Welcome to U8s Gaelic Football & Hurling Team(Suitable for Girls & Boys Born in 2011)

Team Ethos

To have lots of fun and ensure every child is happy, safe and smiling. Our team values are teamwork, friendship, competitiveness, respect & fun. Our success is based on improved performance and skills week on week and ensuring the girls and boys continue to play year on year.

Getting Started?

If you are new to the GAA, have a child or know other children who are interested, are new to Balbriggan, Balrothery, Balscadden and the surrounding area then the club has developed a ‘getting started guide’ intended to give some initial information on what to expect and how to find the right team for you or your child. This guide is available here: https://odwyersgaa.com/start/

Team Coaches, Mentors & Helpers

A group of 6-8 voluntary Mentors manages the Team. Mentors are parents who have children playing on the team.

Coaches/Mentors

Head Mentor 1 Mentor 2 Mentor 3 Etc

All Coaches/Mentors are required to be:

Fully Garda Vetted Undergo the GAA Child Welfare courses Fully paid members Certified GAA coach Always have the best interests of the child/player and club in mind Adhere and inforce club code of behaviour

** Our newer coaches are in the process of undertaking all the necessary courses

Help Needed

To manage and organise a group of 25+ kids requires help from parents, to succeed and generate a fun environment for the children, support from the a wider circle of parents is required who can assist by washing jerseys, organising social events for the children and setting up pitches.

New Coaches / Mentors Parent Helpers New coaches/mentors are always

welcome No experience is necessary, just

plenty of patience

TBC Setting-up pitches Equipment management Training drills Sub collection

TBC

Social /Events organising team Jersey management Parent team to organise social

events for the children TBC Parent team to wash and manage the

jersey’s TBC

Training, Go Games & Team Social Events

Training Times Summer training roughly (April-Oct) - Monday every week in O’Dwyers from 7-8pm. The intention is to move

to two nights a week from late August, day to be confirmed Winter training roughly (Jan-April) - every week at a TBC indoor venue from 7-8pm As we are a dual team (Football & Hurling), we train 1-week Gaelic football and 1 week hurling

Go Games Times U8s have matches every Saturday @10am from Feb to Oct. 1 week Football and 1 week Hurling We will arrange challenge games throughout the

year as the weather gets better

What are Go-Games? Go Games are small-sided versions of Gaelic football

and hurling Use of all skills in normal full sided game Full participation, fair play & every child plays Further details can be found here

https://learning.gaa.ie/GAAGoGames

Team Social ActivitiesWe are in the process of drafting an events calendar, to coordinate organise multiple social activities for the team. This is to help with team bonding, building friendship and teamwork. This may include activities such as

Trip down the country or to a tournament Junior Hell & Back Awesome Walls, Jump Zone, Courtlough Dublin Players Meet & Greet Trips to Croke Park to Dublin Ladies and Men Football

and Hurling/Camogie teams. Gormanston Indoor hurling tournament. Training on the beach Plus special guests during the year at training

Team Communication

Face -To-Face Any coach any time

Heja App You need to download this app using this website www.Heja.io Used to Accept/Decline availability for training and games (Push Notifications/SMS) Contact list Club info & activities - updates from club social media Changes to training or games, directions to games

Child Protection & Code of Conduct

The club has three Child protection officers to provide parents and children with the opportunity to voice any concerns that they may have. All Coaches, children and parents must sign up to our club code of behaviours; this can be found on our club website https://odwyersgaa.com/club-policies/

Mary Kenny - Lead Child Protection officer Cathy Keary Ronan Coone

Contact details for any of the children officers are available here: https://odwyersgaa.com/key-contacts/

Membership & Subs

Membership and subs contribute towards Insurance of the player, football and hurling equipment, maintaining of the clubhouse and grounds, winter training cost when indoors and Go Games referee fees each week.

