A small window into the work behind the scenes
Over the past number of weeks, a huge amount of work has been taking place across Clontarf GAA as we continue to develop how we support our players, coaches and teams.
Much of this work happens behind the scenes, so I wanted to give members a small window into what has been happening and, importantly, what is coming next.
The aim is straightforward: to give our players and coaches the best possible environment to develop, perform and enjoy their sport.
Athletic Development
Our Athletic Development programme is now up and running across a growing number of teams. We currently have ongoing Athletic Development provision with:
Adult Camogie
Senior Hurling
Senior Men’s Football
Senior Ladies’ Football
Minor Girls’ Football (commenced two weeks ago - more to come)
The focus is on developing strong, robust and capable players while giving coaches access to structured, appropriate and progressive physical preparation.
We are also launching our Clontarf Athletic Development Warm-Up Systems, providing teams with a consistent approach to preparing players before training and games. These will give coaches practical, easy-to-use systems that can be applied across the club.
We will be recording the CLONTARF WAY warm-up systems shortly, so that coaches will have access to the sessions and can use them with their teams, a video and a manual are currently getting developed. The longer-term aim is to develop one coherent Clontarf approach to Athletic Development, rather than a collection of individual programmes.
Launching the Clontarf Player Pathway
One of the major milestones so far was the launch of our Clontarf Player Pathway, with approximately 100 coaches attending the launch night.
The pathway gives us the opportunity to establish a common language and approach to player development across the club — from our younger players through to adult teams.
Our first TURAS session will take place this Friday, with further sessions planned as we begin to embed the pathway across the club and head mentors book them in, to do so please email me on dos@clontarfgaa.com.
We are also establishing a Coach Developer Panel to help accelerate the implementation of TURAS and, importantly, provide coaches with practical support as they put the pathway into practice.
WATCH → FEEDBACK → SUPPORT → FOLLOW-UP.
Supporting Our Coaches
Over the past number of weeks, I have completed more than 36 one-to-one meetings with coaches, discussing where they are currently, what support they need and how we can improve the coaching environment across the club.
Alongside this, we have developed a dedicated Clontarf coaching website, led by Ken Darcy, which will become an important hub for coach education, resources and information going forward, please contact me so I can send you this fantastic resource.
Improving Our Facilities
Work is continuing on our Athletic Development spaces, with Phase One of the refurbishment now complete, including painting and reorganisation of the gym thanks to the great work of Shane Dalton and the assistance of the senior players. We will be also introducing a small stretching and prehab area in the pavilion (beside P35), giving players somewhere they can complete their preparation and prehab work before pitch sessions.
We are also hoping to add two new full-size portable goals to our pitches. These will allow teams to incorporate more match-specific drills and games into their training, creating more opportunities to replicate the demands of competition.
These might seem like small changes, but collectively they help create a better training environment for our players and coaches.
What's Coming Next?
There is a lot more work already underway.
Nutrition
We are in the process of appointing a Nutrition Lead (from among our endlessly talented volunteer force!) who will work with our squads to support players and coaches around healthy eating, fuelling and performance nutrition. We will be launching several education pieces on this.
Athletic Development Panel
We are close to finalising an Athletic Development Panel of coaches who will help our teams apply best practice across the club. These coaches will be qualified, certified and motivated to help.
The long-term objective is to bring Athletic Development under one centralised system, giving our squads access to consistent, safe and appropriate programming while still allowing programmes to be tailored to individual teams and players.
Teenage Performance Camps
We are also planning the launch of three teenage performance camps across the year:
Halloween
Easter
Summer
These camps will give our teenage players an opportunity to develop their physical qualities, learn more about performance and build good habits that can support them throughout their sporting development.
This Is Only a Small Window
There is a lot more happening behind the scenes than can fit into one update.
The work is ultimately about raising the standard of player development across Clontarf GAA - supporting coaches, educating players, improving our facilities and creating more consistent approaches across our teams and codes.
There is still a huge amount to do, but the foundations are being put in place.
And finally, please don't be shy. If you see me around the club, stop me for a chat. I'd love to hear what you think is working, where you think we can improve and what you'd like to see happen next. This is a club-wide project, and the more people who get involved, the better it will be.
Yours In Sport,
David Hare
Director of Sport, Clontarf GAA Club.