Issue link: http://digitaleditions.uberflip.com/i/1322152
LGFA Coach Developer Irene Hogan has undertaken a PhD in Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, under the supervision of Dr Richard Bowles and Dr Niamh Kitching. Experiences of the Volunteer Female LGFA Coaches RESEARCH S he is exploring the experiences of volunteer female coaches in the LGFA in order to better understand how we can support female coaches in the sport. Below is her outline of her research to date. Why this research? I am a volunteer coach for over 20 years, after starting to coach as a result of key female role models in my club - Bride Rovers, Co. Cork. They coached me as an underage player and later encouraged me to start coaching as a teenager. I have been an LGFA coach developer for the last 15 years and noticed the high number of females taking part in coach education courses, but knew there was still a lack of active female coaches in clubs. (See Table 1 for a breakdown of the qualified coaches and comparisons to other sports in Ireland). The data shows that females make up over half the number of participants at all course levels within the LGFA and are well in excess of their counterparts in other sports in Ireland. So, if we have that many qualified female coaches, where are they? What is their primary role in clubs? Why don't we have more in coaching roles? In order to answer these questions, I had to first speak to current female coaches to understand their coaching experiences. What did the research entail? Following a national call out for participants, 14 women coaches 48 | WINTER 2020 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie from all over Ireland took part in interviews, answering questions relating to their LGFA coaching experiences. Inclusion criteria meant they had to (i) be over 18 years of age, (ii) be currently coaching, (iii) have a minimum of 5 years coaching experience and (iv) have completed the Fundamentals coach education course in the previous ten years. The following table highlights the characteristics of the coaches involved in this study. The interviews were informed by my experiences as a player, coach and coach developer within LGFA, as well as relevant academic literature. The conversations explored the coaches' background and early experiences of coaching including supports and barriers they have encountered in their role. The coaches were also asked for suggestions on attraction and retention of female coaches. Level of coach education No. of Female LGFA qualified coaches % of qualified LGFA coaches across gender % of qualified coaches in other Irish Sports across gender Foundation 9581 65% (F*) V's 35% (M*) 37% (F) V's 63% (M) Level 1 526 51% (F) V's 49% (M) 28% (F) V's 72% (M) Level 2 23 53% (F) V's 47% (M) 28% (F) V's 72% (M) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FEMALE COACHES Age Ranging from 34-50 years Reasons for starting coaching Own children involved (n*=7), love of the game (n=7) Coaching experience Ranging from 5 -19 years Coach Education completed Fundamentals (n=3), Level 1 (n=6), Level 2 (n=5), Coach Developer (n=2) Highest level of coaching experience Club underage (n=9), Club adult (n=1), Inter county youth (n=3), Inter county adult (n=1) Playing experience Non-elite/club (n=5), elite/intercounty (n=6), Gaelic for Mothers & Others G4M&O (n=3) Source LGFA and Sport Ireland Coaching. *F= Female, M=Male *n= denotes the number of coaches