A new beginning
new beginning
"What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
It is often said that a good start is half the battle, as I write this it is that time of year when would be managers are getting the jitters about beginning the new year and applying for coaching posts with in the club and thinking about forming a yearly plan new team tactics and all manner of things.
The first thing that must be done is the players meeting, where the players and management sit down and discuss ideas an apprehensions for the year ahead. This is your start as a manager to set a tone of professionalism and make a good start. Lets look at the basics “clothes make the status of a man, because nobody listens to naked people”. Everything you as a manager or management team do will tell the players something about how you perceive the importance of this meeting. Dress appropriately have the room set out with a desk for the management team to sit at and I feel chairs arranged in a semi circle fashion would be best for players that way people can’t shy away at the back or strike up conversations which are not willing to be openly shared with the team.
The following is a tool kit for the meeting and how I would make the most use of the opportunity to make a good start, it is by no means perfect template and you should add and adapt to suit your needs. Followed by some key points for how to conduct yourself during the meeting.
When players arrive there would be a copy of these sheets on the chairs or on the table to be given out. See end of document for template it may be wise to print this off so you can read and refer to the template at the same time.
General Details
Vital statistics, the basics, players contact numbers, emergency contacts and medical history. I remember getting a chewing from a manager 4 times for not putting in enough effort during a drill only on the fifth time he came close enough to actually hear my chest wheezing from asthma. Needless to say he changed his tune after realising his mistake. In no other sporting environment would a coach not be aware of any medical issues the GAA should be the same.
Now another feature of this page is the Facebook question, now I am sure some people would ask why in the hell would you ask that I mean surely there email and telephone number is enough . If you as a manager or part of the management team have a team where 90% of the team are on Facebook it could be used as a very powerful motivational tool. People love public recognition for their efforts, its why teachers put the children’s work on the walls, its why middle age men with money buy sports cars. How could you as a manager use facebook. Very simply create a facebook page for example “AnyClub Senior hurling” post up a comment or two about fellas who you saw putting in effort on the pitch. With players consent you could even include photos or videos of the training or matches. Be liberal with the praise but be specific about why they are getting it. Now just the same as players love public recognition and praise they also hate public humiliation NEVER EVER post a negative comment on the internet. It will be up to you to decide if it is players only who can see this page or anybody can see it.
Commitment and current injuries
Depending on the age of the player they might need more space to write their current injuries, in fact I believe if your still playing after 35 it may just be easier to write down what isn’t injured. All joking aside again when you’re asking the players to fill this in your getting them to look not only at what s wrong with them but more importantly what they are doing to increase the healing. It is just as important to train hard as it is to heal hard. It is critical you ask the question “What are YOU as a player doing to help the healing process”
Commitment this is where you develop a real understanding of what you have got in the room with you. As a manager reading this article it is evident that you are a committed person indeed. If we use my club for example, with 3 adult hurling teams (Senior, Intermediate and Junior) at the players meeting there will be a range of players all with different reasons for playing and at different stages of their career. Not every player will have your hunger you should realise that you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
So it’s best to classify, and group the players for your ease of coaching.
But it is even better to have them classify and choose their own category because they can take ownership of the commitment and responsibilities.
Players will fall into the three categories below
Professional (In approach not paid of course)
This will typically be any person who wants to be the best possible, these are the players who turn up to all trainings and can be found at the pitch or in the gym most other nights. They are the ones who wake up in the middle of the night catching high balls. Their commitment is second to none and will do anything extra to improve. Their dream is to be an all star. But they might be too modest to say or share it hence this isn’t a “discuss this with your partner activity” it’s a sit quietly and think for yourself don’t ask or share answers.
If someone ticks this box you can then use this do extra training as you specify, eg free taking or whatever you deem important for them. You can also then have them keep a training diary, set personal improvement goals etc.
Semi professional
These are the players who will commit to the standard three nights a week and a match. They won’t be worried about stretching on the off days or putting in extra work. They just want to be playing but will be satisfied at just being on a team, not necessarily the best player. By ticking this box they are committing to attending training and behaving professionally during training. They are not committing to anything above and beyond the call of duty.
