Waterside Sharks

The following are a series of articles about Waterside Sharks that have appeared in the local and national press.

British wrestlers picked up four medals at the Spanish Grand Prix tournament in Madrid on Sunday.

Krasimir Krastanov from Manchester won the gold medal in the 55kg category, thanks to a points victory over Tim Schleicher of Germany.

London Olympic prospect Leon Rattigan won bronze in the 96kg division, while Mohammad Ali Haghidoust also secured bronze in the 74kg division.

In the women's 55kg division, Jayne Clayson picked up GB's third bronze.

"It was another terrific performance from our wrestlers, and to bring home four medals from a prestigious European tournament is a great result," said GB performance director Shaun Morley.

Source: BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/wrestling/8147398.stm

A model of how to excel and nurture community leaders
THE YMCA in Dumahoe may be synonymous with rugby and Willie Lamrock is a devoted rugby fan, but the facility has an addictive aspect to it, with many eventually getting involved in management.
"Rugby is the reason I'm in the YMCA, and that happens with a lot of people," he says, adding: "People join the YMCA because they are big into bowls, into football, badminton or whatever, and they go into the management committee to represent the base that they come from, and they come in with the idea that they need to make sure the hall is right or that the pitches are right and they speak up for that.
"Very soon however, they see the other work that the YMCA does, especially around young people and around old people, and then they get involved and caught up in it, and that's the way I came in. I can cite you many examples where people have come in and are now so engrossed in the other work that the YMCA does that they are fully integrated into every aspect of the YMCA and what it does.
"Our management committee isn't one that we invite people on from various statutory bodies or organisations, it is made up of people who are involved in the day-in-day-out work of the YMCA, and our management committee are people who would be in the YMCA once or twice a week anyway. I know of other organisations and YMCAs who invite a member from the police, a member from the Health Board or the Education Board, and they come in and sit at a two-hour meeting once a month, and there is no life in the place.
"The people we have in our management committee are people who are here because that is their real interest, and that permeates throughout the club. In YMCA terms we are held up as a model association because of the way in which we are structured and carry out things," he says.
Still heavily involved in running the rugby club, Willie Lamrock is proud of the fact that the club is in the top league in Ulster rugby at junior qualifying level, and is full of praise for the coach Keith Gallick, who has played for Ulster on many occasions and for Ireland at every level bar senior level.
Among the highlights of his time at the YMCA, WIllie mentioned the promotion of the young people, and in rugby terms when they won the Ravenhill Cup in 1986, as well as getting recognised in the IRFU Ulster branch for its management structure and operations.

Where it all began
WILLIE Lamrock may be the most familiar 'fixture' of Drumahoe YMCA - his association with the organisation began in 1983, when a group of people who played rugby in Limavady, but lived in the city wanted to form a rugby club in the Waterside.
In those days City of Derry Rugby Club played at Branch Road, out near the border and there were a group of determined souls who wanted a club in the Waterside.
At that stage the YMCA was putting down roots in Drumahoe and that group of rugby enthusiasts saw the opportunity to be a part of that development, and made an approach to the YMCA management committee.
As Willie Lamrock recalls, their proposal received a positive hearing, not least from the late 'great' Ken Goodall, a rugby star from the city, who was also on the management committee.
"Through a series of meetings it was decided that a rugby club called YMCA would be formed, and that was done, and two of us were given positions within the management committee, and I served on that management committee from 1984 until I took up the full-time post of general secretary in 2002," he said.
Willie loves the connection with young people: "In a very positive way we are a full-time youth provision operating within the Western Education and Library Board, and we are indebted to the Board's Youth Service for the support they give us. We run youth programmes here five nights a week, and we also run programmes over the summer.
"Last year for example, in terms, of young people taking part in a youth session in the YMCA, we had 1,101 young people, which is a massive number. We are very proud of the fact that they travel quite a distance to take part in youth programmes that are very worthwhile in their minds and credible in their parents' minds," he added proudly.
Asked what he felt the success of Drumahoe YMCA was, when so many other YMCA clubs have closed, WIllie said he believed the fact that the annual change of the management committee provided the thrust of success.
"I think if you have a management committee that sits for life then the work ethic of some of the members dies, and the enthusiasm dies off. Our management committee changes annually and is a rotating procedure, so that whoever comes in is providing ideas, and we allow people to come forward with ideas, have a dream and put that dream into action here.
"We have had some brilliant youth programmes here, including 'Infinity', which was about young people and 'rave' culture, and we allowed them to hold raves here. These young people wanted space and time, and as a management committee we took a leap of faith and trust in them that this would be worthwhile and would work," he said.
Despire opposition from the community and some church leaders the raves attracted around 500 people of a night at the YMCA, which was drug, alcohol and chemical-free, run by the young people for the young people, with some adult supervision.
"Out of that programme we also developed leaders for the future - and that includes our current chairman, and I think that is marvellous," he said.
Over the time when rave-culture was popular the YMCA hosted between 20 and 30 sessions, and top mixers/DJs over from all parts of the Province. A lot of children and young folk from other areas also attended the raves.
"We ran a very good policy as well with it. There were young people who did turn up with drink, but the one thing we didn't do as allow them in, but also not to walk off into the night with drink in them. We got a phone number from them and got their parents to come in and collect them. So we dealt with them in a very safe manner."

