Anyone done any of the GAA Coaching programmes? Foundation-Level 5

[BallyhaiseMan]

Was thinking about taking the Foundation level course sometime next year to give a hand with coaching some of the juvenile teams.... any feedback on how worthwile they are would be most appreciated...

[SlimShady]

all very worthwhile course, though some of them are very very basic. There are courses on every night of the week almost throughout the province.

Last one I was at was Coaching the tackle-excellent.

[dubnut]

The basic one is useful for the juveniles, and a bit of fun too!

[BallyhaiseMan]

Thanks lads....after reading your responses,Im more eager than ever to take some of these courses.

[SlimShady]

oh yes dubnut, they definitely are good craic as well. its not like the shite courses they send you on at work!! all very enjoyable.

[culchy1]

all the courses bein run are worthwhile
u mite only take one or two things outta them
but thats one or two that u didnt already know
even for players these are benefitial

all the coaches are great
like slim i attended coachin the tackle
this helps u coach the tackle an we were shown drills
on how 2 improve it aswell

ur cluub secretary can contact the county 2 organise
ur club 2 run the foundation course if there are enuf numbers
its run over a fri nite an sat mornin me thinks

[BenDover]

I got my foundation hurling about 4 yrs ago, then went into a primary school on a friday afternoon for an hour or so to coach P6's and P7's. The course itself was run on a Saturday(all day sesison) but well worth it.

[BallyhaiseMan]

Cheers for the info Ben and Culchy.

[lynchbhoy]

all the courses bein run are worthwhile
u mite only take one or two things outta them
but thats one or two that u didnt already know
even for players these are benefitial

all the coaches are great
like slim i attended coachin the tackle
this helps u coach the tackle an we were shown drills
on how 2 improve it aswell

ur cluub secretary can contact the county 2 organise
ur club 2 run the foundation course if there are enuf numbers
its run over a fri nite an sat mornin me thinks

culchy
do you have some kind of shakespearean fixation ?

Our club is pushing coaching courses also, might attend some myself..

[DuperDee]

Dont expect too much from the Foundation Award coaching course. In my expereince attending them they are very poor and they depend very much on who is taking them. In Tyrone the likes of Roger Keenan and Raymond Munroe have taken the ones recently and they are not bad. Before this they  were taken by Enda Kilpatrick and Terry McCann. Kilpatrick is OK but McCann is an a**hole who spends his time making fun of people. Generally the courses test what you can do not train you to coach. Any it is well known that you cannot fail the foundation and will not fail the level 1 if you complete your logbook.

Much better are the mid week observation courses that someone else referred to. You go and watch someone else coaching. Over the past few years I have attended those in Cookstown with Tony Scullion, Mickey Loran, Danny Quinn, Monroe, Keenan and they were all very good. They use some of the development  squads and go through a series of drills for different things like the tackle, drillls for fitness, scoring skills, mini games. The drills are suitable for underage or adults. The drills are then put on the ulster gaa website   at
http://ulster.gaa.ie/coaching%20articles/ucCoachingDrills/ucCoachingDrills.html. You can print out the drills

I have found that to be any more useful than the foundation award. The only thing is that some clubs look for the qualifications.

[neilthemac]

do a few coaching sessions with kids first - just helping out

then do the foundation course and see can you put some of the things taught into practice at some stage

doing the foundation course having no experience working with a bunch of kids is not a good idea. its all about being confident in what you are saying and doing. kids will do anything if they think you know what you are doing and talking about!

[never kickt a ball]

Good advice Neil

[Square Ball]

I have done the Hurling and the Football and enjoyed them both, but if i was to take any team above U12s i would do the next level, also you may need to do a Child Protection course before being able to take children, i done mine as part of the Football course.

[Mac hinery]

Neil the mac makes sense, help out for a while with some of the underage teams in your club then try the foundation course.  It is difficult not to get your foundation certificate.  The level 1 is not a certainty, and takes a bit of time getting your log book completed. I've done foundation and level 1 hurling.  Be prepared to work during the practical sessions if a development squad isn't available.  We spent over three hours participating in the tasks set for each coach on the course. The contacts you make on the courses are useful for arranging challenge matches and also to use as guest coaches to bring in for a session.