Brian Barry
GAA Editor @BrianGBarry
Karl Lacey takes on Donegal GAA development role
Karl Lacey, who won an All-Ireland title in 2012 and also scooped the Footballer of the Year award, will not be a part of the Donegal senior management team in 2021; the 36-year-old takes on a development role with the county
Last Updated: 26/01/21 1:57pm
2012 Footballer of the Year Karl Lacey has been appointed as 'Head of Academy Development' for Donegal GAA.
The Four Masters club man had been a selector under Declan Bonner for the Ulster county's senior footballers over the past three years, but will now switch to a development role as Donegal plan for the future.
Lacey, who has an MSc in Sports Performance from the University of Limerick, lectures in sport coaching and performance at Letterkenny IT.
According to a county board statement, Lacey "will lead on the programme design of the Donegal GAA Academy programme in collaboration with the GDM (games development manager Aaron Kyles)."
Kyles noted the introduction of Lacey's role would benefit the development of players and coaches at club and academy squad level. The aim is to nurture emerging talent in the county - directly with academy squads and indirectly by providing support to clubs.
Donegal have enjoyed underage success in recent years, winning Ulster minor titles in 2014 and 2016, as well as a provincial U21 crown in 2017.
At senior level, they suffered a shock Ulster final defeat against Cavan in the 2020 championship, after impressive wins over Tyrone and Armagh.
