Hurler, there have been many conversations on this website regarding underage coaching and lots of the info that different people have posted on that is very much relevant to this too.

I will do my best to keep it short. You must have approach with enthusiasm and energy and get the children working as quickly as possible. It is when they are waiting around or if you are talking for too long that they become distracted and lose focus. I would go straight into little fun warm up games such as stuck in the mud, chain tag,bull dog where they must dribble the ball from one side to the other without getting dispossessed, King of the jungle, where they all have a ball, try to control it and knock other peoples sliothars out of the zone at the same time, etc. to get them going straight away. Ideally have the ball involved straight away. (7-10mins)

When demonstrating a drill don't talk for any longer than 25-30 seconds. Just show them the drill let them organise their groups and set up the cones and get going. As they are working you can identify who has little trouble and who is finding it tricky. You can then go round to the groups and add an extra challenge for those who are confident and make it a little easier for those less confident. Don't spend too long doing the same drill as they get bored. Have small groups so they are not waiting around too long for their turn and also get more touches of the ball. (5-8 mins)

Go into a small sided game after the drill related to what you have just been doing, e.g. if you were working on rising the ball every time somebody rises the ball first time they get 3 points for their team, if they rise on second attempt then the get 1 point. If working on blocking every time they block the ball they get 2 points for their team, same with catching, etc. This also means that it is not always the forwards who get the scores. (2 games at 7-10 mins each)
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There must be an element of fundamental movement as well. Again I would work on one element for 5-10 minutes depending on age group and put it into a game situation as well, e.g. static balance on one leg, set them a challenge of balancing on each leg for 10 seconds, if they achieve 10 then challenge 2 is to do it for 30 seconds on each leg. Put into a little game situation e.g. two children face each other and one has A has to copy whatever balance B does on one leg. B is trying to do some challenging balances by maybe leaning to the side, squatting down, ankle extensions to make A lose his balance. Whoever loses their balance first gets 1 point and the partner who kept their balance the longest gets 2 points. Do on each leg. Then change roles. (5-10 mins)

I would always try to finish off with a games whether it be small or full sided. That's what they all want. Again you will know the children best and decide what they enjoy most. Sometimes write this part off as them just running around having fun but please make sure they go home saying yes we had a game even if it a few minutes of mayhem. Training sessions shouldn't exceed 1 hour in my opinion especially after school as they have had a long enough day already. (8-10 mins)

Don't preach to them as no doubt they will have had enough of listening to the same voice all day and will just want to get going with something fun. From my experience praise is the key, catch them doing something good and celebrate it. It might be a child who is struggling but if you notice even the smallest improvement such as he/she hit the ball on the 3rd pull instead of the 5th attempt - go over and say well done and make them feel like they are achieving.

To sum it up be: punctual, energetic, enthusiastic, organised/prepared, positive, encouraging.

DO: make it fun, have more challenging drills for the higher ability players so that they feel challenged, make sure they get plenty of game time, have a fundamental session thrown in, as much ball time as possible. Give them a fundamental challenge to work on at home, e.g. from the static 1 leg balance, ask them to do 5 squats on each leg and practise at home.


DON'T: spend to much time talking/describing the drill.

If you need more information please contact me at info@fundamentalsuccess.ie

Sorry I couldn't keep it short.

get the Gaelic Start Manual from the ulster council €50
http://ulster.gaa.ie/coaching/resources/

All the above is very good.
Keep it all short, snappy and fun

Challenge the kids
At the end of the session set them a challenge to have a skill mastered at home for the following week/2 weeks. Give a prize - sliotar, grip, cheap football (whatever) to provide some motivation

Encourage the weakest kids the most
Affirm and challenge the more skilled kids

Be consistant with your message and delivery and hve planned what you will do in each session. Kids recognise straight away if you make it up as you go along.

