Promotion of Gaelic Football

[BennyHarp]

I'm after some help here! I teach in a sixth form college in the UK and together with the Gaelic Development officer in the county i am trying to start a coaching course for the students where by we will take them during enhancement time - train them to do basic GAA coaching and then supervise them coaching in local primary schools. The idea being that it will introduce a whole new audience to the sport and we will at some time in the future see the primary players join the local clubs and hopefully breed more people in my college with an interest in the sport in future years. I am selling this to our students in an assembly next week and was wondering if anyone has come across a video that is like a 3 min introduction to Gaelic football! There is one called "what is gaelic football?" in 3 sections on you tube but i would need to edit it in order to use it for the time i've got! If anyone has any such video clip could they post it or pm me? Thanks!

[Hardy]

Just don't show them any documentaries with ould fellas in long white beards with ochón-ochón type voice-overs full of "the times used to be hard below in the end of the house with the pigs in the ashes" type stuff. You could compile something with a kid-friendly sound track showing soccer prats falling over, then gaelic lads taking hits in their stride; Italian superstars missing penalties followed by Trevor Giles or Padraig Joyce slotting them; David James flapping his hands at a ball flying past him followed by Tommy Walsh or his father pulling them out of the sky. Make sure all footage is from a packed Croke Park, not a mucky field in Westmeath with the subs sucking at fags. No handpassing, frantic running, diving, playacting or trash-talking. In fact no Tyrone footage at all. You know yourself.

[the colonel]

benny, i use the start of the fun do football dvd to give a quick intro into gaelic football, not too long but gives a good indicator of the skills involved in the game, what county are you in?

[BennyHarp]

benny, i use the start of the fun do football dvd to give a quick intro into gaelic football, not too long but gives a good indicator of the skills involved in the game, what county are you in?

I'm in Yorkshire - i can probably pick that up easily enough then - is there a online version of it anywhere?

[Maguire01]

You could compile something with a kid-friendly sound track showing soccer prats falling over, then gaelic lads taking hits in their stride;

'I get knocked down / but i get up again' ?

[Hardy]

Exactly!

[Zulu]

I don't know if Hardy is just having a bit of a laugh but if he is serious I'd disagree with the whole comparing soccer to football theme. You're in England and I think it would be a mistake to show a video that is intimating that soccer is a 'girly' game compared to our 'manly' brand of football to a bunch of kids that probably love soccer, just show a clip of all that is good about football rather than trying to paint it a superior game to other sports. I do agree however, with Hardy on his point about showing all the clips from a sellout CP, also some shots of a full Hill 16 (not just the Dubs) will strike a cord with youngsters. In addition to showing the best of the game emphasize the fun aspect of the game and when you get them on the training ground ensure the experience is enjoyable rather than worrying about kids performing the techniques correctly (that will come with repetition over the years).

[AFS]

Zulu is right. Trying to tarnish the sport that most of these kids probably love is not a good idea. If anything, it would be better to highlight the similarities between the two sports.

[the colonel]

benny your gda andrew will have a fun do pack if you dont have one. there is a dvd in the packs, there is not an online version that i'm aware of because it was costly to put together. the clips are good, and all in a packed croke park. alan brogan talks about the benefits of playin football too without patronising