Waterford GAA thread - mod warning post #1 and #51

hardybuck

If you'd put the Carriganore project to me a number of years ago, I'd be all for it. However, now I'm not so sure.

If you look at stadiums around the country, pretty much all of them are in urban areas. Croke Park, The Aviva, Thomand Park, Ravenhill in Belfast etc. were all renovated in recent years in their existing urban locations, and the Sportsground in Galway is another who are going with this route.

The benefit of this approach is that the city benefits from the occasion. Pubs, hotels and restaurants get business, and the supporters can enjoy the atmosphere. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff is often mentioned by supporters around the world as somewhere people love going to because it's smack in the city centre.

If you go to the likes of the Allianz Arena in Munich, it's about twenty minutes on the train outside the city centre, and the Stade de France is similar (albeit in the town of St Denis). What you get there is a dull enough experience where people in the city don't realise that there is a game actually taking place, and people leave to go home in 20 different directions straight away after the game.

Granted, Walsh Park is in between two stools in that it is in the middle of an urban area, but doesn't have many pubs or restaurants around it. However, I think it's still a better option than going out to the middle of nowhere.

The North Quays was probably given as a tongue in cheek suggestion, but I think it'd be a really cool proposal if it could be explored further...

thesultan

How will Ballygunner fare in the Munster Final? I think it's eight losses in nine finals. Very little colour around the place. People talk about Davy Fitz but I would say you'd find it very hard to see a bigger obnoxious man patrolling the sideline than Hartley at present.

Mulbert

thesultan wrote: »

How will Ballygunner fare in the Munster Final? I think it's eight losses in nine finals. Very little colour around the place. People talk about Davy Fitz but I would say you'd find it very hard to see a bigger obnoxious man patrolling the sideline than Hartley at present.

Ballygunner need a new full back in order to progress further in the Munster and AI club championship.

PTH2009

thesultan wrote: »

How will Ballygunner fare in the Munster Final? I think it's eight losses in nine finals. Very little colour around the place. People talk about Davy Fitz but I would say you'd find it very hard to see a bigger obnoxious man patrolling the sideline than Hartley at present.

Really now or never for Ballygunner but this NP side have everything and are very impressive. Ballygunner don't have the size NP have

They really need too win this though as 8 loses in 9 finals is not a pretty stat and they can't say they don't have the experience

A Ballygunner win could mean we will be missing there contingent for the League or at least the early rounds

The Munster Champs will play the Leinster winners in the semis afaik

thesaturdayman

link from this mornings interview on WLR;

https://soundcloud.com/wlrfmwaterford/former-mayor-pat-nugent-confirms-he-attended-meeting-on-feasibility-of-a-gaa-stadium-at-carriganore

there was a report in July of this year given to the county board that has been hidden from the general public & clubs to now. This clearly shows Walsh Park is not the best option for county.

There has to be serious questions to be answered on the governance of the county now, its all a bit murky.

whiteandblue

PTH2009 wrote: »

Really now or never for Ballygunner but this NP side have everything and are very impressive. Ballygunner don't have the size NP have

They really need too win this though as 8 loses in 9 finals is not a pretty stat and they can't say they don't have the experience

A Ballygunner win could mean we will be missing there contingent for the League or at least the early rounds

The Munster Champs will play the Leinster winners in the semis afaik

Na Piarsaigh may have to sweat over injuries to Shane Dowling, Ronan Lynch and Kieran Kennedy according to this match report https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/gaa/na-piarsaighs-win-comes-at-a-cost-883187.html

Dowling alone would be a loss but then again he didn't play in last year's decider and they still pulled away near the end to win by 8. They also defeated the gunners by 7 in the 2015 decider.

thesaturdayman

whiteandblue wrote: »

Na Piarsaigh may have to sweat over injuries to Shane Dowling, Ronan Lynch and Kieran Kennedy according to this match report https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/gaa/na-piarsaighs-win-comes-at-a-cost-883187.html

Dowling alone would be a loss but then again he didn't play in last year's decider and they still pulled away near the end to win by 8. They also defeated the gunners by 7 in the 2015 decider.