Not just a place of rugby excellence
OVER the years the club has had strong connection in table tennis circles, and the club boasted some excellent players, including the Faulkner brothers and Freddie Glenn.
Indeed manager Willie Lamrock is no mean table tennis player himself, but the club also has a strong bowls association, and is also well-known for producing strong badminton players.
The strongest indoor sport at present is the wrestling, and the YM's club is currently recognised as one of the best wrestling clubs in the UK - the Waterside Sharks.
"We have the British Open champion here this past two years, Mohammad Ali, and we have a good strong wrestling club here, and we have an excellent Judo club as well.
"When we started the wrestling club here we didn't know Mohammad was in the town, and one of our wrestlers was getting a taxi one night from one part of the town to the other and he was talking to the Iranian taxi driver, and mentioned the wrestling to him and the taxi driver told him he wrestled in Iran. So he came out the next night and the following week we sent him to the British Open Championships in Manchester and he won, he qualifies now and is part of the British Olympics training squad.
"Judo is a thriving sport and Derry City Council has done a lot of development work in the city in the past year, and we are one of the products of that. On a Wednesday night you would have 30 children in here and about 20 adults learning Judo - young people learning a sport that is physical that is going to increase their health and discipline and self-esteem and it is good.
"I sometimes have difficulty with some of the authorities in recognising the value that sport has in a young person's development. The problem I see is sometimes seen in youth services that sport isn't the perfect example of good youth work, and this is one of the problems when it comes to money.
"Whenever you look at some Easter European countries, South American countries or whatever, what has taken young people away from crime is sport. If a young person is training to get fit or training to get involved in a team, then they have less time to get involved in 'street' activities. Some of the great sporting practitioners will tell you that sport is the 'sweet' that gets young people through the door. You don't get them in through the door lined up like ducks in a classroom situation," said Mr Lamrock.
Praising the Western Education and Library Board for the support it shows, Willie said the YMCA needed, but did not always receive the support it required for some of its sporting programmes.
"That's unfortunate, because to save a young person going through the judicial system also saves society - simply by investing £12 or £15 in a tracksuit and allowing them the facility to expend their energy within a hall or club grounds, play guitar or beat a set of drums. I see that as a weakness in the system - there is not enough support given."

Londonderry Sentinel - 11 February 2009

Waterside Sharks wrestler, Mohammad Ali, reclaimed his British title in Salford last weekend.

The Waterside Sharks enjoyed success at last weekend's Northern Ireland Closed Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Championships which was held in the Brandywell.

DERRY man Mick ‘Shannon’ Gallagher talks to The Sunday Journal about his life and times as a professional wrestler.

Mick was born in 1938 and lived in Rossville Street for much of his childhood. The fourth of six children he recalled “happy memories” growing up in Derry. At the age of ten Mick moved to William Street where he lived until he married his wife Margaret in 1958.

