I started coaching teams when I was 16yrs old! For some reason, my father had taken charge of a very good u13 team, while he was top class at organising the team he felt his coaching skills were a bit behind. I was at best an average player but I had a huge interest in the games of Gaelic Football and Hurling and Dad obviously saw something there so he decided to ask me to give a hand training the lads. And so my journey began!

When I say coaching, my style was more get the footballs, get the players and try and get them using the footballs without causing carnage! There were lots of line drills as this was what we knew at the time. From early on one thing I knew I had to have was a plan! When I was a young player it used to drive me bananas when a coach would have us doing the same drills relentlessly for what used to seem like forever! Maybe it was because I was still a young player when I started but I knew each exercise/drill/game had a finite timespan and then it was time to move the session along! In my playing and coaching career, I’ve been very lucky to have been coached by and with some if the very best in the business from Canon O Brien, Neilly O Keeffe,  Donal O Grady, Justin McCarthy, Padraic Monahan(St Judes) and the best of all I’ve worked with and seen in action is Donie Buckley from Kerry. What stands these coaches out from all the others is they always had a plan, some in their heads and some written down. (Personally, I always write out my session plan and have it with me for reference throughout the session).

So what is a session plan? To me, it is a structure for your session with each section given a time that fits into the flow of the session. As we all know at the moment our time slots on the pitches are limited so it is important to squeeze as much as we can out of the time we have available to us. By having a plan, this can be achieved. Here I’ll set out the timings and sections of a session plan. Obviously, everything can be varied but a plan like this should be adaptable for every team from u5 to u18 and into adult teams.

Session Brief (5mins)

With coaches to explain session objectives and clarify any Q’s they have with the plan. For adolescent teams, I’d give 5mins to explain the session objectives and set out the plan. This is done before the start of training.

Bi-lateral Skills/Warm-up/Athletic Development (15mins)

I would start gently with a ball between 2 or 3, kicking, striking, hand-passing, working on both sides. As you work through this section you can work in dynamic stretching and movement exercises that fire the muscles and get them. For younger teams, animal movements are a great way to get them working on their bilateral movements without them even knowing it. Here I would also use chasing games such as monkey tails or bulldog. For all teams races, chases and relays will always get the players going and are good craic, they are also a great way to work in speed development.

Game Skills (15mins)

Here, I would work on a specific skill for the younger players. Demonstrate it well and work it into a small-sided game. Focus on the skill in the game, give points for its execution. During the game, pause it, give each player a ball or a ball between 2, work on the skill for a few mins and then return to the gameplay. Where possible keep the numbers right down for the younger ages, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, lower the numbers the more touches each player will get.

Game Scenarios (15mins) attacking/defending/kickouts/puckouts

Have the area of the game you want to work on, design the games to work on the scenario. If things are not working, question the players, get their input. If players are thinking about it they are more inclined to figure things out for themselves.

Game Play (20min)

Full sided games where all parts of the session are worked on. For all teams, this is the part of the session where players can work on their skills in full match conditions.

Warm down/debrief (5mins)

As the players are cooling down this is an opportunity for coaches to discuss the session, take or give feedback. Find the positives, don’t overemphasise the negative.

The timings allotted are in an ideal world, 60 mins for a session from the end of the warm-up is my ideal scenario. Obviously, if your pitch time is an hour you can shave the minutes out of each section.

The plan is there to guide you. It does not have to be rigid, if something is not working don’t be afraid to change it. After the session note what worked, keep it and use it again. If something did not work try to figure out what it was, change it or else discard it and try something different.

As the old Mike Tyson quote goes, ‘Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face!’

Try not to get punched in the face but certainly do try and have a plan for your sessions, trust me they will make the sessions more manageable for coaches and more enjoyable for players.

Stay safe and chat soon.

John Dineen