I think its going to be a very close game, especially in lieu of underfoot conditions, slower pitch will suit BG over Na P

hardybuck

thesaturdayman wrote: »

I think its going to be a very close game, especially in lieu of underfoot conditions, slower pitch will suit BG over Na P

I would think the opposite. Na Piarsaigh always struck me on a really tough, physical side, who are extremely difficult to beat.

hardybuck

thesaturdayman wrote: »

link from this mornings interview on WLR;

https://soundcloud.com/wlrfmwaterford/former-mayor-pat-nugent-confirms-he-attended-meeting-on-feasibility-of-a-gaa-stadium-at-carriganore

there was a report in July of this year given to the county board that has been hidden from the general public & clubs to now. This clearly shows Walsh Park is not the best option for county.

There has to be serious questions to be answered on the governance of the county now, its all a bit murky.

Do you know who commissioned or conducted the report?

fricatus

hardybuck wrote: »

The North Quays was probably given as a tongue in cheek suggestion, but I think it'd be a really cool proposal if it could be explored further...

The North Quays site is very long but it’s not deep enough. I did some back-of-an-envelope research a while ago and the only site near the centre is the Waterside. The secon-closest was Walsh Park! See my OP and subsequent discussion here: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057852418

hardybuck

fricatus wrote: »

The North Quays site is very long but it’s not deep enough. I did some back-of-an-envelope research a while ago and the only site near the centre is the Waterside. The secon-closest was Walsh Park! See my OP and subsequent discussion here: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057852418

The Waterside was another site I was thinking of. An absolute crime it's been vacant so long, but with all of the clean up that's taken place it'd be amazing to see it developed as a facility that the wider public could enjoy.

mountgomery burns

hardybuck wrote: »

I would think the opposite. Na Piarsaigh always struck me on a really tough, physical side, who are extremely difficult to beat.

100%. Looking at Sunday's game I though BG had a wider spread of good hurlers, but struggled to deal with the physicality of the likes of Brennan and Deasy, and Ballyeas backs could break even on the slower pitch as BG have a lot of small forwards who want fast ball.

Na Piarsaigh are like an inter county team in their conditioning.

Road-Hog

thesultan wrote: »

How will Ballygunner fare in the Munster Final? I think it's eight losses in nine finals. Very little colour around the place. People talk about Davy Fitz but I would say you'd find it very hard to see a bigger obnoxious man patrolling the sideline than Hartley at present.

‘a bigger obnoxious man’....can I ask where you got his view from.....? I just don’t see the word obnoxious and f Hartley having any connection whatsoever...?

thesultan

Road-Hog wrote: »

thesultan wrote: »

How will Ballygunner fare in the Munster Final? I think it's eight losses in nine finals. Very little colour around the place. People talk about Davy Fitz but I would say you'd find it very hard to see a bigger obnoxious man patrolling the sideline than Hartley at present.

‘a bigger obnoxious man’....can I ask where you got his view from.....? I just don’t see the word obnoxious and f Hartley having any connection whatsoever...?

Have you ever heard him interviewed on wlr? "Imagine bringing the county champions down to Fraher field". Storming onto the field every chance he gets. Constantly berating officials. .

TheScoringGoal

thesultan wrote: »

Have you ever heard him interviewed on wlr? "Imagine bringing the county champions down to Fraher field". Storming onto the field every chance he gets. Constantly berating officials. .

To be fair to Ballygunner they went to Fraher for all three group games which meant that by a distance they travelled the furthest of any team in the group stages. In general the teams from the east had to travel further (Ballyduff an exception) and Abbeyside in particular were given matches very near to their pitches.

I worked this out but don't have the file to hand. Hopefully I'll get to post it tomorrow to back up the above.

lim4ev

Limerick man here lads not a na piarsaigh one though it'll be v difficult for ballygunner i feel nap are just too strong i feel they're on a mission as they'll feel they left the all irl after them earlier this year . If they've injuries though then that could change as they're extremely strong from 1-17 not so much after that

thesultan

TheScoringGoal wrote: »

thesultan wrote: »

Have you ever heard him interviewed on wlr? "Imagine bringing the county champions down to Fraher field". Storming onto the field every chance he gets. Constantly berating officials. .

To be fair to Ballygunner they went to Fraher for all three group games which meant that by a distance they travelled the furthest of any team in the group stages. In general the teams from the east had to travel further (Ballyduff an exception) and Abbeyside in particular were given matches very near to their pitches.

