I am very proud to be joining the University of Galway as Director of Sport & Physical Wellbeing. The priority is to develop Sports Performance and Sport for all in the University. Thanks to everyone at Setanta College for the last 2.5 years. It is great to see how it has grown.
University of Galway has announced the appointment of Des Ryan as the new Director of Sport and Physical Wellbeing. Mr. Ryan will play the lead role in the development of infrastructure, facilities and participation for all sport activity in the University.
#UniversityofGalway
Important - a meta-analysis of 53 studies finds that resistance training not only boosts physical fitness in school-age kids but also enhances their cognition, academic results, and classroom behaviour. ( We need physical activity every day in schools secondary and primary )
A Thread🧵- Athletic Development is the holistic development of athleticism over time to optimise physical fitness. Here are 16 examples of Athleticism that need to be training to be maximised. First a 90 degree deceleration with lateral movement in the context of Gamespeed. 1/17
Last day of work at Arsenal FC. I am very lucky to have worked at such a great club. I really enjoyed working with all the people in the club. Especially the SS&M team who are some of the best people and practitioners in sport. Next up
@SetantaCollege
and a move back to 🇮🇪.
Great study about getting Peak Max Velocity. Conditioned games and integrated Conditioning are fantastic but if you want to get a max speed stimulus there is a need from some isolated running 🏃♀️ . Note - isolated running can be in game movements.
Help please - I really feel it’s important for sports organisations to publish their approach, philosophy and player development framework or other practical information. Here is a link to an example. Please share other examples. I’m looking thanks 🙏
Sprinting at 9m/s v 7m/s results in twice the amount of hamstring activation. Great exercise for performance and reduction of injury risk.
@footballmed
Really looking forward to working full time with some great people who I admire and respect in Setanta College. I really enjoyed my time at
@Arsenal
it's a top club with some very special people and players. Particularly the Academy lead by Per Mertesacker - Many players to come.
We are delighted to announce that Des Ryan will be joining Setanta College as our Director of Coaching & Performance.
A world-leading leading youth coach and performance manager, his expertise will help us to continue to provide the highest level of education to students.
Thread 🧵- Warm Ups are always over discussed so here am I adding to it 🙄. Here are some clips of the Ireland warm up. High level content and application from coaches and players. First part is individual work presumably preceded by activation inside. 1/6
Very happy for these two hard working players who are called up to the England Senior squad. Long term athletic development giving talent a helping hand.
This day 94 years ago – 30 July 1928 – Pat O'Callaghan won gold in the men's hammer throw at the Olympics in Amsterdam. This was the first medal won by an athlete representing Ireland since independence, and the first time the Irish tricolour was raised at the Olympics.🇮🇪🏅🔨
Fascinating clip with Brian O’Driscoll remembering his fitness sessions from school. They sound excellent. By his description it was 4K of HSR at the end of a session. Are we under training young people now ?
Long Term Athletic Development. Great for children, youths & young adults. Great photo below of Arsenals next generation doing well supervised appropriate athletic development from U12 to U18. How Well before How Much. ⚽️🏋️ (Paediatrics S&C)
10 days until the women’s World Cup. Always interesting to look at pre competition preparation. Our World Cup opponents the Matildas working hard on their S&C in the gym.
Arsenal FC will be advertising for an Academy S&C coach tomorrow. Great opportunity to work as part of a top class team. It’s an 18 month fixed term contract working with u12 to u16 players in our Hale End centre.
A Thread about S&C facilitates, equipment and sessions
@Arsenal
over the last 100 years. This might be of interest
@ArsenalEvolve
starting with a pre season session from 1937,
Early Pro Rugby in Ireland. Speed Session on tour 2000. From an internal documentary Camping with Connacht. I was very Raw but had great support and learned a lot very quickly. (Credit John Murphy Avalon)
@connachtrugby
@ConnachtClan
@irishscnetwork
Fascinating programme about Palace Academy. Some great examples of the practitioners considering growth and maturity data to inform decisions. Good player/parent/mdt meetings. Also examples of the challenges of managing the parent and player expectations.