“My father was called Joe Gallagher. He was a docker and his nickname was ‘caddie.’ God only knows why they called him that because he was never near a golf course in his life,” he said laughing. “My mother was Mary McLaughlin and she was a house wife. Both my parents were from Derry. “My brother Joe emigrated to America and joined the United States navy and my sister Mimi left Derry for Las Vegas in 1958 and I have been to visit her a few times. “I love going to Vegas - it’s Disney World for adults.”
He continued: “The market was just across the street from where I lived in Rossville Street. The market happened every Wednesday and all the men would come to town with their animals and the wheeling and dealing was brilliant to watch. It was a completely different Derry to what I know now because from William Street to Thomas’ Street there were over 12 pubs.”

Throughout his life Mick always showed an interest in keeping fit. When living in William Street he started to train at famous Derry boxer Spider Kelly’s gym. Mick spent a few years as an amateur boxer fighting for St. Eugene’s ABC. “When Spider Kelly started training as a professional at Crockett’s I went along and watched him every night and I was an amateur boxer for a few years. It was great watching Spider train - he was a brilliant boxer.”

Mick attended Christian Brothers Primary School and at the age of 14 he started working as an apprentice shirt cutter. It was a seven year apprenticeship and in between times he spent his Saturdays trying get work at Derry’s docks. When he was 18 Mick started taxiing and after a few years he secured a job helping to build the plant at DuPont. “I spent a bit of time working in a shirt factory and as a taxi man before I got the job working on the construction site at DuPont. I worked at DuPont until the plant opened in 1958.” During all this time Mick was heavily involved in the local wrestling scene. He recalled the first night we went along to Andy McClay’s gym in Pennyburn.

“Andy McClay was synonymous with weightlifting and he had a gym in Pennyburn where the bookies is now. I was looking to get fit so I went along one night. At this time the English navy and the American navy were still in the town and a lot of them were professional wrestlers.

“A lot of the naval men would come along to Andy’s gym and that was where I got my first experience of wrestling. Andy was also promoting wrestling in the town at the time and he would get some of the boys from the club to go along and help out at the Guildhall. There was quite a big wrestling scene in Derry at this time. “Andy used to promote wrestling with a man from Belfast called Jack Raymond. When I met Jack it was the first time I had ever heard of a vegetarian. Jack was a huge man. He didn’t drink or smoke and it was through both him and Andy that I got into the wrestling.”

Mick became a professional wrestler when he was in his early twenties. Travelling the world to take on some of the best wrestlers around, Mick always returned to Derry. “It was a big step moving to England and travelling the world but if I wanted to break into it it was what I had to do. I fought all over England. I also fought in places like Germany and Singapore. “Singapore was brilliant. We wrestled with several of the local wrestlers and if we were beating them we had to lay off because the crowed would have gone crazy. “It was called the Happy World stadium and it was an amazing experience. We spent a week there and the craic and fun we had was something else.

“I wrestled all over Germany as well in places like Cologne and Stuttgart. “It was hard to get fights at home because wrestling didn’t get much coverage in Ireland.” He continued: “I loved the wrestling on Saturday nights in Derry. There were often more fights outside the ring than in it. We had plenty of local wrestlers taking part and they were always great nights. “When I look back now wrestling was a great way for me to keep fit. I trained three or four times each week and I was lucky that I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Mick met his wife Margaret when he was 17 and they will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary later this year. In 1970 he came home to spend more time with his family. He spent more years promoting and taking part in wrestling events at the Guildhall in Derry. “I met Margaret in a dance hall called the Ashfield Hall which used to be at the bottom of Tirconaill Street. All the local bands would have played there and it was one of the big places to be in Derry at the time. We’ll be 50 years married this year,” he said delighted.

Throughout his career Mick won the Irish Middleweight Championship and the European Middleweight Championship respectively. After working for a couple of security firms Mick decided to set up his own business in 1986. The company was called Security Services Northern Ireland Limited and employed over 150 people in both Derry and Belfast. Mick sold the company and officially retired in 2005.

