Ladies Gaelic Football

COACH FOCUS www.ladiesgaelic.ie | SPRING 2024 | 33 What attracted you to getting involved as Coach Developer? As a coach I was always interested in workshops and courses. I've attended many, in different codes and different sports. A lot of the courses were led by very knowledgeable and passionate coach developers who always got me to think slightly differently. I am very passionate about our game with a good coaching experience behind me. I feel this is a natural step for someone with my experience and love of the game. What do you most enjoy about being a Coach Developer? I love helping coaches on their journey. I take great satisfaction in seeing coach's progress. The feedback after delivery is hugely positive so you know they're benefitting from the course content and the real life coaching experiences you can bring. Were you involved with any previous LGFA Programmes and how have they helped you with becoming a Coach Developer? I'm only a couple of years into my journey but I would have helped at club level to run Gaelic4Girls. I've also delivered content on the 'Coaching Teenage girls in Sport Programme' which is a brilliant workshop touching on a lot of areas around dropout with this age group. All of this led me down the coach developer pathway which I am absolutely delighted about. What advice would you give someone who is considering becoming a Coach Developer? Being a Coach developer is a very rewarding role. You empower coaches to embrace the thirst for knowledge, to create positive and progressive training environments, where the focus is on player development. In turn you will learn almost as much from the coaches, as they learn from you. Anything else you like to add… I like to thank all the great people who have helped me on the journey to date. The transition from coach to coach developer can be difficult at first, but I had some brilliant people to help along the way, Liam Moggan, Paudie Butler, Nora Aherne, Irene Hogan and the energetic Will Harmon to name but a few , were, and are still there to lean on, and learn from. The journey is well under way!! Name: Bernie Durkin County: Kildare Name: Stephen Hoary County: Laois What attracted you to getting involved as Coach Developer? I applied to become a Coach Developer as I wanted to challenge myself further as a coach. Through my coaching experience and working and volunteering with clubs I have realised that the biggest investment a club can make is spending time developing their coaches. As a coach developer, I can help to empower others to develop their coaching skills and build connections with the children and adults they coach. It is a way for me to give back to the LGFA and I enjoy helping others start their coaching journey. What do you most enjoy about being a Coach Developer? The opportunity to learn from others is the part I enjoy most about being a Coach Developer. On every course I facilitate, I go away with new ideas that have been shared by coaches with a broad range of experiences. Every day is a learning day and it is so rewarding to be able to share a variety of coaching ideas with like-minded people. Were you involved with any previous LGFA Programmes and how have they helped you with becoming a Coach Developer? I completed the Coaching Strand of the LGFA Learn to Lead programme in 2022 and had a wonderful experience where we were challenged and supported to push ourselves outside of our comfort zone. One of my fellow participants (Margaret McCorry) was a Coach Developer and from listening to her speaking about her experiences I decided to challenge myself to apply for the Coach Developer Training Programme. What advice would you give someone who is considering becoming a Coach Developer? It is so important to recognise that you are helping PEOPLE to develop skills to become a better coach. Building connections and guiding people on a journey to recognise what their coaching values are requires patience, good questioning skills and an openness to learn from each other. Becoming a coach developer has made me more mindful of my own coaching practices and that coaching is about doing. Anything else you like to add… "Doing is Learning and Learning is Fun"! A WORD FROM SOME OF OUR NEW COACH DEVELOPERS Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A:

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