I worked this out but don't have the file to hand. Hopefully I'll get to post it tomorrow to back up the above.

Lismore,Tallow ,Ballyduff. Fourmile not overly close.

TheScoringGoal

From the 3 group games- distance travelled in km

Ballygunner 158.7
Ballyduff 100.5
De La Salle 97.6
Passage 84.7
Tallow 79.5
Lismore 75.9
Fourmilewater 75.6
Dungarvan 69.3
Mt Sion 48.3
Roanmore 46.9
Ring 44.8
Abbeyside 14.2

thesultan

Do you not think it's adequate when a far west team meet in championship it's played in Fraher Field? The two farthest apart teams I think are Tallow and Passage.

TheScoringGoal

thesultan wrote: »

Do you not think it's adequate when a far west team meet in championship it's played in Fraher Field? The two farthest apart teams I think are Tallow and Passage.

Personally I don't think it as simple as that. I think double headers are best where possible so that should be taken into account.

Ballygunner and Abbeyside played a group game in Fraher Field which I think was stand alone. What that table shows is that game should have taken place closer to Ballygunner as they travelled a distance to all games whereas Abbeyside had it all three on their doorstep.

If Tallow play Passage then the game probably should be in Fraher, unless Tallow have played their previous two in Cappoquin and Passage have had to go to Fraher twice already or some other type of very specific circumstances apply. However there does seem to be a situation where Fraher is over used.

deiseach

Was every game played in Walsh Park and Fraher? What's wrong with Cappoquin or Stradbally?

whiteandblue

TheScoringGoal wrote: »

Personally I don't think it as simple as that. I think double headers are best where possible so that should be taken into account.

Ballygunner and Abbeyside played a group game in Fraher Field which I think was stand alone. What that table shows is that game should have taken place closer to Ballygunner as they travelled a distance to all games whereas Abbeyside had it all three on their doorstep.

If Tallow play Passage then the game probably should be in Fraher, unless Tallow have played their previous two in Cappoquin and Passage have had to go to Fraher twice already or some other type of very specific circumstances apply. However there does seem to be a situation where Fraher is over used.

Lemybrien is the best of the venues on neutral ground between the Dungarvan & surrounding area and the city & surrounding area but other than that, they're aren't many options. Even at that, Lemybrien hasn't lights.

I'm pretty sure that Stradbally, Bonmahon, Kilmac & Ballyduff Lower have no barriers/walls around their pitches (I may not be right here) which is part of the reason games aren't played there as I think it is now compulsory to keep spectators off the pitch in case of a row. I remember a match in Bunmahon where they put red & white tape around the pitch which is hardly suitable to keep people off.

upthedeise16

whiteandblue wrote: »

Lemybrien is the best of the venues on neutral ground between the Dungarvan & surrounding area and the city & surrounding area but other than that, they're aren't many options. Even at that, Lemybrien hasn't lights.

I'm pretty sure that Stradbally, Bonmahon, Kilmac & Ballyduff Lower have no barriers/walls around their pitches (I may not be right here) which is part of the reason games aren't played there as I think it is now compulsory to keep spectators off the pitch in case of a row. I remember a match in Bunmahon where they put red & white tape around the pitch which is hardly suitable to keep people off.

So what pitches are realistically suitable to host championship, regardless of who’s playing? What venues have lights?

TheScoringGoal

whiteandblue wrote: »

Lemybrien is the best of the venues on neutral ground between the Dungarvan & surrounding area and the city & surrounding area but other than that, they're aren't many options. Even at that, Lemybrien hasn't lights.

I'm pretty sure that Stradbally, Bonmahon, Kilmac & Ballyduff Lower have no barriers/walls around their pitches (I may not be right here) which is part of the reason games aren't played there as I think it is now compulsory to keep spectators off the pitch in case of a row. I remember a match in Bunmahon where they put red & white tape around the pitch which is hardly suitable to keep people off.

I thought Lemybrien had lights? It's a while since I was up there. I think it's a different, albeit sensible, debate about whether club grounds should be used more. Really what that table says to me is that the difference in distances that some clubs had to travel compared to others is unfair and could be remedied either by Walsh Park being used more or else by club grounds being used.

deiseach

whiteandblue wrote: »

Lemybrien is the best of the venues on neutral ground between the Dungarvan & surrounding area and the city & surrounding area but other than that, they're aren't many options. Even at that, Lemybrien hasn't lights.

