Galway coaches to benefit from initiative

Date Published: 28-Jan-2010

A 12-week evening GAA coaching course – which hopes to standardise the method of tutoring coaches – has got underway at Galway Community College, which, coincidentally, has been chosen by the GAA as its first Centre of Excellence for Coaching in Ireland.

With the GAA endeavouring to standardise their coaching programmes nationwide, the new course breaks new grounds in that it not only encompasses both the Foundation Level and Level 1 programmes, but it also seeks to ensure that GAA coaching practices are universally taught and adhered to. On completion of the course, participants will have an Award One, which is the equivalent of Level 1.

Speaking, first, on the Moneenageisha college becoming a flagship for coaching in Ireland, its Director of Adult Education, Jeffrey Lynskey says: “Galway Community College has been approved to be a Centre of Excellence for the GAA, in conjunction with Connacht Council and the support of John Tobin and Damien Coleman, Galway VEC and Galway Community College, itself.

“So, we are now a Centre of Excellence for the GAA in coaching. We are a provider. We are the only one in Connacht; indeed, the first provider in Ireland. Basically, we have everything you need here to run a course like this. We have the equipment, the facilities, the whole lot.”

The response to the new GAA coaching course has been impressive, with almost 60 registering for the programme. “There has been great interest, with people travelling from as far as Clare, Mayo and Roscommon while we also have people from my own club Liam Mellows, Barna-Furbo, Salthill/Knocknacarra, Leitrim/Kilnadeema and from clubs in North Galway, such as Tuam Stars.”

The initiative – which aims to revamp the whole structure of tutoring coaches – is a fundamental element of the GAA Strategic Plan 2015. The GAA hopes that anyone involved in coaching a team will have at least an Award One qualification in the not-too-distant future. “The reason for that is that they want to improve the level of coaching,” adds Lynskey.

Director of Hurling in Connacht and course tutor Damien Coleman outlines that the Award One course, itself, begins with the Introductory Award programme (or Foundation Level), with participants then moving on to Award One. While Award

One is the equivalent of Level 1, the fundamental difference between the two is that there are three streams to Award One – namely child, youth and adult coaching.

“Nationally, there is a new coaching education programme being rolled out through the Coaching and Games Development Committee,” explains Coleman.

Galway Community College career guidance teacher and hurling tutor, Shane McClearn takes up the story: “The course we are running at the moment is specifically aimed at youth and adult level, although we will also cover the code of best practice for children in sport as well.

No doubt, though, the links Galway Community College has forged with the GAA should ensure that course places at the centre of education are well sought after in the months and years to come. “It is great for us to be endorsed by the GAA; that we can use the GAA logo in our prospectus and in conjunction with our evening classes,” concludes Lynskey.

A more complete report appears on page 52 of the print edition of the Connacht Tribune