Delighted to hear that
@perryfstewart
is the new Head of Academy Performance at Arsenal. One of the most knowledgeable people in know in the area of physical development. Top class manager and person. More Strong Young Gunners on the way.
Great research by
@charliens95
from his time in Leicester Academy ( Any aspiring soccer players can track there physical profile against players in an EPL academy ) - Top = 48cm CMJ/1.56sec 0-10m/162kg squat (Plus Tech/Tac/Psych/Ed) very useful 👏
Early Pro Rugby in Ireland. Connacht defeat Leinster in a very different looking Sportsground 2000. From an internal documentary Camping with Connacht. Great days and Great Learnings. (Credit John Murphy Avalon)
@connachtrugby
@ConnachtClan
1 - A 🧵Thread that may be of interest. Its about S&C / Sports Science COACHING. I am currently evolving some content on Coaching Skills and I wanted to share some thoughts and examples of excellent coaching. Firstly Paul Stridgeon "Bobby" An example of bringing smart energy.
From 2013 but still a very important study. It shows the positive effects of long term strength training on Speed and Change of Direction. ( players 13 to 18 old ) .
#longterm
#ltad
All six episodes of Inside Hale End are on YouTube. They offer great insights to an EPL academy for all practitioners. Every youth development environment should have a framework of how they work. Below are the four pillars used in Arsenal Academy.
A year ago today I finished my role with
@Arsenal
I really enjoyed my time there and I learnt from some great players and people. I am delighted I returned to Ireland to work with
@SetantaCollege
every week is different and I really enjoy helping people and players develop.
Great research by
@charliens95
who works Arsenal Academy from his time in Leicester Academy with
@kevinpaxton10k
( Any aspiring soccer player can track there physical profile against players in an EPL academy ) - Top = 48cm CMJ/1.56sec 0-10m/162kg squat (Plus Tech/Tac/Psych/Ed)
I am looking forward to presenting at two football/soccer coach development events over the next few days on player development. Its very hard to give an overview of long term development. This clip does a pretty good job.
GAMESPEED has become normalised in athletic development conversations. Great credit must go to Ian Jefferys who coined the phrase and is still the best in the business. I would really recommend the new edition of his gamespeed book. ⚽️🏀🏈⚾️🎾🏐🏉🏸🏑🏏
Annual New Zealand gym video. Great example of doing the basics well. Oly oft / var / hip Dom / knee Dom / push / pull / jump. Peer coaching and enjoyable environment
#nosecrets
.
Thread 🧵- Five studies I find really useful. (1) Great research by
@charliens95
from his time in Leicester Academy ( Any aspiring soccer players can track there physical profile against players in an EPL academy ) - Top = 48cm CMJ/1.56sec 0-10m/162kg squat 1/5
Ireland U20’s from 2008. Two lions captains, a host of internationals and some great people. Conor Murrey was only third choice scrum half. Every player has a different journey.
Great to see Bukayo doing so well. Shows LTAD helps in player development and also the Premier League Elite Player Performance Plan introduced in 2012 has helped England to be in a very strong position. Important Point - I’m not supporting England.
I would highly recommend people who wish to work in football academies watch this series. I think it’s a very detailed look at academies and better than other documentaries.
Academy Football Programmes are fascinating. The below video shows how holistic the approach has become in the Premier League. I think this is the way forward for most sports. Video is old but still relevant. Worth a look if interested in football roles.
Improving Movement is very important for Long Term Athletic Development. Here is an example of the improvements in Hector Bellerin's movement and concurrently speed, strength and power from aged 16 years to 20 years. (His work with care and challenge from the S&C's & Physio's)
Delighted to be part of this working group. Gaelic Games contribute immensely to the Irish community at home and abroad. Early days but this should benefit everybody involved in GAA especially the club game.
In Athletic Development we aim to develop deceleration, acceleration, change of direction, agility and flying speed. This can be described as GAMESPEED which is displayed brilliantly in this clip.
Womens Super league is Starting on Saturday. Great appointment by Arsenal Women. My good friend
@coach_roche_
is the news Physical Performance Lead. One of the best in the business leading a great team with
@EoinClarkin
and
@MrFranSilver
supporting world class players.