“I’ve been enjoying myself since I retired in 2005. My only regret is that I wasn’t able to do it 20 years ago. Myself and my wife have been doing a bit of travelling and enjoying ourselves. “Ideally I would like retire to a place like Portugal or Spain but we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Mick lives with his wife Margaret in Derry and they have six children together. Mick is also President of the Waterside Sharks Takedown Club in Derry.

Sunday Journal - 1 October 2008

Wrestling is the one of world's oldest sports. With references found in the Old Testament and on the ancient tombs of Egyptian dignitaries wrestlers have been wrestling since approximately 2300 BC.

Thousands of years later and wrestling is alive and well in the North-West of Ireland. Waterside Sharks Takedown Club formed just over a year ago in May 2007. The wrestling club are based at the Y.M.C.A in Drumahoe and the Sunday Journal met with Chairman, Barry Pollin and President Michael (Shannon) Gallagher to discuss the last 12 months and to find out how the club aim to have members competing at the next Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India in 2010.

The Waterside Sharks have athletes originally from Iran, Poland, Latvia and Turkey regularly attending training. They are also recognised by Derry City Council and are integrated into local funding streams.
Strictly professional in their approach, the club also three Level 2 accredited by the British Wrestling Association (BWA). Mohammed Ali, Darron McMichael and Mark Pollin are all adept at coaching wrestling and their contribution is invaluable.

Barry, who also sits on the Northern Ireland Commonwealth board said that wrestling is a "building block" for many other contact sports and that it helps to develop balance and speed.

"A lot of the techniques in judo cross over to wrestling," said Barry. "We also have a judo club here and it gives a lot of the kids the opportunity to cross train.

"What we are trying to do is to lift our profile and work hand in hand with our friends in the judo community. My friend Jim Toland has helped us to set-up the judo club here.

"Some of influential judo competitors are very good wrestlers and our latest success is called Mark Montgomery.

"Mark fought for the Waterside Sharks last weekend at the Welsh Open and won. He is a former British Judo squad member and it is another demonstration of how both wrestling and judo complement each other."
He continued: "With the onset of grappling and UFC a lot of people are realising that wrestling is a building block for all other contact sports and martial arts.

"Wrestling is good for your balance, speed, discipline and control."
Club President, Mickey (Shannon) Gallagher explained that wrestling is popular sport in other countries such as Russia and Iran.

"In other countries wrestling is very popular. In Russia alone there are six million wrestlers under license.

"Probably the most relevant one to us is Iran. One of our coaches is called Mohammed Ali. There are six or seven million wrestlers in Iran, it's a national sport and they are very successful at it."

Barry continued by saying that the club aim to have senior members competing at the next Commonwealth Games in India in 2010. Their most recent success is Mark Montgomery and Barry, originally from Carrickfergus, stated that he can see no reason why some of the members cannot compete at the highest level of wrestling within the British Isles.

"Our objective is to have some of our senior members competing at the next Commonwealth Games. People like Mark Montgomery are on the right track to competing at the games but he has a lot of hard work ahead of him.

"In wrestling if you have the skills you can go for trials in Great Britain and we can make an accurate assessment as to whether you will be able to go and compete at higher levels."

The club came to fruition when a small group of parents in the Drumahoe area wanted to get their children active. At the same time the Northern Ireland Olympic Wrestling Association (NIOWA), the regional governing body for wrestling, was looking to expand.

"The club opened in May 2007 with 30 judo mats and we waited with baited breath. That evening the dojo was flooded with young people of all shapes and sizes, wearing anything and everything. There was even a group of primary school schoolgirls in skirts who thought that they were at gymnastics class.

"For the first 12 months the numbers fluctuated. A lot of the kids coming to training thought that they were going to be doing the kind of wrestling that see on the television. But now we have a core group of kids and older wrestlers and they know what it is we expect of them.
"There are two or three kids here who are going to be very good wrestlers."

Both Barry and Mickey then explained what it is that makes a good wrestler.