I'm pretty sure that Stradbally, Bonmahon, Kilmac & Ballyduff Lower have no barriers/walls around their pitches (I may not be right here) which is part of the reason games aren't played there as I think it is now compulsory to keep spectators off the pitch in case of a row. I remember a match in Bunmahon where they put red & white tape around the pitch which is hardly suitable to keep people off.

Sounds plausible. Let's put in a rule that drags players all over the county for fear that every spectator joins in with the players and mentors during a row, thus increasing the number of antagonists by 20%. Jesus, the lack of joined-up thinking in the GAA would do your head in.

willbeuptuesday

Lemybrien has excellent lights, it has a 200 seat stand, proper dressing rooms, public toilets and soon it will have parking for 200 cars. In fairness to Kevin Lonergan from Kilrossanty he has lead the development out there and it will be the best in the county by far. The county board would do well to get him involved, he has helped a lot of clubs out when it comes to advice on grants, development etc..

deiseach

https://twitter.com/tomasmcc/status/1060182932567064576
(When I have a puckaround with my son, I'll be surprised if Tomás isn't there to tweet about it.)

thesaturdayman

willbeuptuesday wrote: »

Lemybrien has excellent lights, it has a 200 seat stand, proper dressing rooms, public toilets and soon it will have parking for 200 cars. In fairness to Kevin Lonergan from Kilrossanty he has lead the development out there and it will be the best in the county by far. The county board would do well to get him involved, he has helped a lot of clubs out when it comes to advice on grants, development etc..

Agreed, kilrossanty are one of the most forward thinking clubs around. Their facilities are very good & in time when complete will be excellent.

Kevin is also a Gent.

JesusRef

What a great result it was for Killrossany minor hurlers also, some work going on in the club

Mastermcgrath

upthedeise16 wrote: »

whiteandblue wrote: »

So what pitches are realistically suitable to host championship, regardless of who’s playing? What venues have lights?

In the west there are plenty of grounds capable of hosting games. Cappoquin, Lismore, Tallow, Ballyduff, Ardmore, An Rinn, Colligan, Stradbally and Kilrossanty have adequate facilities to host relatively decent crowds for club games. In the east I beleive the options outside of Walsh Park are thinner on the ground. Ballygunner and Carriganore are the next best but due to their proximity to WP rarely see games. Kill seems to be used a lot for intermediate games but it’s an awful setup anytime I’ve played there, you’ve to cross a fairly busy road to get from the dressing rooms to the pitch! St Mollersns also have a decent setup but to be fair it’s out of the way As a ‘neutral’ venue given it’s practically in Tipp.

tommylad1212

Mastermcgrath wrote: »

upthedeise16 wrote: »

In the west there are plenty of grounds capable of hosting games. Cappoquin, Lismore, Tallow, Ballyduff, Ardmore, An Rinn, Colligan, Stradbally and Kilrossanty have adequate facilities to host relatively decent crowds for club games. In the east I beleive the options outside of Walsh Park are thinner on the ground. Ballygunner and Carriganore are the next best but due to their proximity to WP rarely see games. Kill seems to be used a lot for intermediate games but it’s an awful setup anytime I’ve played there, you’ve to cross a fairly busy road to get from the dressing rooms to the pitch! St Mollersns also have a decent setup but to be fair it’s out of the way As a ‘neutral’ venue given it’s practically in Tipp.

Must have been along time since you were in kill

PTH2009

Any news on the senior hurling panel for 2019 ??

Are we playing in that Munster league thing

DiscoStew

Cappoquin being overlooked for senior games this year was very puzzling. It would seem the obvious choice to host any of Abbeyside / Dungarvan / Fourmilewater against any of Lismore / Tallow / Ballyduff.
Lismore, Ballyduff and Tallow are perfect for hosting any games involving 2 of those 3 teams, although I’m not certain Tallow’s pitch is railed off. I think they have put temporary arrangements in place for such games in the past.
Colligan hosts intermediate and junior games fairly regularly, I think it hosted one senior game a few years ago. Parking would be limited there which may be the reason why, the pitch has been in great condition any time I have been there.
Of those mentioned Ballyduff is the only one with adequate lighting I think. Stradbally has good lighting also, not sure if it is railed off however.
The cork championships are played regularly at these type of venues which creates a cracking atmosphere at the games. The cork venues do have decent size stands in place also however, something which most of the above grounds are lacking.

thesultan

Cappoquin hosted Dungarvan Tallow this year I think..

