A FEW weeks back I did a podcast for the ‘Coaching Bubble’, a sports coaching podcast exploring all sporting and coaching concepts from participation to performance.

The podcast, due to be aired in August or September, focused on all things coaching, but particularly items such as your philosophy and the challenges facing a coach.

One of the questions posed which inspired this week’s article was, “what, in my opinion, will be his biggest challenge in management or coaching?”

I have been very lucky to have been a Gaelic football manager and coach for two decades, between school, club and county teams, but I have no doubt if I had 40 years’ experience I would still give the same answer – man-management.

In my profession, teaching, the only real power you have to deal with different pupils and difficult parents is your personality.

You are constantly man-managing all the time and it can be very challenging.

Coaching and managing a Gaelic football team is exactly the same. You are dealing with different personalities and characters all the time, not one single player will be the same as anyone else.

You will have the shy introverts who won’t say much and are very hard to work out and the boisterous extroverts who will challenge you verbally and will have plenty to say.

You will have players with high-pressured jobs who arrive in the changing room with everything in their heads except football, students with exam stresses and older players with families. These are just some of the examples and despite all this you will be expected to try and create, bond and maintain a spirit and togetherness for maybe 30 adults.

Some clubs from the outside looking in have a really tightknit group of players, but there is no doubt this didn’t just happen by chance. It was harnessed and managed and relationships were developed and built over time.

Maybe a certain culture was promoted in the club from a very young age, but it’s much harder to build togetherness and manage players at inter-county level because you have big personalities coming together from rival clubs. If you can create that club type atmosphere with a county group then that is half the battle.

It’s one of the things, for me, that Jim Gavin didn’t get enough credit for during his time with Dublin. He was juggling the PR hype machine and keeping those players tightknit, motivated and extremely driven.

No manager is exempt though, even Jim Gavin, when it comes to having to handle and deal with different players.

Here are some ways you can help yourself:

1) Encourage player feedback:

Don’t hesitate to canvass the opinions of your more senior players within the panel. Gain their feedback on training, opposition and your own style – it all helps.

Obviously there is a fine line between democracy in a group and player-power, but it’s extremely foolish to attempt to rule a modern group of players with an old school authoritarian style. It’s ignorant and it simply won’t work.

Other methods of gaining players feedback are discreetly speaking to players before and after training and organising one-on-ones throughout the year. This will help those quieter players, who aren’t so keen on speaking in a group environment, to get their opinions heard.

2) Dealing with disillusioned or disgruntled players:

I think it’s very important that every player has a clearly defined role within the group and that role is valued. Players who are cast aside and don’t feel part of the group are obviously going to eventually become disillusioned and separate from the group.

Football is an emotional game and of course emotional moments are nearly virtually impossible to avoid, but try to resolve contentious situations immediately and don’t let them fester. This can be unhealthy.

Don’t shy away from confrontation when it rears its ugly head, meet it, greet it and deal with it in a mature manner.

3) Create a spirit and a consistent camaraderie among the group:

Remember as a manager/coach you are dealing with a large number of young men with differing personalities and needs. Not one single thing will ‘float everyone’s boat.’

You might have to make allowances for certain individuals, whether that be as a result of family matters, social issues or work problems.

The one resounding factor still remains the same though – it’s not just about winning leagues or championships but the different challenges faced each year with a bunch of players. Try and put all those elements together to make a team whether it’s with school, club or county.

The challenge always remains to create a spirit and an atmosphere and a winning mentality and through effective man-management we can all achieve this.

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