Can I add as well that it also depends what age-group and experience they have. If you look at the findings and suggestions from people like Niall Moyna and Cian O'Neill, they clearly encourage a wide variety of skills and not to be too sport specific at a young age. So I would never be afraid to have occasional sessions where the hurl might only make a small appearance. Games like tag-rugby, dodge-ball, etc. teach them a huge range of skills that are transferable to hurling such as dodging, support play, passing, ball-handling, etc. and it also brings variety to sessions.

Hi brendan

I had the pleasure of working under cian o Neil a number of years back and found him excellent. Where would I be able locate findings and suggestions both he and niall moyna have put together. Have they website?

I wasn't at the GAA convention but read what Cian said on the GAA website. Niall Moyna was involved in a study on childhood physical activity. It was absolutely terrifying reading. !9% of primary school children and 12% per cent of secondary school children are getting the minimum amount of suggested medium to vigorous exercise each day. Also more than 1 in 3 primary school children are not getting the minimum 1 hour of PE as outlined in the National Curriculum. One of the reasons given by children for not partaking in physical activity was lack of knowledge/experience of coaches. It also found that 99% of the children surveyed watched a minimum of 2 hours television everyday.

I am not aware of any work that they have done together but they are two people among others that I feel are very much worth listening to. What they outline is very much the basis on which our company is based. Children need to have a wide spectrum of learning experiences at a young age so that they have a a large foundation of A,B,C skills as well as games to develop the personnel, social, cognitive and creative child/player. We also aim to give them responsibility for their learning journey but we support as well as challenge them along the way. If they feel included in the process and feel that they are in charge of where they are going they more highly motivated. We also approach warm-ups in a totally different manner, no lining up at cones and wait to take your turn. Let the children decide where they go as long as the drill can continue to flow. If it breaks down ask the children what happened and what do we need to do to correct it. I feel a lot of coaching that is going on is failing the children and some (and again I stress only some) coaches believe that they are more important than the children they train. How many coaches show any concern when a child who might be a weak hurler/footballer decides to give up the sport? How many of those coaches would show a bit more concern if the best player on the team decided to pack it in? Again I know it is not all coaches but as I have said before even one coach is too many.

Thanks brendan. What's ur website address?

Website is www.fundamentalsuccess.ie but won't be launched until January 31st.

i was at the ulster gaa Conference
Making the Link between the classroom and Sportshall (Joe McMahon, Catriona Rogers, Ben McGuckin, Owen Mooney – Ulster GAA Coaches, Mary Cullen – PS Teacher)
“This session looks at innovative thinking and best practice in the Primary School and how teachers and coaches have integrated the curriculum into sport and physical activity in the sports hall.”

Problem down south is that not many schools have halls

Still, you can do a lot of stuff outside once the warmer weather kicks in

Have a look at www.fundamentalsuccess.ie and you can find out everything you need to know about the courses we deliver specifically for PE and Coaching. We have just run a course for the PE and Sport Studies degree in UCC as well as the Sport Science and Health degree course at Tallaght IT with a focus on fundametal movement. Feedback has been incredibly positive. We have also delivered numerous workshops to clubs and Primary schools and will be delivering a workshop at the Irish Primary Physical Education Association (IPPEA) on March 3rd in Marino with a focus on fundamental movement development in invasion games.

http://ulster.gaa.ie/coaching/articles/cdp-courses/
check out the Gaelic Start – Games For Kids (ZIP File)

Ulster GAA have lots of very good stuff worth looking at. Again fundamental movements must be done. We are assessing a sample of children, as part of a UCC project, in our school now and some of what we are seeing is frightening. Ulster GAA do have warm-up games where if you are caught are out. I would avoid those at all costs. They do nothing to keep all children involved and active. There are lots of warm ups that can involve fundamental movements while having a ball/balls of different shapes and sizes with lots of creativity, communicating, social interaction, decision making and fun. So leave out anything where people are caught quickly and left standing to watch the others finish, giving them lots of time to contemplate how useless they are at sport and making it a negative experience. Not all children will think like this when they are caught but some will and that's too many. I would also try to move away from warm-ups and drills where they line up at cones and take their turns. No problem using them a little at the start but do move away from them.