparation for the Ted Webb Cup. They will compete in a group alongside Meath, Laois and Galway in the Ted Webb, with the first game away to Meath on Saturday 18^th April.

The U15 footballers trained in Moate CS last Saturday and will have one team competing in the Dermot Earley Michael Glavey’s Cup and a second in the Humphrey Kelliher Millsteet Cup. The Dermot Earley Cup team will face Wexford, Louth, Tipperary, Wicklow and Carlow, with Carlow at home the first game on Saturday 18^th April. The Humphrey Kelliher Cup team will play against outfits from Wicklow, Waterford, Wexford and Antrim, with their first outing in the competition at home to Wicklow on Saturday 16^th May.

The U14 footballers sent two teams to Dunganny last Saturday to take on Meath. 48 players took to the field in maroon to face their opponents from the Royal County. The U14 footballers will compete in a series of blitzes and games throughout the year.

The U16 team continued their preparation for the Celtic Challenge, training in Castletown-Geoghegan. The team will face the minor teams from Down, Mayo and Roscommon in the Celtic Challenge, with the first game away to Roscommon on Saturday 4^th April.

The U15 team trained in Castletown-Geoghegan last Saturday also and will have one team in the John Doyle Cup and another in the Hibernia Cup. The John Doyle Cup team will face games against outfits from Limerick, Clare and Dublin, with the first game away to Clare on Saturday 2^nd May. The Hibernia Cup outfit will have matches against teams from Limerick, Down and Laois, with a home game with Limerick first up on Saturday 11^th April.

The U14 hurlers trained last weekend and will complete in a series of blitzes and games throughout the year.

Last Saturday saw the commencement of Go Games for 2026, with U8 and U10 football blitzes being held across the county last Saturday morning. Well done to all the players and coaches who took part in what will be a busy year ahead for them.

The GAA and Musco Lighting recently signed a 3-year deal to sponsor the National Talent Academy Programme and Hurling Development packs. To launch the deal, Musco Lighting hosted a football and hurling game in Croke Park for U16 development squad players from across the country. Three Westmeath players got to grace Croke Park on Sunday 15^th March, namely footballers Tadgh Mulvihill (Garrycastle) and Darragh Belton (Caulry), and hurler Billy Whelan (Castletown-Geoghegan). Well done to all three lads who benefitted from this fantastic opportunity.

The fourth and final practical session for the Award 1 Football course took place last Monday (23rd March) in Marist College, with 20 coaches completing the course.

The county will host a football ICGG and safeguarding course in Garrycastle on Friday 10^th and Saturday 11^th April, and a hurling ICGG and safeguarding course in Castletown-Geoghegan on Friday 24^th and Saturday 25^th April. Club coaching officers have been provided with the sign up link for anyone who is interested in taking some of the limited spaces on the courses.

Westmeath are one of three counties taking part in an U19 football development competition in the coming weeks. Westmeath, along with Carlow and Laois, will play out a group tournament across April, which will conclude with a final. The competition is designed to bridge the gap from minor to U20 for players, with fixtures scheduled to avoid disruption with club fixtures. Micheal Burke (Mullingar Shamrocks) will mentor the squad along with Liam Reilly and Kieran Martin. At the time of writing, the first scheduled game was to be at home to Laois on Friday 4^th April.