Stationmaster

DiscoStew wrote: »

Cappoquin being overlooked for senior games this year was very puzzling. It would seem the obvious choice to host any of Abbeyside / Dungarvan / Fourmilewater against any of Lismore / Tallow / Ballyduff.
Lismore, Ballyduff and Tallow are perfect for hosting any games involving 2 of those 3 teams, although I’m not certain Tallow’s pitch is railed off. I think they have put temporary arrangements in place for such games in the past.
Colligan hosts intermediate and junior games fairly regularly, I think it hosted one senior game a few years ago. Parking would be limited there which may be the reason why, the pitch has been in great condition any time I have been there.
Of those mentioned Ballyduff is the only one with adequate lighting I think. Stradbally has good lighting also, not sure if it is railed off however.
The cork championships are played regularly at these type of venues which creates a cracking atmosphere at the games. The cork venues do have decent size stands in place also however, something which most of the above grounds are lacking.

Would finances come into it? I presume if games are in pitches not belonging to the county board they'd have to pay a % of the gate to the club but if they keep as many games as possible in Fraher Field and Walsh Park then they keep the full gate.

debok

Mastermcgrath wrote: »

upthedeise16 wrote: »

In the west there are plenty of grounds capable of hosting games. Cappoquin, Lismore, Tallow, Ballyduff, Ardmore, An Rinn, Colligan, Stradbally and Kilrossanty have adequate facilities to host relatively decent crowds for club games. In the east I beleive the options outside of Walsh Park are thinner on the ground. Ballygunner and Carriganore are the next best but due to their proximity to WP rarely see games. Kill seems to be used a lot for intermediate games but it’s an awful setup anytime I’ve played there, you’ve to cross a fairly busy road to get from the dressing rooms to the pitch! St Mollersns also have a decent setup but to be fair it’s out of the way As a ‘neutral’ venue given it’s practically in Tipp.

Your commenting on state of pitches yet still think you have to cross the road in kill. They built new dressing rooms a long while now.

KevIRL

The hurlers will lose home advantage for one of their league games next year as they held a training camp last April

enoughtaken

KevIRL wrote: »

The hurlers will lose home advantage for one of their league games next year as they held a training camp last April

The Auld Dubs. Can't take them out of Croke Park. Extract Taken from RTE

The footballers of Armagh and Laois and hurlers of Waterford and Wexford look set to lose home advantage for one game in the 2019 Allianz Leagues as a result of breaching rules on training camps.

As part of its move to make April a "club month" the GAA last year tightened its rules on inter-county activity between the end of the Leagues and start of the Championship.

A prohibition on training weekends or gatherings "of longer duration" more than 10 days before a county is in Championship action was already in the rule book, but a penalty involving the loss of home advantage was introduced at Special Congress last September.

According to the Irish Independent, Armagh and Wexford are to forfeit home advantage for travelling to Portugal while Waterford and Laois held training camps in Ireland.

A total of 17 counties were investigated for potential breach of the rule but the Association has decided only four merited punishment.

Croke Park have accepted the Dublin footballers' explanation that their group trip to France and Belgium was solely to visit the site of World War I battles.

However, Lee Chin's insistence that the Wexford hurlers were on holiday "as a group of friends" appears to have fallen on deaf ears.

Barring an appeal, Wexford will be forced to play their potentially lucrative clash with All-Ireland champions Limerick at a neutral venue.

deiseach

enoughtaken wrote: »

Croke Park have accepted the Dublin footballers' explanation that their group trip to France and Belgium was solely to visit the site of World War I battles.

That would have been an easy sell. They're not called the Jackeens for nothing.

PTH2009

KevIRL wrote: »

The hurlers will lose home advantage for one of their league games next year as they held a training camp last April

I imagine it will be our possible League QF ??

