Dr. Richard Bowles (Mary Immaculate College)

Dr. Déirdre Ní Chróinín (Mary Immaculate College)

The Coaches:

• Niamh Kitching
• Vicky Ryan
• Lynda Breen
• Orla Treacy

Oola Ladies Gaelic Football club (@oolaLGFA & @OolaGAA on Twitter)

Context

Oola Ladies Oola Ladies’ Gaelic Football Club is a small club in a rural part of Limerick in southern Ireland. Our sport is governed nationally by the Ladies’ Gaelic Football Association (LGFA). Ladies’ Gaelic football is a field invasion game played widely in Ireland, and among ex-patriate Irish communities around the world. The sport is sometimes classified within the “family” of Gaelic games along with hurling, camogie, handball, and rounders. Our coaches are typically parents who volunteer in our club. The coaches involved in the MiYS project are coaching girls aged between 5 and 10 years.

Integrating miys into our specific context

As we set out on the MiYS journey, we were interested to see how this idea would fit into our existing practices. Very quickly, we noticed that some of our coaching was already in line with the MiYS principles. We noticed that what motivates most children at our club is an acknowledgment of their improvement and commitment to the squad or teammates. We liked the way that the culture of our sport could be accommodated among the principles. Our club already has an inclusive programme for children with special needs called Ball4All. We found that the inclusive ethos of that programme aligns well with the MiYS principles, where we try to create a welcoming environment for all the children who come to our club. We try to develop a sense of belonging that we hope makes the experiences meaningful for the children who are part of our club.

incorporating new practices

Having considered the MiYS framework, we decided to discuss with the children how to support friends/teammates when they need you most; how to be gracious in both victory and defeat; and, finally, to try your best no matter what. We worked with them to develop a new motto for the season: “Turn up, Train and Try!”. To support the teamwork dynamic, we are also in the process of coming up with our own theme song. This will be created, chosen, and owned by the team to foster a spirit of togetherness.

We love to see our players wearing their club colours at training sessions and games. It fosters a sense of camaraderie that is essential as we develop a culture of belonging.

Because our players have a range of mixed skill levels, and varied ages, and come from a diverse array of schools, our coaching sessions need to focus on team building and basic (but fun) skill development. We try to build confidence so that each child can be sufficiently challenged and feel a sense of accomplishment at the end. We always try to fit in a quick team talk at the end with positive feedback on how that session went.

As coaches, it is very useful after each training session to reflect and consider what went well and to gauge if there are improvements that can be incorporated into the next training session plan.

Looking ahead

There is a huge focus within Gaelic games on playing a formal, competitive game – even from a young age – and it can be hard to shake the obsession with winning. This has shaped how we engage with the Balanced Approach to Competition principle and it is something we want to explore further this season.

We also want to explore how we can learn together as coaches through reflective discussion and collaboration. As one of our coaches said recently: “We can’t achieve anything in our sport as a lone coach.” As a result, we want to use the MiYS framework to support our coaching journey: helping us to provide meaningful experiences for our players, and find meaning in our own efforts as coaches.