Kerry’s All-Ireland winning manager, Jack O’Connor, Prof Aidan Moran (former official psychologist to the Irish Olympic Squad ) and IRFU director of fitness, Dr Liam Hennessy, will be among the star attractions at a special sports conference that will provide an insight into the methods of some of Ireland’s top managers.
All three, who enjoyed considerable success in 2009, are part of an impressive line-up at the forthcoming ‘Sports Team Management and Administration Conference’ hosted by Ireland’s foremost performance company, Sporttracker, and the internationally accredited, Setanta College.
The event will be held in the City West Hotel on Saturday, February 20 and will give managers and club administration officers of all levels across the country the opportunity to learn from the best in the business.
Among the other speakers are Pete McGrath (All-Ireland winning manager with Down ), Gerry Fitzpatrick (former Irish International basketball manager who coached in America for two years ), Bart Mc Enroe (mentors coaches and managers to get the best out of their teams )? John Deehan (former Aston Villa, Norwich, and Wigan ), Gary Keegan (High performance manager of IIS and former High Performance manager in Boxing ) and Peter Quinn ( Former GAA president ). Other speakers will be announced in the next two weeks.
This conference is of special significance in the history of Irish sport in that it is the first of its kind ever held in Ireland and it follows on from the highly successful Preparing to Perform conference that took place in July 2009. This conference is devoted to the education and development of managers and management skills in the area of sport and will cover the leadership and organisational skills required for managing club teams at all levels from underage to adult participation. It will also cover the management skills required for planning and development of athletes from individual sports. Some speakers will also address the exciting topic of raising the standards of club administration to facilitate greater co-ordination between club administration and team advancement and success.
Looking ahead to the event, Kerry manager Jack O’Connor said that it was a great opportunity for coaches to learn from those who know what it takes to succeed at the top level.
“There is a fantastic line-up of managers and speakers for an event that is very attractive on a number of levels. It is an ideal opportunity to learn some stories behind success in a variety of codes and to see how the theory of management can be put into practice.
“The bottom line is that no matter what level you are at, leading management is essential and this will give people the opportunity to implement some of the ideas with their own teams.”
This conference is one of three being organised this year and will be followed by ‘Multi-sports Preparing to Perform’ on April 24 and ‘Coaching Kids in Sports’ on November 6, former Down manager, Pete McGrath, believes this system will allow participants to get more out of each event. “Last year there was one conference and such was the variety of coaches with specific interests that it was decided there would be greater benefit to all if it was spread out over three days.
“It is brilliant to start with the management and administration, and the line-up of speakers makes it a very attractive event for all managers and coaches.”
Tickets are priced at €75 and are available on www.sporttracker.ie or by contacting Sporttracker on 042 9324504.
