All Gaelic football, hurling and camogie coaches throughout the city and county are being asked to help the GAA deliver improved coaching education and development throughout its clubs.
In what the GAA says is the biggest coaching survey conducted in Irish sport, the organisation, has joined forced with the Ladies Gaelic Football and the Camogie Association to "help shape the future development of Gaelic games".
The survey will be undertaken over the the next three weeks, and the GAA says coaches at every level are being urged to make their voices heard via the online survey.
GAA coach education officer, Dr Peter Horgan, says coaches play an important role in Gaelic games, providing support and guidance for their teams and players, and none more so than in the current suspension of activities.
"We are interested in feedback from coaches on their coaching experience, their coaching practice and how coaches see coaching into the future. We are also very interested in coaches’ experience of coach education, and what coaches feel are their own learning needs."
Those people who have dropped out of coaching are also part of this survey to help the GAA understand why they are no longer coaching, and whether there is anything that can put in place to encourage them back into coaching.
The GAA is targeting more than 10,000 responses, "making it one of the most comprehensive coaching studies ever undertaken".
The survey will take place online, and the GAA says it is completely anonymous, and confidential.
President of the Camogie Association, Kathleen Woods, says this important research will give the GAA a great insight into the world of its coaches throughout the Gaelic Games family.
“Coaching is a vocation to many volunteers and they provide expertise, support, enthusiasm and guidance to players within our games at all ages and levels of the game, to enable players to enjoy our games as much as possible and to reach their full potential.
LGFA President Marie Hickey says it is "imperative coaches are equipped with the tools which will allow them to develop our sport".
“Coaching is a multi-faceted discipline, with key skills and qualities required to fulfill the role. In that regard, research that explores best practice and education should be welcomed and embraced."
“I would encourage as many of our coaches as possible to engage with the survey, and your feedback will prove invaluable. I look forward to the results that emerge from what is sure to be a substantial body of work.”
The GAA says over the last year the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association have been developing a new Introduction to Coaching Gaelic games award that will operate across all of the codes. To continue that development, it is important it builds its programmes on solid information on the role and experiences of coaches within our games.
This survey is for coaches of all levels involved in the Gaelic games associations of camogie, hurling, handball, Gaelic football, ladies Gaelic football, and rounders.
The survey is available online through GAA.ie, Camogie.ie and LGFA.ie, as well as the GAA Learning site – learning.gaa.ie, or email [email protected].
