University Based Coaching Camp Brings Young Footballers Behind the Scenes

Five of the current Dublin football team will headline a unique new Gaelic football coaching programme to be held at Dublin City University (DCU) on Dublin's Northside, which was launched today Monday June 16th.

The O'Neill's Cúl programme is a completely new concept that combines high quality individualised coaching for kids with training and workshops on how to prepare, look after their fitness, eat the right foods and undertake all the other preparation undertaken by the biggest stars of the modern game.

"This is not a summer camp - it is about helping real football enthusiasts learn just how their heroes prepare" said former Dublin footballer and sports medicine specialist Dr Noel McCaffrey, who designed the unique new programme with Dr Niall Moyna, head of the Sports Science department at DCU. "The vast majority of sports camps in Ireland promote a "babysitting" culture and do not adequately address the needs of participating children with high player to coach ratios which fail to give real teaching time or enjoyment for the children. Cúl will be different. It will teach youngsters both to improve their skills and the way they prepare to be active in sport".

Cúl will run for six weeks from June 30th and will be managed by 2XL Sports, a specialist sports programming company, based in DCU. Among the coaches participating will be GAA All Stars Paddy Christie and Stephen Cluxton and their Dublin teammates Shane Ryan, Paul Casey and Bryan Cullen amongst others. Uniquely there will be a coach: player ratio of 1:10 with 12 coaches and 6 coaching assistants catering for a maximum of 120 participants within the programme. Within the 120 each week there are specialist sections for junior (8-12) and senior (13-17) groups.

Dr McCaffrey continued "Cúl participants will undergo innovative, fun-filled coaching sessions for three hours each morning. The afternoons will be spent in workshops, learning about 'behind the scenes' preparation for sport, focusing on such factors as exercise physiology and nutrition for seniors (13-17) and motor development and coordination for juniors (7-12). Individualised skill and fitness profiling will be used to provide a base to monitor and chart improvement by each player over a period of years.