Full house for intensive FAI coach workshop
Wednesday September 01 2010
AHEAD of the beginning of the NDSL season next weekend, more than 200 coaches will assemble at the Oscar Traynor Complex for an intensive four-hour workshop. And according to Fingal FAI Development Officer Paul Keogh, the response has been fantastic.
' We opened it up to all the Fingal clubs and then word of mouth meant there was interest from the surrounding areas.
' We reached a capacity of 200, so unfortunately we had to put a stop on it – but there has been huge interest and it's something we are looking to roll out again. I know the NDSL have plans for a number of coaching workshops.
' It will be very intensive. We have a lot to get through and hopefully coaches will find it very beneficial and it will go back to the children that they coach.
' It's a one off workshop. It wouldn't be part of the official FAI coach education calendar. It's just essentially about getting more information out there about recent coaching trends and in a sense what we are looking for from our grassroots coaches.
" One hundred and forty coaches are coming to the actual talk at the start and another 60 coming for the sessions. We would like to grow this over the years and hopefully it will become an annual event if not bi-annual.'
Coaching development in the form of Kick Start courses proved very successful last season and Keogh sees this one-day course as another chance for coaches to upgrade their skills.
Once more Sporting Fingal will be involved, with Liam Buckley and John Devine two of the contributors on the evening, which gets under way at 6.30.
' Sporting Fingal are very keen to interact with the grassroots coaches. Liam will talk about Sporting Fingal's place in the community and give an update on where they are and their links with the NDSL Academy.
' Then there will be practical sessions from John Devine and he will work on playing out from the back and getting players comfortable to take the ball, rather than just aimlessly playing the ball forward.' Some of FAI's top men will also be there for this workshop, as Keogh explained.
' Packie Bonner will give an update about the FAI coaching education and recent developments and John Morling, the under-15 and 16 coach, will concentrate on playing from midfield to attack.
' Everybody has seen it in the World Cup. The most successful teams play it from the back and play it through midfield, so John will concentrate on playing things from the back.'
The gathering will also hear a talk from Mitch Whitty, the new technical director with the NDSL, who will look at a number of game-related technical practices.
