Like most coaches out there, I fell into coaching. It is not something I thought about doing. When I was 14, I was asked to help with some local GAA summer camps for a couple weeks by the late Jim Forbes. And the only coaching experience I could draw on at the time, was my own experience of being coached as a player. And here I am, 26 years later, still coaching. Still loving coaching, no matter what the age group or level. Whether it’s our U5’s or Senior Intercounty players or everything in between.

And that is how it started. Simple as that. A phone call. And from what I remember I said ‘Yes’ straight away. (Maybe that was because I was going to get paid!!) So, the love I have today for coaching, the years spent going to various parts of the country with teams and on coaching courses, meeting people, coaches & players from different parts of the country, the various people I have connected with through coaching, it all started by chance. And I often wondered if that call never came, would I be where I am today?? Would I have become a coach??

Now this story might sound familiar to those who are reading this (the circumstances might be a bit different) but it all starts the same. With a phone call or a conversation from someone in ‘The Club’.

In my role today, as the club’s Youth Development Officer, I am now the one making that phone call or having that conversation with people to get them involved in the club as a coach. They are mainly parents of children that are playing or will be playing in the future. 

When I do my rounds on a Sunday morning during Carraig Og training, I try to chat with as many of the parents as I can to make them feel welcome, to create a connection with them but also to try and learn about who they are. Creating that connection is important because sometimes you never know who you are talking to or what experience they have that might be of benefit if there are interested in helping their child’s team.

When I bring up the topic of helping out, most of the parents’ first line that I get is ‘Oh, I’ve never played Hurling or Football, or I was never any good at sport. Sure, I would be no good as a coach’. Now if anyone has ever read one of the thousands of sports autobiographies out there, you will know that most of the top coaches in many different sports were never ‘superstars’ of their chosen sport or any sport. They might have played it a bit when they were younger, or they might love their sport and have a reasonable understanding of how their sport is played. And that is the thing. You do not have to be a superstar to be a coach. The superstar player seldom makes a good coach.

So, when I speak to parents about getting them involved in their child’s team, I will often reference that they do not need to have played at a high level to become a child coach. They might have skills or qualities that will be extremely useful when it comes to being a child coach. Because it takes all sorts of personalities, and qualities to make a coach or someone that helps with a team. 

Now before you ever take the pitch for your first session, there are several things that you will need to do.

  1. Garda Vetting
  2. Child Safeguarding
  3. Foundation Award coaching course

In my role as Youth Development Officer, I will assist you in all the above. All coaching courses and safeguarding courses are free of charge. This is the club’s way of encouraging and helping our coaches. It is our way of saying ‘Thank You’ for getting involved.

(If you would like more information on any of the above processes, you can contact me (details below) and I will gladly help you out in any way I can)

In the Foundation Award coaching course, there are 2 sections. Section 1 is the theory section consisting of 3-4 hours of class-based lessons. Some of these lessons will teach you some of the basic tools in becoming a coach. Lessons such as the ‘How to Coach’ skills, how to plan your session, the skills required to modify or adapt games within your session, etc. 

Section 2 is the practical section of the course consisting of 3-4 hours of practical lessons. This is broken down again into 2 parts. Part 1 is all about Physical Literacy. It will introduce you to the basic Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) and how to apply these in your sessions through Fun Games. Part 2 is all about the Hurling & Football skills. This part will give you some practical experience in setting up a training session, modifying exercises and games to suit your age group and learning how to communicate what to do and why the players are doing it. 

Once all the necessary requirements have been satisfied, you are then ready for your first training session. Each age group will have a designated lead coach or even 2 lead coaches (1 for Hurling & 1 for Football) and like all coaches that have gone before you, you will not be thrown in at the deep end with 40 kids on your own. You will have a team of like-minded coaches around you and will be ably assisted by some of our emerging teenage coaches. You will be part of a team, which means that if you are unable to make it for training for whatever reason, the rest of your coaching team will pick up the slack. Also, having a sufficient amount of coaches available allows for smaller groups in training which will lead to more efficient contact time with the players. You will also have the assistance of the club’s Youth Development Officer and the Chairperson of the Underage section of the club, if needed. 

Throughout your coaching journey in the club, you will coach numerous players and will experience a lot of highs and lows. But at the end of the day, it will be all worth it when you see the players you started out with at 5 years of age, still playing Junior B with the club into their 40’s and being an active member of the club. This is your role as a coach. To keep as many players playing for as long as possible. To foster a love of the GAA and Carrigaline GAA Club into the players you are coaching. To create a positive environment for all players. To create good people and not just good players. Most of the positive memories I have as a Carrigaline player were because of the way my coaches valued me as a person 1st and a player 2nd. It was not about how much talent I had or did not have. They just wanted to give me an opportunity to play and have fun. To give me an opportunity to be the best I could be, with no pressure. These are the same values and beliefs I try to pass onto all the coaches we have in the club and all the players I coach because over time, players rarely remember what their coaches say to them, but they will always remember the way they made them feel!!

Brendan O’Driscoll 

Youth Development Officer

carrigalinecoaching@gmail.com 

0851182551