MODERN Gaelic football is faster, more physical and more demanding than ever. Between league, championship, travel, work and training, players need a strong engine just to cope with the season. And from a coaching point of view, nothing matters more than availability. A team only has real options on match day when the best players are healthy, fit and […]
IN the GAA, we all notice the obvious moments: winning a high catch, exploding out of a tackle, rising for a block or getting that first step to break a line. Underneath all of that is one big physical quality: how well an athlete can produce force fast. That’s why many strength and conditioning coaches, especially in […]
EVERY winter, Gaelic football teams hit preseason with the same problem: everyone knows conditioning matters, but not everyone agrees what conditioning should look like. Some coaches love long steady runs. Others want to do everything through small-sided games. And then there’s the tempo crowd, 100–200m reps on a whistle because it feels like proper work. Here’s the […]
IN Gaelic football today, the off-season isn’t what it used to be. Gone are the days of hanging up the boots for two months and returning to training to “get fit again.” Between longer seasons, club commitments, and early league campaigns, the off-season window seems to shrink every year. But even if it’s short, it’s still […]
IN Gaelic football, we talk endlessly about physical fatigue, how to measure it, recover from it, and manage workloads through GPS and training loads. But what about mental fatigue? The tiredness that doesn’t show up on the watch, yet affects everything from decision-making to motivation to physical performance? As the game evolves, players and coaches are […]
PRE-SEASON in Gaelic football is about charging the battery, building enough running, strength, and repeat-effort capacity so players can handle the long haul without breaking down. When that battery is full, availability goes up and soft-tissue injuries go down. So our plan is simple: stack smart volume early, keep intensity where it needs to be, and track it all […]
EVERY club has heard it: “Players today are softer.” It’s an easy line to throw out when a session dips or a result goes against you. But in Gaelic football, that thinking can hold coaches back. Modern players live in a different world; school, work, social media, long travel and they adapt to the demands […]
IN Gaelic football, we hear it all the time: “He’s naturally quick, you can’t coach speed.” Or, “Just sprint more and you’ll get faster.” Or worse still, “Too much gym work will slow you down.” These old sayings have been thrown around for years, but they’re holding players back. Let’s break down the biggest misconceptions […]
IF you coach underage Gaelic football, you’ll know the growing years can be tricky for young athletes. Between sudden growth spurts, changing body shapes, and uneven development compared to their teammates, players often go through spells where their coordination dips, their skills don’t click, and they’re more prone to knocks or injuries. This can dent […]
But here’s the reality: those tools, while useful at times, are not the magic fix we’ve been led to believe. In fact, the biggest misconception in Gaelic football recovery is treating it like a 30-minute ‘tick-the-box’ session, rather than a 24/7 lifestyle choice. Recovery isn’t a single session “Have you done your recovery?” is a common […]