We have Offaly/Carlow and Galway at home and Laois and Dublin away

KevIRL

PTH2009 wrote: »

I imagine it will be our possible League QF ??

We have Offaly/Carlow and Galway at home and Laois and Dublin away

What? A QF we havent even qualified for? It will be one of the three designated home matches surely?

PTH2009

KevIRL wrote: »

What? A QF we havent even qualified for? It will be one of the three designated home matches surely?

Prob end up getting the Galway game moved too Salthill for being bold boys

Jjjjjjjbarry

Who's getting a season ticket for next year? Probably worth it for the decent seats in Munster championship but the league is basically a joke now. I got it for first time last year and found it good value so will probably renew as we've Galway at home in the league,

Cake Man

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

as we've Galway at home in the league,

Knowing our luck, the game we've to forfeit home advantage will probably the Galway one being moved in Thurles or something.

DiscoStew

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Who's getting a season ticket for next year? Probably worth it for the decent seats in Munster championship but the league is basically a joke now. I got it for first time last year and found it good value so will probably renew as we've Galway at home in the league,

There’s no mention of a championship game in the season ticket for this season.
The only reference to the championship is being guaranteed a ticket for the All Ireland Final should your county qualify.
All intercounty league games are included and all club games.
The club only season ticket is €120.
€80 for entry to all league games seems to be the cost. Given 3 of those are now away after this penalty being imposed it doesn’t make sense to get one in my opinion. Unless Waterford were to get to the league final, then it might work out that you save in the region of €10 - €20.

DiscoStew

Cake Man wrote: »

Knowing our luck, the game we've to forfeit home advantage will probably the Galway one being moved in Thurles or something.

The first game will probably be the one where we lose home advantage. Think that’s against Offaly. Do they go to neutral venues or will Offaly be awarded home advantage?

DiscoStew

DiscoStew wrote: »

There’s no mention of a championship game in the season ticket for this season.
The only reference to the championship is being guaranteed a ticket for the All Ireland Final should your county qualify.
All intercounty league games are included and all club games.
The club only season ticket is €120.
€80 for entry to all league games seems to be the cost. Given 3 of those are now away after this penalty being imposed it doesn’t make sense to get one in my opinion. Unless Waterford were to get to the league final, then it might work out that you save in the region of €10 - €20.

Actually the €80 is for club games it seems, the €120 ticket is for Intercounty league and the potential All Ireland ticket.

PTH2009

DiscoStew wrote: »

There’s no mention of a championship game in the season ticket for this season.
The only reference to the championship is being guaranteed a ticket for the All Ireland Final should your county qualify.
All intercounty league games are included and all club games.
The club only season ticket is €120.
€80 for entry to all league games seems to be the cost. Given 3 of those are now away after this penalty being imposed it doesn’t make sense to get one in my opinion. Unless Waterford were to get to the league final, then it might work out that you save in the region of €10 - €20.

mentions here that the opening championship fixture is included

http://www.gaa.ie/tickets/gaa-season-ticket/

also mentioned in the T&C http://res.cloudinary.com/dvrbaruzq/image/upload/ydjxl3crbnjd3uh0lhnf.pdf

DiscoStew

PTH2009 wrote: »

mentions here that the opening championship fixture is included

http://www.gaa.ie/tickets/gaa-season-ticket/

also mentioned in the T&C http://res.cloudinary.com/dvrbaruzq/image/upload/ydjxl3crbnjd3uh0lhnf.pdf

Correct but see the promotion of the season ticket on Waterford GAA Facebook and Twitter pages, that part has been removed.
May be due to the uncertainty over where our home games will be played in the championship possibly but I certainly won’t purchase one until it’s confirmed first championship game is included.

PTH2009

DiscoStew wrote: »

Correct but see the promotion of the season ticket on Waterford GAA Facebook and Twitter pages, that part has been removed.
May be due to the uncertainty over where our home games will be played in the championship possibly but I certainly won’t purchase one until it’s confirmed first championship game is included.

Hopefully it's just a typo on the Waterford gaa pages. Be so unfair to pay the same as other counties and not have access too championship fixtures

Dean Ryan Cup Under 16.5 A Hurling Final
Thurles CBS v De La Salle Waterford today at 1:30pm in Bansha

Best of luck too DLS college today. Always luke seeing Schools success