The Ulster GAA coaching Course recently held in St Mark’s saw many of the big names in Coaching arrive to share their expertise including, Roger Keenan (Ulster Coaching Development Manager), Tony Scullion 4 time All Star and All Ireland medal winner in 1993 and Gary Mallon highly respected coach along with Down GAA Games development Officer, Conor O Toole and county development coaches. Meticulous planning had gone into the day from Games and Coaching Development Officer Liam Howlett who without the this day would not have been possible.
At 10am Tom Potter Down GAA opened the day giving all a warm welcome and duly handed over to Roger who in his role as Coaching Development Manager welcomed all coaches and outlined the programme of events. Roger invited all coaches out onto the playing fields of St Mark’s and handed over to Tony Scullion who coached the kicking skill, all drills were excellently executed and those in attendance were delighted to witness Tony sharing these skills
Conor O’Toole took over and delivered every drill with a twist, always questioning coaches on why they were doing it what they players were getting out of the drill and how to make it better. Conor worked the boys hard but the main point of this session was Decision Making. The players were doing well to carry out Conor`s instructions but also the coaches were in tune learning the importance of the brain and thought when playing, some very valuable lessons for everyone.
Up next was Gary Mallon and he was focusing on tackling. Gary’s emphasis was on positioning of the feet, balance poise and not giving up an easy free The day had gone past in a whirl and the three main coaches then finished up with a group chat. On a club front we thank Ulster GAA for working so closely with us in the hosting off the day and thank Down GAA for their support.
Sincere thanks to our Games and Coaching Development Officer Liam Howlett for meticulously organising such a great event. Our coaches who attended the coaching day thoroughly enjoyed the learning experience and insight from the Ulster GAA/ Down GAA coaches who were in attendance. Ultimately, it will be the young players who will be the beneficiaries of this sharing of good practice.