Recreational
These are players who are just interested in playing when they can they might not make all the trainings and can’t commit to doing extra work. As senior manager it is in your interest to have as many people involved in the club as possible. Because (rule number one) EVERYONE is IMPORTANT. If these players turn up it is a bonus treat them as equals to other players when they are present encourage and praise them when they do well but don’t criticise or pressure them. I was invited to play indoor soccer with some teachers, the whole time I was yelled at for mistakes and criticised and disputes were hot and heavy. You would have swore the losing team where going to be shot and that this was their only hope. Needless to say for me as a recreational soccer player It was supposed to be fun and it wasn’t so I didn’t go back. These members of the club are just as important as the local all star so keep them happy. They may also be future volunteers if treated well and every club in the country is short of volunteers.
Now once you have explained what each level of commitment is have the players choose what they want, remember it’s their choice not yours. It’s also a private choice it’s not necessary for the players to share this nor recommended; also they can at any time in the year change their level of commitment if their personal circumstances get worse. (eg Lose a job, gain a wife )
So what has this very simple exercise done for the manager? He can now tailor training and responses to players appropriate to their need.
Fitness Testing Record
Why is this important now? The fitness test is something that should be done at the start of the year and periodically throughout the season and also a week after or two weeks before championship.
It is important to know where you are beginning how you are progressing and if you test round, even after championship it will let you know where you need to get to for the nest season. Testing after championship and at preseason will also let you know who has been putting on a thick winter coat and those who have been keeping in shape. Three tests minimum and five maximum over the course of the year in my opinion.
One of your first sessions is going to be the fitness test, by showing the players you get them thinking about it , and prepared and they get to write their name on the sheet which saves you having to do it.
The table is fairly self explanatory; put in the date record the results.
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The basics of fitness testing
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Height and weight.
Height is important because it may change if some players are young, if it does change during a growth spurt be aware that the player may suffer skill wise because they have to relearn how to coordinate with an extra inch on their legs etc.
Weight- be aware some players may be overweight or underweight , and change of their weight doesn’t indicate a desired change in body composition, for an example a overweight player might get heavier but this could be from increased muscle and not extra fat and vice versa. It may be beneficial to include a waist measurement along with this; again weight will also change if a player grows taller.
The vertical and broad Jumps
These measure explosive power, the best jumpers are most likely the fastest off the mark. If this improves over the season you are doing an excellent job as a coach.
Both tests are done from a stand still broad for distance vertical for height.
Allow three attempts and take the maximum distance as the result.
For the vertical simply have them stand next to a wall and reach up with their arm closest the wall as high as they can. Then put chalk dust or paint on their fingers and have them jump as high as possible and touch the wall at the peak of their jump. Record the distance between the furthest edges of the two marks.
30 sec push ups
This will measure upper body strength and speed, a push up is where the nipples and the hips contact the ground together and rise together, until the arms are straight.
2min skipping
Simply count the number of two footed skips in two minutes. This will correlate with agility and foot speed whilst also being an aerobic test.
40m car push (sec)
This will measure leg strength and acceleration use the lightest car you can find and one that you can use again for follow up tests ensure it is the same conditions for each person each time you test eg full tank of petrol or empty, weight of driver.
10 Tyre flips
Using an old tractor tyre have them flip it and time how long to do the set number,
This is a great test of overall strength and conditioning
Pull ups
Maximum reps
Player hangs from full arms length and pulls with palms facing forwards until chin is over the bar. When player lets go of the bar the attempt is over. They may not kick or swing to get their chin over the bar.
60sec catch test
A simple example of a skills test, have a set distance say 4 m from a wall they strike the ball off the left then right and count how many catches they can make in 60 seconds. If the ball is caught inside 4m then it does not count as a catch.
All of the above tests are able to be done cheaply and without any major expense or expertise.
The three below require free weights and assume the players are proficient in these weightlifting techniques.
Simply load the bar and work out the most amount of weight the player can lift.
The reason I have chosen the front squat instead of the back squat is because the positioning of the bar in back squats will determine how much weight can be lifted (high bar versus low bar )and because in the front squat the use of spotters is not necessary. I would expect these exercises to be standard in all county teams without exception.
Front Squat
Dead lift
Standing press
Player reflection on current level of performance
What’s wrong with every club and county team in Ireland?
Simple coaches try to train 20+players.
How can I as a coach train a group of players with the same drills and format and expect to get optimal results when no two players are identical and every player has their own specific need. This section targets that weakness in coaching, essentially the players know themselves except with a rare exception of one or two what they need to improve upon, now my philosophy is they should work on their weakest link as the chain is only as strong as this, effort spent on improving weakness will also offer the most return for time invested. It is important that as a coach you help the players see which areas they need to improve the most and also that once you have agreed the areas which are weak the players are then given ideas as to how to improve that area. Specificity is key in this process if the player just said they were a bad forward they wouldn’t know where to start to improve.
