Meath Sports Awards: Who is in the running for our Young Sportsperson of the Year Award?

No matter what the sport it's always encouraging to see new talent emerge and in Meath in 2023 we have certainly observed some highly-skilled, motivated young performers make it to the top of their respective sporting disciplines.

The Meath Chronicle Young Sports Person of the Year is an accolade given to a teenager aged 18 or under who has demonstrated the kind of dedication, commitment and talent required to go beyond the ordinary and chalk up a notable achievements - and in the Royal County there is no shortage of such brave young adventurers. However, we have shortlisted three for the 2023 award - Leah Hough who has excelled in kayaking, Charlie O'Connor in darts and soccer player Sam Curtis.

THE NOMINEES

SAM CURTIS

The young man from Navan has broken records on a regular basis in recent years. He formerly played for Parkvilla and St Kevin's Boys before he joined Shamrock Rovers where he became the youngest player in the club's history to turn out in a senior game in the famous Hoops.

He was only 14! He moved to St Patrick's Athletic and became, at that stage, the youngest player ever to make an appearance for the club in a competitive game when he lined out against Waterford. Precociousness could be his middle name.

He plays on the right side of the defence bombing up and down the wing. He's also adept at whipping over crosses. In 2023 he won the Saints' 'Young Player of the Year' award, the accolade a recognition of his ability to raid down the right wing, swing over a cross or get a goal or two as he has done in the season just gone.

He ended up 2023 by receiving the PFAI 'Young Player of the Year' award. He also played his part in helping St Patrick's Athletic to a 3-1 victory over Bohemians in the FAI Cup final at the Aviva Stadium before a record crowd of 43,881. The fact that he has shown himself to be a young player with the talent, temperament and precociousness to not only survive but thrive at senior football, often made up of hardened, tough-tackling pros, indicates a rare quality.

Curtis has also played for the Republic of Ireland at various levels and has graduated onto the u-21 team. Recently Premier League side Sheffield Utd look set to sign him. A player with bright future in a game where he has already left his mark.

LEAH HOUGH

Only a few years ago Leah Hough took up kayaking but since then she has greatly prospered in the sport. A member of the Trim Canoe Club the teenager from Johnstown, just outside Navan, Leah tried out canoeing one day and was greatly taken by what was involved. She found she was reeled in, hook, line and sinker. "Since then I have fallen in love with the sport and the adrenaline rush it brings," was how she described her affection for the discipline to the Meath Chronicle.

She has also proved very good at it too despite the fact that she is relatively new to the distinctive challenges of kayaking. In July she claimed a silver medal at the European Championships in France in her category. Later in the year she competed in the ICF Freestyle Kayaking World Championships in Columbus, Georgia, USA. "Freestyle is a discipline of kayaking that is best described as gymnastics in a canoe," was how she put it.

The competition in Columbus was held on a stretch of the Chattahoochee River known as the 'Good Wave' which Leah described as "a powerful wave unlike anything we have here."

Despite the travelling, the formidable challenges involved and the fact that competition attracted competitors from around the world, Leah Hough finished fourth in the KI Women's junior final. Fourth in the world, it's a highly desirable, rarely attained, lofty position not easily attained but the young athlete from Johnstown has managed to achieve that feat in relatively short time-span.

CHARLIE O'CONNOR

Usually it can take a few years at least before a young sports person makes his or her mark - not Charlie O'Connor. He has pretty much made an immediate impact in the sport of darts and has demonstrated in the process that even at a very, very young age he has the skill and temperment to be a champion.

From Navan, Charlie at just 14 years of age, is the current Irish Youths Masters Darts champion. Some measure of just the significance of that achievement can be gauged from the fact that players up to u-18 are allowed to take part. So despite taking on opponents who have considerable more experience, Charlie was able to rely on his talent to carve out victories and claim the top prize in fine style.

The ability to perform under extreme pressure is one requirement of anybody who hopes to make an impact in darts and even at such a young age Charlie O'Connor has demonstrated that rare quality.

Not only that Charlie, who is a student at Beaufort College in Navan, is ranked fourth in the country and is set to be on the Irish youth team for a major international tournament in Latvia in July.

He also played on the Silver Tankard team that won the Kells League when he was just 13, defeating adult opponents on the way to winning all his games.