Ladies Football Makes Impact at Games Development Conference

Liberty Insurance GAA Annual Games Development Conference - Saturday 10th January 2015

The Ladies Gaelic Football Association played a significant role at the Liberty Insurance Games Development Conference over the weekend with several LGFA speakers imparting their knowledge to the 850+ coaches, mentors and Gaelic Games enthusiasts in attendance.

The conference, which has become an integral part of the Gaelic Games calendar, got underway on Friday, January 9th and concluded on Saturday 10th. This year the theme of the conference focused on ‘Putting Youth into Perspective’ which dealt with the issues, challenges and opportunities surrounding the coaching of youth players.

On the Saturday Áine Tighe, who is one of our star players with the Leitrim Ladies Footballers and an All Star Nominee in 2014, presented the results of her research topic ‘A Qualitive Analysis of the Punt Kick Comparing the Dominant and Non-Dominant Foot’. The key message from Aine’s presentation was the importance that the supporting hand and leg has in the execution of the punt kick on both the dominant and non-dominant sides of the body. All coaches predominantly focus on the kicking leg and hand when coaching players the punt kick. However, Aine also highlighted the key role that the supporting hand and position of the supporting leg play in same regarding stability and balance.

Next up were 2 time All Star and 8 time former Cork All Ireland winning goalkeeper, Elaine Harte and Wesley O’Brien, Education Lecturer at UCC, where they spoke on the topic of ‘Empowering Players- Building the Relationship between Coach and Player’. Elaine and Wesley gave a real insight into the importance of the coach creating the right environment which allows players to take ownership of their growth and development.  Wesley highlighted the psychological and health benefits our players get from being involved in our games and where sport fits into a player’s life on the greater scheme of things. Elaine then gave practical examples of how coaches can go about empowering players before, during and after a playing season.  Both Wesley and Elaine had the 250 strong audience intrigued throughout their 40 minute presentation and was very well received.

The conference as always was a mine of information for all fans of Gaelic games and participants will have learned from some of the best minds in sport, including the likes of Sonia O’Sullivan and Anthony Daly to name a few as well as having a chance to network with sports enthusiasts from right across the country. We look forward to seeing these thoughts in action throughout 2015.

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