How to conduct your self during meetings.
Don’t speak unless you have something to say.
Have a plan of key points or things you need to discuss.
Don’t shoot down players ideas, value their comments.
If someone says something you don’t agree with that needs shot down e.g.
“this year we should have a witch doctor instead of a Physio”
you don’t have to respond with a negative comment you just let other players comment and someone else will shoot down the idea, they may even say something more sensible like
“Let’s get a Physio who is also a qualified witch doctor,”
Set ground rules for the season.
For example I was asked aboard by my own clubs senior management team, with the role being responsible for the preseason training,
We went into the first players meeting, in my hand a piece of yellow paper with rules on it.
Bring a water bottle,
come prepared for all conditions,
do not wear clothes which you are not prepared to have ripped of your back as the drills will be more physical this year,
you must be ready to walk out of the changing room 5 minutes before training begins if you are not fully togged out or are late then you forfeit the right to rain with the team, instead you must do 100 pitch sprints 100 push ups and 100 sit ups then go home and come back on time for the next night.
Everybody must train in full tracksuits for the warm up (there is always some ejit who turns up in a t shirt and shorts in January with a skin head then is off for a month recovering from pneumonia.)
all players are expected to encourage other players vocally during training , if I see someone struggling and less than three people shouting support then everyone does 20 press-ups
No one has any right to discuss what is said during training or done during training with anyone outside of the team.
Everyone should bring a piece of fruit with them for after training.
Nothing in this list was groundbreaking or out of the ordinary or even more than just good practice, but what it did do was it set a standard. Everyone knew what was to be expected of them and of others, everyone was held accountable by the same standard. Most importantly I could visibly see if these were being met, it wasn’t just this year you have to work harder.
Did it work?
On the first night of training I walked into the changing room with the expectation of having to send a few people not ready off to do the forfeit. I open the door walked in with a sense of purpose and shut it behind me with enough authoritym that I did not need to make another noise to get their attention, I was happy to see that there were in around 40 players fully kitted not even sitting bit standing, literally bouncing with anticipation of the first session. Not one person arrived late during my time at the reigns. This first session was a success before it began because of the players meeting that occurred before it. Rule number two Standards don’t choose you, you choose them.
The first interaction of the season you have, will determine how the last game of the season is played, this is all just my nice idea, chop and change as you will, and more importantly get in touch if you have anything you think should be added or improved. But remember the basic rules everyone is important and standards don’t choose you and you probably won’t go too far wrong.
Hugh J. Gilmore
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General Details
Name ___________________ Main phone ___________________________
Facebook Y/N Home Tel____________________________
Email _________________________________________________________
DOB__________________________ Age___________________________
Address___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Medical conditions (e.g. asthma epilepsy+ medication etc)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please indicate training times which will suit you personally the best for each day
If you are unable to commit on a particular day write NC
Monday ______________________ Tuesday ______________________
Wednesday ______________________ Thursday______________________
Friday ______________________
Saturday _________________________________________________________
Sunday___________________________________________________________
Next of kin contact in case of emergency.
Person 1Name ______________________
Tel ______________________
Person 2 Name______________________
Tel ______________________
Commitment and current injuries Player Name_______________________
Level of playing commitment, Tick one
Professional □ Obliged to train and agrees to meet standards and fulfil extra
training on other days
Semi-pro □ Obliged to train and agrees to meet standards
Recreational □ Here for a good time not a long time, and maybe not all the time
Injuries (list all injuries and what you are currently doing to heal them)
e.g. sprained ankle- wearing support when training, ice applied every night. Doing exercises recommended by club physio 3 times a day. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fitness Testing Record Player Name________________________________
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Height (cm) |
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Weight (KG) |
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Vertical Jump (cm) |
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Broad Jump (m) |
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30 sec push ups |
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2min skipping |
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40m car push (sec) |
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10 Tyre flips Time (sec) |
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Pull ups Max reps |
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60sec catch test |
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Front Squat (KG) |
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Dead lift (KG) |
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Standing press(KG) |
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If we don’t know where we are, we won’t be able to know where we are going.
Progress must be measured.
Player reflection on current level of performance
What are your 5 weakest areas of your game skills be specific be specific catching high ball tackling etc. Number 1 being the worst, 5 being the least worst.
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What are your five weakest areas of your fitness be specific e.g. tight hamstrings, speed of the mark, poor turning, upper body strength lower body strength, endurance during game, overweight.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. These are your weak links.