47 Student Coaches Gear Up for Another Year of Gaelic Games at DCU

As semester started we had the opportunity to get all of our student coaches together on Monday September 7th to get set for what is no doubt going to be a bust Gaelic Games year ahead. Forty seven student coaches were present for a bust evening of activity.

The evening consisted of two parallel sessions. One expertly delivered by DCU Gaelic Games & Education Officer, Louise Byrne, where she went through in an engaging manner the various situations they'll be presented with over the course of the season and emphasising the importance of peer support and sharing knowledge and experiences with each other.

The other parallel session was the Movember Ahead of the Game programme, which was organised in tandem with Corey Scahill in the Gaelic Players Association and delivered by Aisling Egerton (Westmeath) and Liam Brady (Cavan). The session focused on Mental Health Literacy and empowering the coaches to be able to support themselves and also act as a signpost for the players under their guidance. The session was really impactful and the qualities of our student coaches really shone through.

We are also grateful to DCU campus photographer, Kyran O'Brien, who was on hand to photograph each of the management teams and collectively take pictures of them in their new DCU Dóchas Éireann jackets and also more importantly in their home club jersey. This is as a show of appreciation to the coaches home clubs and the role the clubs have had at building leadership qualities in their young adult. 

The coaches are going to coach across Camogie, Gaelic Football, Hurling & Ladies Football, many of whom are already coaching and leaders in their home clubs. The student coaches come from across the country with seventeen different counties represented, across all four provinces.