How coaches can create great environments for young Gaelic games' players

RTÉ News​

13-06-2025

Analysis: Coaches can use psychological principles to enhance the playing experience and development of young players
By Patricia Jackman, University of Lincoln; Ciarán J. Kearney, St Mary's University College Belfast; Matthew Bird, University of Lincoln and Jack Cooney, DCU
With the days lengthening and the start of the season drawing ever nearer, underage coaches in Gaelic games across the country will be planning for the year ahead. Since the launch of the Gaelic Games Sport Science Framework, coaches are being increasingly encouraged to integrate psychological principles into their sessions and coaching practices. There is now growing interest within Gaelic games in psychology, both in research and in practice: over 25% of 10,000 coaches surveyed showed an interest in learning more about psychology.
So, where should they start? Based on research and policy in Gaelic games, a series of principles and practical strategies were recently proposed to help coaches of young players in Gaelic games to create playing environment that enhance the long-term participation, personal development, and wellbeing of players they work with.
The principles were captured with the phrase, SÍOL na nÓige. The word "síol" translates to "seed" in the Irish language. Just as a seed needs the right conditions to thrive and grow into a strong and healthy plant, the proposed principles can serve as conditions that facilitate the growth of young Gaelic games players.
Promote holistic development
The positive consequences of sport can extend beyond helping young people to become better athletes. Coaches and clubs that take a holistic approach to developing players, one that values the person and not just the player, can have a positive and profound impact on all aspects of the lives of young people. Central to this is the adoption of a philosophy to coaching that emphasises the importance of:
Focussing on long-term development;
Nurturing supportive relationships with coaches and opportunities to develop friendships among teammates; and
Supporting for the development of psychological and social skills.
Create a learning environment to facilitate human development
When properly structured, Gaelic games can be much more than a context for learning sporting skills. It can also be a place where young people can learn essential life skills such as communication, respect, inclusiveness, community and teamwork. Incorporating the development of young people as a pillar of one's coaching philosophy is an excellent starting point to creating a learning environment that facilitates human development.
From RTÉ Radio 1's News at One, how athletes like Kellie Harrington inspire kids to play sports
Specific actions coaches can take to develop life skills include:
Identifying and defining life skills and values to be learned;
Connecting with each player regularly and helping them identify similarities between sport and life;
Share stories of role models using skills learned in sport in life; and
Leverage "teachable moments", where players can be educated about skills used in sport that could transfer into other areas of their lives.
Develop coach-player relationships
Relationships are the active ingredient of great coaching. Without strong coach-player relationships, a coach's effectiveness will be inhibited. In contrast, when strong relationships with players are formed, coaches can more effectively communicate and more easily develop players' psychosocial skills. Nurturing strong coach-player relationships and communicating effectively in team sports is not easy; it needs a conscious and deliberate effort.
From Supporting Champions, psychologist Prof Sophia Jowett on the coach-athlete relationship
Coaches can build stronger relationship by focusing on the development of three important qualities in the coach-athlete relationship:
Closeness (respectful, trusting, caring);
Commitment (loyalty and commitment); and
Complementarity (responsive, adaptable, and understanding of needs).
Optimise the motivational climate
Coaches and other social agents, such as club members, parents/guardians, teachers and teammates, are central to creating environments that nurture the motivation of players. Psychology can help coaches to explore and understand individual differences in motivation and how these can interact within a sporting environment.
From Australian Sports Commission, Dr Will Vickery and Pr Richard Keegan on how the Self-Determination Theory can be used to create positive environments for coaches, officials & players
Coaching environments that optimise motivation emphasise self-determined motivation, where players play because they "want to" rather than feeling under pressure to play because they "have to", and mastery, where focus is placed on self-improvement, skill mastery, and exerting maximal effort rather than winning. Coaches can promote more self-determined motivation and mastery by considering how they:
Structure training sessions;
Facilitate goal setting among players;
Provide instructions and feedback to players.
Build togetherness and belonging
Belonging is a fundamental human need and a core value of Gaelic games. Players who feel they belong and are strongly connected to teammates will exert more effort, encourage teammates more, have greater belief, and are less likely to drop out.
Strategies that emphasise the importance and feelings of group membership can be employed to help create a sense of shared identity, including:
Teambuilding activities, enabling players to bond socially;
Developing a team "trademark" and identifying values and behaviours that represent this;
Emphasising and encouraging a collective sense of "we" and "us"; and
Keeping an eye on how players interact with each other and addressing any signs of cliques, exclusion, isolation, or bullying promptly and fairly.
From Ulster GAA, Tony Scullion with Diarmaid McNulty (Tyrone), Luke Barrett (Donegal) and Martin Boyle (Derry) on the best practice coaching and management of under-age players
Put the emphasis on fun and enjoyment
When over 5,000 young players were recently asked why they played Gaelic games, two of the top-three reasons were fun and enjoyment. It follows that team environments where enjoyment and fun are at the core have most appeal and developmental benefits for youth athletes.
This should not be construed or portrayed as being at odds with a competitive spirit. Instead, coaches are encouraged to promote the process of competing (e.g., challenging oneself, learning new skills, becoming better) rather than reducing competition to outcome measures, like results and silverware.
Coaches can promote fun and enjoyment by:
Creating environments that deemphasize the importance of winning;
Focussing on enjoyment and skill development when communicating with players;
Ensuring equal participation for all; and
Emphasising the collective spirit and social dynamic of youth team sport.
The six principles here offer coaches a framework for integrating psychology into the Gaelic games playing environment. Adopting these principles does not need to take place "in one go" and should not increase the time commitment of coaching. Rather, the integration of these principles should help to improve the quality of the playing environments and interactions coaches already engage in, which will ultimately benefit the long-term participation, personal development and wellbeing of players they work with.
You can read the full journal article on which this piece is based here. It provides a comprehensive overview of the proposed principles for psychologically-informed coaching of young players in Gaelic games.
Dr Patricia Jackman is Associate Professor in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Lincoln, a specialist in Applied Sport Psychology and a former senior inter-county camogie player. Dr Ciarán J. Kearney is Senior Lecturer in Human Development Science at St Mary's University College Belfast and a Chartered Sport Psychologist who consulted with Team Ireland for Paris 2024. Dr Matthew Bird is Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Lincoln. Jack Cooney, is GAA National Player Development Lead, part of GAA National Coaching and Games Department, and a PhD student at DCU.