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www.ladiesgaelic.ie | SUMMER 2020 | 35 GAMES DEVELOPMENT L GFA tutors and coach developers hit the ground running in 2020 with courses and workshops taking place across the country. Record numbers attended as the appetite for education continued to soar. The topics of these courses and workshops varied from coach to referee education through to club development and planning. Just like everything else, however, we could not have predicted the lockdown and the potential difficulties that would be faced for education and training. In the words of Albert Einstein, 'In the middle of every difficulty, lies opportunity' and the Ladies Gaelic Football Association took those words wisely and over the past number of months have rolled out a suite of online webinars with huge engagement from members across all strands. Coaching is about people and certain courses and workshops will still require face to face learning and priority will be put on getting those up and running when guidelines permit. This said, there was a vast array of topics made available for continuous professional development of coaches, referees, players and club or county officers. Some of these are outlined below: CANADA Referee Rules Refresher Coach & Player Rules Seminar Volunteer Recruitment and Retention EUROPE Coaching The Tackle Coaching Within The Rules MIDDLE EAST The Coaching Climate Coach The Teenage Player Gaelic4Girls 'In the Middle of Every Difficulty, Lies Opportunity' Here are links to a selection of webinars from earlier in summer: 1 Coaching the Tackle 2 Coaching Considerations for G4M&O 3 Pitch Priorities. What to focus on when returning to play Moving games development education and support to an interactive online platform required LGFA staff to adapt quickly and many lessons have been learned already. We are looking forward to a full evaluation of this period of online engagement but early feedback has already been positive. Key improvements from a participants' perspective are; the ability to attend at home, variety of topics covered and access to wide ranging expertise. There are of course some drawbacks, especially for new coaches, officers or referees. Many people who are new to their role do enjoy a face to face environment and, in person, courses do allow for real time practical feedback on coaching behaviours, for example. It will be essential for future games development courses and workshops to balance these needs going forward. An unintended outcome of the online education was a notable increase in engagement from female participants across all strands. This is a valuable result that we will certainly analyse further during our evaluation process. It is envisaged that the games development section of the LGFA will adopt the best aspects of the online learning Coach Education Weekly Webinars with GAA & Camogie Coach the Teenage Player Coach the Tackle Ready Steady Coach Eective Coaching Practices for G4M&O Pitch Priorities - Returning to Play Building Your Nursery Programme First to Final Kick: Club Participation match officials Education Annual Referee Refresher Linesperson Training Referee Support Co-ordinator Workshop Grab Your Whistle Academy Modulaes National Referee Sessions National Assessors Upskilling Club & County Development GDPR Information CODA Workshop County Fixture Planning County Development OŒcer Sessions Club2Gether Female Liaison OŒcer Workshop Finance & Governance Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Managing a Committee & Delegation Preparing for and Holding Meetings Accessing Funding Planning for the Future Sustainable Club Structures Club & County Development Launch Programme Glanbia Nutrition Course County Team Rules Quizzes OUR VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE WORLD INTERNATIONAL COACH & CLUB DEVELOPMENT LGFA were delighted to engage with and support many of our International Units of the last few months. The offer of assistance was given to all units and a number of them availed. Thank you to everyone involved for organising the webinars and we look forward to rolling out more of these with all units in the future. platform and blend that with traditional face to face methods. It would have been easy for people to down tools and wait until the current restrictions passed, but thank you to all participants who have engaged brilliantly with our webinars and grasped their own opportunity for guidance, support and education. 1 2 3