Membership

All players must be paid-up member to enable them to play in Football and Hurling Go Games. €75 per player per year , must be paid by the 31st March This is necessary to ensure your child is covered by the GAA injury benefit fund The coaches will speak to the club registrar to discuss a fee for those children who have joined late in the

season

Weekly Subs

€5 per week, payable on training days. If playing on other teams only one sub payment is required.

Payment Options

Online - once off payment or monthly instalments over four months https://odwyersgaa.com/membership/ Weekly option is available via cash on Saturday morning in the clubhouse between 11-1pm. Speak to the Club Registrar (Antionette) on Saturday morning in the clubhouse between 11-1pm to discuss

options

Benefit & Discounts

A list of benefits and discount from local retailers are available here: https://odwyersgaa.com/membership/

Player Pathway

The player pathway provides a structured, consistent framework to help guide coaches, managers, mentors and parents who play an active role in the development of our young players. There are 5 key stages outlined in our pathway which have detailed player characteristics.

LEARNING TO use The Ball well 7-9 YEARS

Player Characteristics

They will begin to look up when in possession and start choosing options [e.g. passing rather than shooting] They will have difficulty tackling opponents but will kick the ball away from them and attempt to block any shots. They have a tendency to stand back in hurling so encourage them to get close to the opponents. Players will beg for a game at every opportunity, yet their technique is best improved through individual, paired and

small group work. This is an ideal time to use the ‘Whole-Part-Whole’ approach to some sessions where the coach starts with a game, stops it after ten minutes, works on one technique for a short period then restarts the game.

Coaches and parents need to focus on positive feedback, this is the age where drop-outs occur if children think they are no good.

At this age players will now try to win the game not only by scoring but also by attempting to deny the opposition the opportunity to score.

They will also begin to understand the need to change the direction of a run or a pass to be more effective and they will begin to grasp the idea that a player may need support from behind and to the side as well as in front.

Coaches should continue to run small-sided games, one of the better games is called ‘Over the River’ At this age players must also get used to attacking the ball [i.e. running and not stopping] and breaking tackles First critical period for speed development

Equipment Required

For children attending for the first time and looking to try out football and hurling, we will supply hurls and helmets to get them started. All O’Dwyers clothing can be purchased in our Club Shop, which is open every Saturday from 11-1pm. https://odwyersgaa.com/our-shop/

Shorts and Socks - Green & White Football Boots Shin-guards for Hurling Gum Shields for Football

(https://odwyersgaa.com/coaching/mouthguard-information/) Runners for indoor winter training Hurl & Helmet

o Hurl size 22 from 26 is typical size for U8s. o A larger hurl will inhibit the players from mastering the hurl, it is

therefore very important to measure correctly. (https://odwyersgaa.com/coaching/choosing-a-hurl/)

o Juvenile helmet can be purchased in Club Shop, McFadden's, O'Neill's, Elverys, and Lidl deals etc.

Healthy club, healthy children

Our club is a participant in the GAA’s health club initiative (https://odwyersgaa.com/healthy-club/). It is important that the children have a healthy breakfast (porridge, fruit etc.) and plenty of fluids on the morning of the games. We would discourage sweets before and after the games and training.

Practicing at home

As coaches and parents, we want to encourage outdoor play and what better to way to get your children away from the TV or iPad by spending some time everyday playing their favourite sport. Movement and ball manipulation skills are best developed in the early years of physical development.

https://odwyersgaa.com/coaching/practice/

https://www.gaa.ie/stories/canavan-back/

Spread the word & bring a friend!

We currently have 20 U8 players, the coaches would like this team to continue in the Go Games 3 team league (9 players on a team), and to do this we need more players. This is to ensure:

That everyone in this age group gets a game (nobody standing on the side-line) We play against more the established bigger clubs in Dublin (competitive and less travelling) Continued kids development, as they will have a wider circle of friends

So spread the word and encourage the kids to bring a friend down to training, to try it!