Hear how Gaelic4Girls brought a buzz to Tullamore LGFC
Hear how Gaelic4Girls brought a buzz to Tullamore LGFC
November 19, 2019
Is your club considering applying for the Gaelic4Girls programme? Read on to find out about the experience of a club who have recently completed the programme.
Tullamore LGFC (Co. Offaly) were one of the 38 clubs selected for Gaelic4Girls in 2019 and recently we spoke to the clubs G4G coordinator Kelley Cunningham, and asked her to reflect on the clubs experience....
Kelley, what did you learn from your experience of the programme?
For me a big thing was being able to take a step back and allowing other coaches in the Club take the session. I think it is also extremely important that the aspect of FUN is incorporated into every session. Having a good structure in place is also really important.
Was there anything that surprised you?
The uptake to the programme was a huge surprise, particularly on day one. We had our Annual Registration Day on the same day and I just remember being in the Club House and seeing the queue of girls looking to sign up for the programme. I genuinely didn’t expect to see that big of an uptake. To see over 60 girls playing football brought a huge smile to my face.
Is there anything you would change or do differently having completed it now?
The only thing I would change is the day that we ran the programme. Saturday mornings proved difficult for some girls as they had Camogie from 10-11 and then they had the Gaelic4Girls programme from 11-12.
Another thing would be getting more of the senior players within the Club involved. Some of those players did get involved but I would personally have liked to see more involved in the initiative.
What were the highlights of the Gaelic4Girls programme?
- The number of girls walking through our Club week in, week out. It brought a really nice atmosphere to the Club.
- The new Coaches we gained as a result of the programme.
- Confidence gained in the coaches abilities to deliver a session on their own.
- Coaches’ ability to take the U-8 and U-10 groups on their own, deliver a session and also take them to various blitzes around our County.
- The Blitz we ran towards the end where we had the opportunity to host Robertstown and Castledermot from Kildare.
What do you feel are the main benefits of the programme?
- An increase in the participation levels in Ladies Gaelic Football as more girls join your Club.
- Girls learn the basic skills of Ladies Gaelic Football which gives them the foundation needed to further develop their skills if they decide to join your Club upon completion of the programme.
- Opportunity for each girl to make new friends in a fun, friendly and safe environment. The key message is definitely the aspect of FUN!
- Opportunity for each girl to showcase the skills they have learnt at a blitz which includes another Club participating in the Gaelic4Girls programme.
- Confidence in coaches to be able to design, deliver and implement their own coaching session.
- Community aspect – each person in the Club gets involved and it brought back a buzz to the Club that had been missing for quite some time.
- It brought the people in the Club a lot closer together and it also highlighted the importance of having a good underage structure.
- Support received from Ladies Gaelic Football – resources provided to promote and advertise the programme and free training is provided to the coaches and the programme co-ordinator.
- It builds a link between the Club and local schools in the area. The schools in the Tullamore area were fantastic in promoting the programme along with the local newspapers.
- For the Players I think every girl played with a constant smile on her face, they made new friends, they had fun and they learnt the skills of Ladies Gaelic Football.
How many players took part in Gaelic4Girls in Tullamore?
After the 1st session numbers grew from week to week and they eventually plateaued towards the end with the same girls showing up week after week. We had between 60-70 girls showing up for the programme every week which was amazing.
New girls also joined our Club following the programme. This year was the first year in a long time that we as a Club were able to field both an U-8 and U-10 team at blitzes held throughout the County.
Would you recommend the Gaelic4Girls programme for other clubs?
I would recommend Gaelic4Girls as it has brought life back into the underage structure in our Club. Not only that but it has brought people in the Club a lot closer together.
From participating in Gaelic4Girls we now have a solid foundation going forward and we hope to further build on it in 2020.
Thank you to Kelley for sharing her experience of the programme. If you feel this programme could benefit your club, contact Suzi Doyle gdo.leinster@lgfa.ie / 087 768 1288 or visit Gaelic4Girls to find out more and apply. Deadline for entries is Friday 29 November.