"Good wrestlers have to have good mental toughness, balance, basic strength and the ability to concentrate. Wrestling also instils the concept of; if you get knocked down you pick yourself up again," said Mickey.

Barry said: "Wrestling also teaches the kids to be team players and they learn to win with pride and lose gracefully when they train with us. We tell the members here that they need to practice, stay disciplined and work hard."

"I think that wrestling also shows them how to deal with life when it doesn't go their way. They learn to pick themselves up, dust themselves down and give it another go. They start to see that the only way of getting what they want is by hard work and this is something that they can carry over to other aspects of their life."

Barry concluded by explaining what the short term and long term ambitions are for the Waterside Sharks.

"We want to grow and nurture a strong and vibrant club where everyone feels welcome and everyone has the opportunity to be the best that they can possibly be.

"Short term we would hope that the members are of such a high standard that they can compete and win tournaments all over Ireland. We want them to be on par with Scottish, English and Welsh wrestlers and compete in competitions.

"In five years I would like to think that we could be one of the biggest and most successful clubs in the country. We would like to take the team to competitions all over Europe.

"I would also hope to take the club to Poland or Belgium next year. It would give the members a taste of what we hope to expect over the next few years.

"We also want to get across the bridge and set-up a club in the city side. We have kids travelling from Maghera, Strabane and Rosemount. However, the potential is massive in the city side. If we can get the right coaches we could set-up a grass roots club in the city side of Derry. If done properly we could attract between 40 and 50 children and the sport would really start to take off.

"Another thing that we are desperate to do is to change minds and to encourage anyone to come along and give wrestling a go.

"Our motto is 'Training Champions.' This does not only refer to those standing on the podium but it equally applies to every person who comes through the front door on a cold dark winter evening to support a family member or has the strength of character to stand on the mat to compete or officiate. That is the beauty of the club and long may that culture remain."

Sunday Journal - 23 June 2008

THE Waterside Sharks Wrestling club, based at YMCA, is starting to turn heads.

The club, which only started a few months ago, are also hold training camp nights, at Tullyally Resource Centre and for Northern Ireland Wrestling Association coach Barry Pollin, he feels that things are going from strength to strength.

"Things at the YMCA have been kicking off well, we opened in May with just a few of us who understood about the sport, before opening the doors to young wrestlers and they have been flooding in regularly," said Pollin.

"On a Thursday night we have at least 22 young wrestlers here and at this moment in time we have established a core of regulars and that group now understands the sport and have competed in Dublin and Belfast."

Pollin, feels young wrestlers from Londonderry could be competing in the Commonwealth games in 2010 in New Delhi, but that's only if they commit fully to the sport.

"Our aim is to get a team into the Commonwealth games in 2010 and beyond that in Glasgow in 2014 and there are a few from the YMCA club who have potential to be in the Northern Ireland squad for those championships.

"However like every sport it's about levels and whether or not they'll be able to cope with the spotlight of the World stage is to difficult to judge at this stage, but there are people from this area that I will be putting forward for future Northern Ireland squads.

"We also started a wrestling club at the Resource Centre, which has been going now for a few weeks and that has attracted some young wrestlers on a Monday night.

"All forms of mixed martial art sports can only help young children, because we have to teach them firstly how to train before we can train them in a certain sport.

"And the first few months that is all we did, we taught kids how to do sit-up's and press-up's correctly and more importantly work as a team and now that core has developed we feel we have found the key certainly with the Waterside Sharks.

"This city has a great amount of talented athletes who have competed at the highest level of such sports as boxing, karate and judo and I strongly believe there is another generation waiting to come through."

Pollin, was quick to point out that the Sharks Wrestling club skills are a bit similar to the world famous WWE wrestling techniques.
"Although our sport is completely different to the WWE in the States, we do have colleagues who do Collegian Wrestling in America and anyone who has an understanding of mixed martial arts, knows that collegian wrestling is a building block to the likes of WWE."

Meanwhile the Waterside Sharks are sending a contingent of wrestlers to compete in the Northern Ireland Open Wrestling Championship on Saturday April 12, at Downshire High School.