Some 40 boys from Galway city are participating in a new football project involving gardai and members of Galway United Football Club.
The trainees, aged between 13 and 16, are members of a "soccer academy", set up last autumn, where they receive weekly coaching from Galway United footballers, attend the team's home games and travel to other parts of the State to compete in soccer and other sports.
The boys have always had an interest in soccer but until now had no opportunity to get involved in clubs in their area. Because of a scarcity of pitches, "we usually just kick a ball around the street", says one trainee, 14-year-old Peter Doherty.
The academy was initiated by Galway city's community gardai, who were involved in selecting participants. The Minister of State for Health and Children and local TD, Mr Frank Fahey, approved £18,000 for the scheme from the Department of Justice.
Those involved include boys from the Travelling community, as well as from settled families, and some have special needs, says Garda Jim Griffin.
"This scheme is about self-esteem as much as about football, and about encouraging these young people to stay on at school," he says.
To take part, each boy must commit to stay on at school for the duration of the year-long football course.
Training is a serious business, and there is a strict code of behaviour. The boys must treat each other and the coaches with respect, and absolutely no smoking or swearing is allowed during practice. Anyone caught swearing is punished by having to do press-ups, explains the Galway United manager, Don O'Riordan, who is in charge of the weekly training at the Westside Community Centre.
The boys are given regular talks on behavioural skills, diet and drug awareness, and Garda Griffin and his colleagues maintain regular contact with them, at home and at school, between sessions.
The academy organisers now plan to link with colleges such as NUI, Galway, and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology to develop a sponsorship scheme to encourage the trainees to study further.
"Next year we are hoping, through our funding, to establish a panel of employers to `adopt' these boys and to offer them employment if they achieve a certain standard after their Junior Cert," says Garda Griffin.
Don O'Riordan, who previously worked on a similar scheme in England, says the response from the boys has been "phenomenal". He believes some have the potential to become professional players. "It would be lovely to have one or two playing for Galway United in the future," he says.
Even those who may never play professionally have the satisfaction of knowing that they've already played on Galway United's Terryland pitch; have taken penalties at Sligo Rovers; and have played for and met Republic of Ireland soccer manager, Mick McCarthy, who attended the academy's launch last year.
In the long term, this pilot project promises to have both social and financial advantages by providing the boys with new opportunities and "making them very employable", says Garda Griffin.
Supt Tony Finnerty would like to see Galway gardai getting involved in similar projects with community groups to "improve people's quality of life".
Meanwhile, the boys accept that staying on at school is part of the deal in joining the academy, but this doesn't mean that they like school any better.
"It's all right," is the chorus from a group of them. Unlike many boys of their age, they are seeing another side of policing and are meeting gardai on a social level. This is reflected in their attitude to Garda Griffin.
"We don't see him as a garda, we seem him as Jim," says Peter Doherty.