Former Donegal footballer Eamon McGee believes it is time for the GAA to do more for coaching education, suggesting a badge system could be the way forward.
Speaking on the latest episode of Balls.ie's GAA Embedded podcast, McGee said it is an area that would benefit Gaelic football in a number of different ways.
Bad coaching. We talked earlier in the conversation about problems in the GAA, I think that is a big problem too. We have a lot of coaches on the circuit, taking the cheque at the end of the week and they don't have a scooby doo what they are doing.
I think that is demoralising a lot of players. It is even in the county game. It is something we need to look at. There is a wild appetite for coach education in the GAA. Maybe we could look at a badge system like soccer, if you want to coach at a certain level, you need to have your badges done and understand concepts.
He went on to highlight the difference between physically preparing a team and coaching them.
"A lot of people coaching teams do not understand the concepts. They do not understand what the game is about in terms of the offensive, defensive and they don't know to break down different parts of the game.
"They can run a drill no bother, run a drill from point A to point B. But in terms of coaching the game, how to play different transitions, they just really struggle."
The 2012 All-Ireland winner explained that particularly as it becomes more of an industry, the need for further qualifications is increasing.
"You mention amateur coaches, you have to remember a lot of amateur coaches have no bother taking a few pound at the end of the week.
"I remember we approached a coach with the club in 2017, he threw out a ridiculous figure for the night. Thankfully we didn't get him because it turned out he wasn't too good.
"We said, 'how can you expect the club to pay that?' He said, 'well I have a mortgage to pay.' He saw working with a club as a vehicle to pay his mortgage.
"Most coaches know football, it is how you communicate that to a team. Do you understand coaching methodology? That is key to the whole thing."
You can listen to the full podcast on Spotify, Apple or watch it on Youtube.
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