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Mobility for the GAA Athlete - Adrian Craddock
Mobility is now considered a crucial part to top performance and staying injury free. Mobility is the ability to perform a joint action through a range of movement. Now-days programs are finally getting bodies structurally balanced before they start to load with faulty movement patterns...keep reading
Work Rate Analysis of Elite Hurling Match-Play - Kieran Collins
Global positioning system (GPS) monitoring of movement patterns is a method for quantifying the work-rate of athletes. This data provides a conceptual framework for the development and prescription of sport specific training regimes... keep reading
An Examination of Home-Field Advantage In Gaelic Football 2001 – 2010 - Kieran Collins and Rob Carroll
The existence of home-field advantage has been examined and established in a number of international sports (Clarke, 2005; Pollard, 2006). The aim of the current study was to examine if home-field advantage applied in Gaelic Football... keep reading
Low Cost Recovery Strategies: What to do and When to do it? - Jason Moran
Small-side games present an effective training stimulus in Gaelic football - Kieran Collins
Small-sided games (SSG’s) provide effective physiological training stimuli in soccer, however, of the efficacy of SSG’s for other codes particularly Gaelic football conditioning remains unknown... keep reading
Major Phases of the Kicking Skill - Stuart Lierich
It is fair to say that the grip and subsequent drop of the football to the kicking leg are paramount in determining accuracy and distance. This perhaps is the most important step in preparing to kick....keep reading
"Three in a Bed" - Paul Clarke
Focusing again on game-based training, this game puts players in both an unusual environment and challenging scenario....keep reading
Heads Up - Paul Clarke
Very often the most effective open or game-based drills can be among the most simple on paper. That is not to say though that simple means easy. The drill below covers and trains a lot of game demands, both physical and from a game-sense point of view.... keep reading
Why? - Paul Clarke
Probably one of the best skills any player can develop is the art of critical thinking and the ability to ask “why?” and “why not?”. That’s not to say that players question every decision and every statement made by their coaches.... keep reading
Periodisation of Hurling Training - Kieran Collins
Coaches and hurlers are constantly seeking new methods to improve skill and performance, hurlers must prepare through a training process where the physiological objective is to improve physiological function and optimise performance... keep reading
Train as you Play and Play as you Train - Miichael McGeehin
Gaelic Games are simple in design but require an extensive array of movement and decision making skills. The design of a Gaelic Games Training Program preliminary focuses on five interdependent areas of development... keep reading
Training Vs Coaching - Martin Kennedy
If you are an athlete or player participating in any level in sport in Ireland have you been trained or coached throughout your sports career? There is a difference as...keep reading
The Force is Strong in Them! - Paul Clarke
Invariably when we distil on-field performances to determine the best field sport players we see that the best players are also the best movers. They tend to have wonderfully developed acceleration, deceleration, agility, balance .... keep reading
10,000 hours to mastery....or is it 4,672????? - Paul Clarke
Ever since Daniel Coyle (The Talent Code) suggested that 10,000 hours of preparation/training is the magic number in terms of attaining mastery level at a chosen discipline internet blogs, Twitter tweets and Facebook updates have been alive with debate as to the merits and flaws in this line of thought. .... keep reading
New Balls Please - Paul Clarke
One of the great advantages of employing games-based training into your on-field training programme is the ability to mould and create games that reflect exactly what happens on the field.... keep reading
"Developing Attacking Play - An Introduction" - Miichael McGeehin
As coaches we encourage our players to transfer the ball as quickly as possible to Zone C, the Scoring Zone, in which we have the best chance to score and win the game. We want to play the game in Zone C not in either of the other two zones... keep reading
Na Fianna Senior Football Strength Program - Robbie Bourke
The program is for a Gaelic Football team with little experience with a structured strength Program. I must add that this is still not the same program for everyone. Some will not bench due to shoulder pathologies, and everyone will have different mobility... keep reading
Coaching – more than drills and games?? - Paul Clarke
Every successful coaching program is built with for main pillars as it mainstay; Physical, technical, tactical and mental. Very often it is the mental pillar which receives the least attention, more often than not due to lack of understanding on the coach’s part. .... keep reading
Training Drill "Make Your Mind Up " - Paul Clarke
With only limited time each week in terms of the amount of prep and coaching work we get done with players, it is essential we get the most out of every session we take.... keep reading
Taking On Your Man - Paul Clarke
Whether playing against a blanket defence or simply working the ball from defence, the ability to gain possession and then take on and beat a man is hugely valuable in Gaelic Football... keep reading
Improving Support Play - Paul Clarke
One of the skills and tactical elements of Gaelic Football that tends to let teams down is the breakdown of their support play at key times in matches. This may take the form of lack of options for the man on the ball, badly timed runs or badly angled runs... keep reading
Goal Keeping - Things You Need to Know
Goal Keeping - 5 Basic Rules - Paul O'Dowd
Like any sport you have to start off with the basics before you can move on to some of the higher skills. One of the most important considerations in goalkeeping is keeping your eye on the ball...keep reading
Dealing with Low Shots - Paul O'Dowd
These shots are more likely to happen in soccer and are found less in GAA. They are generally long range shots from the ground that maintain a low trajectory and go down the middle. Shots to the side would require a dive...keep reading
Catching The Ball - Paul O'Dowd
Catching is the most important skill a goalkeeper performs in Gaelic Football. During a match a keeper will be required to catch much more often than he will be called upon to make a spectacular diving save...keep reading
Design and Implementation of a Specific Integrated Functional Resistance Training Programme for Gaelic Football - Barry Solan
Gaelic Football is a high intensity intermittent contact sport. With the nature of movement and muscular demand involved being similar to that of other contact sports...keep reading
Hip Mobility - Shane Lawlor
The hips are one of the most important joints for Gaelic Players because poor mobility or any small restriction of movement will lead to an increased risk of injury....keep reading
Youth Training:
Youth Strength Training - Facts, Fallacies and Program Design Considerations - Avery D. Faigenbaum
All children need to participate regularly in physical activities that enhance and maintain cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health. While children have traditionally been encouraged to participate in aerobic activities such as swimming and bicycling...keep reading