Despite the impact of Covid-19, the coaching committee review 2020 as season progress on long term development goals. The condensed season restricted activity significantly but coaches made good use of their time with teams to focus on the coaching values of the club and ensure our teams were competing at the top end of all grades above Go Games.
We have achieved continuity of message across our coaching teams and consistency with our coaching teams and that has a solid impact on player and team development. We have much more work to do in this areas and an agreed model for team development is a priority for 2021.
The early part of our seasons followed previous years for Winter and pre-season programmes. Appropriate skill and athletic development content was delivered at primary age in this period that focused on sports other than football to help kids learn a variety of movement and thinking skills.
DP fitness developed and delivered an athletic development programme specifically tailored for teenage girls to fill the off season gap. And facilitated similar sessions for the Feile team.
Our coach development workshops to support coaching teams designing sessions for teams at all levels ran in the early part of the year but unfortunately lockdown interrupted before we got to matches. Immediately post lockdown we ran two workshops to help coaches think about their training sessions.
First was a practical session on how to construct and develop training content within the parameters of public health restrictions. Following on, we ran a workshop showing coaches how to manage pace and intensity while delivering their sessions and facilitating varying abilities.
Workshops planned in the spring months to look at broader welfare and development issues did not take place.
Our schools coaching programme has continued partnered with Armagh, which has reduced costs. Our coaching engagement in both parish primary schools continues to bear fruit for the club and is something we should protect and expand if possible.
The process of appointing all coaching teams is well advanced and hopefully will be complete in the coming days to allow new season preparations to get underway. Central to that is a new approach to delivering the teenage athletic development programme.
Through Shane O’Neill we are planning a broader focus on athletic development throughout the teenage years and are working with Mike McGurn and team coaches to create a delivery mechanism that will be sustainable all year around.
Martin O’Rourke is working with BCSDN to build a bespoke coach development and multi-sport activity programme for all primary school aged kids through the winter months. This mirrors the initiative that the club invested in four years ago and is important for both our coaches’ and players’ development.
Priorities for 2021 are to reinforce the quality of our coaching within Go Games and ensure that our development of players is maintained. Additionally we want to build a strong athletic development plan for teenagers that will bring boys and girls to the end of underage football as prepared for adult football as possible. Finally, the coaching committee will be building further aspects of a club coaching template for team performance early in the new year for all grades above Go Games.
