Gerard O’Donnell New Role as Coach Education Manager in Athletics Ireland

“I’m delighted to have started in the new role of coach education manager with Athletics Ireland. Coaching and coach education are areas which I am passionate about and this role will allow me to help support coaches and those who work in coach education, across all levels. We have an upcoming level 2 course beginning in October, which will be the first since 2019, and will allow coaches who have gained experience on the ground at level 1 to progress into more event group focused coaching. The level 3 coach education course is a long term programme which is ongoing, and most recently saw the sprints group spend a fantastic weekend with German coach and educator Volker Herrmann at the sport Ireland institute. All event groups in this programme will complete a performance science weekend in November, with another event specific practical/theory weekend to follow as the course nears its conclusion.

Working alongside the development team the assistant coach, athletics leader, endurance coach, and Level 1 courses continue to be rolled out nationwide – and in the new year we will be reviewing the content and delivery of all these courses (with the help of our coach developers) to ensure the content is at it’s most current and relevant, and that a consistent message is being presented in all courses.

An elearning platform is a long term project which is in the planning stage, and will allow coaches to have a platform and space to both store their coaching qualifications, as well as access content and course material relevant to the coaching level they are currently at.

In conjunction with the high performance department I will also be establishing how we can best support the educational needs of coaches of our international athletes and medallists, so that they can be best placed to deliver such fantastic performances as we’ve seen in the last 12 months. Women in sport is another area that will support and be supported through my role. The numerous ongoing initiatives in that department aim to empower female leaders in our sport, and encourage the gender balance within our coaching cohort.”

Gerard O’Donnell

Coach Education Manager