GMIT Mayo offers exciting new course in Contemporary Sports Coaching Practices

Friday, January 25, 2019 Press Office
Press Release

13-week part-time course in association with Mayo GAA starts 7 February

GMIT Mayo is pleased to offer an exciting new part-time course developed in association with Mayo GAA called ‘Contemporary Sports Coaching Practices’, which was formally launched at a reception in the Mayo campus on Friday 25 January.

This course is open to those with an interest in contemporary sports coaching practices. Engagement will be primarily through the GMIT online learning environment where the content will be delivered through online video/slide presentations, documents, two-way discussions/tutorials and interactive practicals. This course is expected to commence on Thursday, 7 February 2019 (7-9pm) and will run for 13 consecutive weeks including over Easter with the last two session held on Thursday, 2 April (6 – 10pm).

The purpose of this level 6 course (10 credits/Special Purpose Award) is to equip the learner with the knowledge, skills and competence to apply contemporary coaching principles and practices when coaching sport in order to enhance performance.

Dr Deirdre Garvey, Head of Lifelong Learning Dept, GMIT Mayo, says: “We are delighted to launch this unique course which has been developed by Outdoor Education academic staff on campus in collaboration with Mayo GAA.  The programme will be delivered in a series of lectures with guest speakers all of whom have coached or participated at the highest level in sport. Emphasis will be placed on real life applications of theory to practice with unique insights and knowledge from these marquee coaches and players, into best coaching practice within an Irish context.”

Mike Connolly, Mayo GAA Chairman, says: “One of things we have been trying to do over the last number of years is to help our clubs & our players. I believe this joint initiate with GMIT is one those items that will certainly benefit our players, particularly those who are keen to learn on all aspects of sports coaching. Along with ourselves GMIT have always been advocates of GAA & physical exercise and we are delighted to partner with them on this course and we will be encouraging as many of our members as possible to get involved with this course & interact with the great line-up of guests speakers that will be involved on this course.”

The course will explore the following:
Physical Fitness for Sport: The components of fitness; speed, strength, stamina, suppleness- how much is needed to play sport. Introduction to best practices in developing physical fitness for sports performance.

Mental Fitness for Sport: The components of mental fitness for sports performance; Commitment, Concentration, Self-confidence, Concentration- what is required for sports performance. Introduction to common applied performance enhancement techniques in sports psychology, goal setting, performance profiling, imagery, mental rehearsal, arousal control, stress management, attentional control and focusing, thought stopping.

Motor Skill Development in Sport: Principles and practices of motor skill development in sport; introduction to skills development frameworks and constraints-based coaching.

Sports Injury and Rehabilitation: Mechanisms involved in sports injury and rehabilitation. Best practice guidelines for injury prevention in coaching practice.

Nutrition for Sports Performance: The components, and role of a healthy and nutritious diet for performance in sport. Suitable fluid intake. Fuelling recovery.

Reflective Journaling: Reflective journaling practice and procedures. Explanation of how to maintain a reflective coaching journal. Creating rich descriptions of personal coaching practise.
Reflection guided by two framing questions; what worked effectively? what could be improved?

Application forms can be downloaded from GMIT’s Lifelong Learning website LLLMayo@gmit.ie and/or by contacting the following lecturers in GMIT Mayo’s Outdoor Education degree programme(s) :Pauline Jordan, Pauline.Jordan@gmit.ie Tel: 094-9043119 and Stephen Hannon, Stephen.Hannon@gmit.ie Tel: 094-9043121 or Nigel Jennings, GMIT Mayo Sports Officer, Nigel.Jennings@gmit.ie Tel: 094-9043244.

For further information about GMIT Mayo’s Outdoor Education course(s) – course code GA870, see:
https://www.gmit.ie/outdoor-education/bachelor-arts-outdoor-education-and-leisure

ENDS

Issued by Regina Daly, GMIT Communications Officer.
Tel 091 742826/ 087-9618355 (m) email: regina.daly@gmit.ie
www.gmit.ie/news