Westmeath Coaching Conference Hurling Workshop
Coaching and Games hosted the hurling workshop part of the coaching conference last Saturday in Castletown-Geoghegan. There were 70 coaches in attendance, representing all 15 clubs in the county, plus a number of attendees coming from outside the county.
The attendees were treated to a practical and theoretical session by Colm Crowley, who demonstrated how best to develop skills for children in the nursery stage and spoke on how to overcome some of the barriers associated with children playing hurling. Colm concluded his talk with examples on how to plan for focusing on skills for certain age groups.
Following a short break, Derek McGrath presented to the attendees on developing a gameplan, specifically honing in on the balance between logic and emotion in getting teams to execute a plan. Derek then ran a 40-minute session with the county U15 development squad, highlighting how to develop skill levels and teach players on decision making in attack and defense. He concluded with a further presentation on how these practices in training are played out in games.
Many thanks to all who attended, to our staff for organising, to Colm and Derek, to Castletown-Geoghegan for hosting, and to the U15 players who helped with the practical element.
Westmeath Coaching Conference Football Workshop
Coaching and Games hosted the football workshop part of the coaching conference on Saturday 17th Januaryin Moate CS. There were 110 coaches in attendance, representing 23 of the football clubs in the county, and a number of attendees coming from outside the county.
The attendees were treated to presentations from Philip Kerr and Darren Magee, with Philip presenting on how best to engage with youth players, and Darren presenting on the Thrive programme to help inform player development.
Following a short break, the coaches were brought outside for a practical session with Colm Nally. Using members of the U15 Football Development squad, Colm demonstrated a one-hour session on how to develop players’ skills and decision making.
Many thanks to all who attended, to our staff for organising, to our three speakers, to Moate CS for hosting and to the U15 players who helped with the practical element. 
