Friday 8 April saw the coaches of all age levels and codes come together in St Peters Clubrooms. The event, spearheaded by Games Development Officer Liam Howlett saw two greats of the game come together to share their thoughts and opinions across a range of subjects related to the ongoing coaching and development of the game.
Barney McAleenan and Mickey Linden delivered a very special evening which allowed all coaches to engage in conversation with the two and allowed for all to share their experiences both on and off the field. Ronan McMahon was MC for the evening and had some very topical and controversial questions for both men. In an ice breaker, Ronan asked both men what their attitude to playing was, Mickey Linden answered simply by saying, “leave it all on the pitch and have no regrets.” Barney McAleenan, successful player, coach, player and motivational speaker said that in our game there are no shortcuts, it’s a tough game and everyone has to work very hard. Barney also went on to say that, “basic skills are learnt from an early age, these are the utmost single most important thing we can teach the youth.” When asked about management and how to do this successfully Barney was very clear in his advice, “it’s a balance between instruction, empowering players and man management, the latter which is the most difficult of all.” He went on to state that the manager is not the most important person in the team, everyone must play their part or there is no team. However he said the key ingredients for any successful team was commitment and dedication, this was backed up by Mickey Linden who said, “every young players aim should be to play for their county, if they are lucky enough to be talented enough to do so.” Mickey said the most important thing for a manager and team to be successful was time management and being totally focused on the task in head, be that club or county.
Ronan then went on to discuss the very topical issue of player burnout with the panel and welcomed questions from the audience. Barney started by stating that he himself was very concerned about the current issue of player burnout and said, “its scary the pressure put on young players.” Barney also spoke very strongly about the concers he has over the mental health of our young GAA people and said it needed to continue to be a key priority of all stakeholders in our games.
In summing up, Barney McAleenan addressed the audience in congratulating Cumann Pheadair Naofa on the massive steps they have made in recent years and said he felt that the current senior team were one to watch out for, he said any teams main aim should be a County Senior Championship and in order to get within reach of that it comes down to two factors, “what you do when you have the ball and what you do when you don’t… its that simple.”
Club Secretary Anne McCormack made a small presentation of our thanks to both Barney and Mickey and Club Development Officer, Feargal McCormack thanked both men for coming and spoke to club coaches about the vital role they play in the development of the club.
The evening also saw a very special guest in the Sam Maguire Cup making a long overdue return to the club. Earlier in the day the students of St Dallas Primary School and Kilbroney Integrated Primary School got to meet Sam Maguire and got to learn a bit about the man behind the cup and of the game that he is so closely linked with. A fantastic day all round for the Cumann Pheadair Naofa club.
