Issue link: http://digitaleditions.uberflip.com/i/1504175
www.ladiesgaelic.ie | SUMMER 2023 | 55 FEATURE It was very informative and the brochure I have to say ticks all the boxes as it was our 'Bible' throughout and took us through the 8 weeks step by step. A guide that should be available to all Clubs throughout the Country as ALL Clubs can learn a lot from it. 4. How receptive were the young people in your club about the TALK Project? Did that surprise you? The girls were extremely responsive and really wanted to get involved and they bought into what the programme was all about, finding it intriguing as there was something new to explore at every training session and on match days. It was a learning session as far as they were concerned so we weren't surprised at their excitement in engaging in the project. We intend to run this again in 2024, aiming for January-March for our older age groups to avoid exam times. There are a number of things we will do and continue to do as a group as a result of being part of the programme. 5. What elements of the project did the club enjoy most? We enjoyed the workshops that took place during the programme. We found as a Project Team the girls learned a lot about each other, they were seen as mini bonding days that allowed the girls to enjoy themselves for 2 hours and none of the activities were football related which was a nice change for some of them to connect on a more personal level with one another as opposed to just a football connection. The girls learned new life skills, bonded closer to their teammates and learned more about themselves throughout the activities/question answer sessions which was very positive. 6. What were your clubs top take away moment(s) of being part of the Project? As a club we have watched our young girls grow and mature over the past few months being more positive to one another and to the people around them. We have watched them make new friends with the other age groups in the club through the workshops and on a more powerful note we watched them connect with the older generation through the Kindness Post Box Initiative. Every player was involved and wrote to a resident in a local care home. A group of the girls then visited the care home and read out the corresponding letters/cards to the residents during loneliness awareness week earlier in the month. To say the club are proud and very grateful of the project is an understatement. We feel both the club and players themselves have learned a lot about themselves and how to be more positive towards others and most importantly looking out for their own mental health. A very rewarding TALK Project which will be an annual programme amongst our youth moving forward as a club. 7. What have the club learned or done during the Project that you will take forward? As a club we learned how to be more inclusive in our sessions by making everyone on the team feel a part of it through the jersey clap before games, the team huddles before and after training/games we have found the girls are a lot closer now and everyone feels connected throughout sessions so we will continue with these initiatives moving forward. We have learned that some players need an extra push to be involved as some are happy to just stand back but with a little nudge or positive persuasion will engage with others and connect. We will continue to run workshops throughout the year outside of the initiative as the players themselves in the evaluation process requested more of these initiatives as they thoroughly enjoyed them. 8. If you had the opportunity to do it again, would you? Yes, without a doubt! We do intend to make it an annual programme within the club now for ALL our underage girls teams. 9. What advice would you give to other clubs having now completed the LGFA TALK Project yourselves? We would highly recommend that any club that is given the opportunity to take part in the project to do so. It is very beneficial, inclusive and you get to learn more about your players other than their football ability on the pitch. As a project team we found the project very rewarding and we still talk about it a month post evaluation. Well done to all clubs involved in this year's LGFA TALK Project!