Great win for the Arsenal last night two goals by Eddie Nketiah 📞. Fascinating development story, released from Chelsea for mainly phyical reasons and then developed into a very physically talented player (late developers/importance of measuring maturation/talent dev is hard)
Mol An Óige Agus Tiocfaidh Sí - means Praise Youth And They Will Flourish. - Flo Balogun - 15 goals and currently Top Scorer in the French Ligue 1. Great Talent and Person. Delighted to find this photo. So much more to come in the next few years.
Well done to the Galway team, Padraic Joyce, his management team and the Board on a fantastic season. Delighted to attend the post match banquet. A lot of great sporting people in attendance. Enjoy the homecoming PJ, John and all involved. Exciting times ahead.
I would highly recommend this article by the psych/social team in arsenal academy 2020. Great insight to the support players get and also the tools used.
Great to see Irishman Andy O’Boyle appointed to one of the most senior positions in English football. Irish S&C/Sports Scientists leading the way in world performance sport.
I would highly recommend this article by the psych/social team in arsenal academy 2020. Great insight to the support players get and also the tools used.
This is great coaching. Sometimes we over complicate programming and are too quite in the gym. This is a great example of a simple programme completed with great intent due to great coaching
@irishscnetwork
.
6 days until the women’s World Cup. Always interesting to look at pre competition preparation. The European Champion Lionesses working hard on their S&C in the gym and a support to the priority pitch work.
Congrats David Drake the latest Irish man to join a professional rugby team in a senior performance position. I remember the 90’s when there wasn’t much of a tradition of S&C in Ireland. Huge praise must go to Dr. Liam Hennessy who brought the industry to new levels in Ireland.
Talent ID is challenging. The players below were released at U14 on the same day. Thankfully more information, knowledge, ID teamwork and technology is being used to make it easier and more supportive for everyone. Examples like this have happened at most clubs.
LTAD is one of many important areas to help young players reach the highest level. Blow are examples of 15 year old Yunus Musah (AC Milan) and Flo Balogun (Monaco) doing advanced exercises supported by excellent S&C coaches. Its take a number of years to get to this level. 1/2
Six teams through to the 1/4 finals. Great to see Australia, England, Holland, Spain and Sweden weight training to support their preparation ( I haven’t found anything on Japan. Anyone know ? ). Very important for the female player. Especially long term implementation.
When coaching young people - Children = be comfortable in chaos / Adolescents = need rules and repercussions / Young Adults = listen to them and treat them like young adults ( Mo an Oige agus Tiocfaidh Si - when they deserve it )
Resent UEFA research has shown that Hamstring injuries are ⬆️ for 20+ years. Solution is multifactorial. One possible risk reduction/conditioning tool is activities like below. Good activity to be part of your Ath Dev framework. Reference -
@_charihawkins
Very happy for my good friend Ian Jeffreys who was voted in as President elect for the
@NSCA
. Congratulations
@DuncanFrench
&
@Squillante_CSCS
who were voted on to the board. Delighted
@rihoward41
was also elected. He has contributed so much to the LTAD movement.
I had an enjoyable evening in
@GaaBishopstown
fantastic work by
@ijonesstrength
and all the S&C coaches and Gaelic Games Coaches. Great community spirt in the club.
I watched episode 2 of the channel 4 programme “Field of Dreams: The Academy”. Fascinating, I would highly recommend it for people who are interested in working in Academies. Episode 2 focuses on the u16’s. The club ran good player progress meetings/MDT meetings/after care.
Delighted that the
@SetantaCollege
South Africa international degree is up and running. The first S&C degree in South Africa. I am lucky to be working with some excellent students and lecturers in Capetown.
Great achievement by
@BrentfordFC
to be the first club to jump two categorisations (from 4 to 2). Excellent club, coaches, support team, SS&M team and Academy Manager.
@StuartMcMillan1
@DHMov
Love this research that shows its very hard to get maxV from games. We fine it’s less hard in contextual drills and very easy in isolated sprints. So a combination needed with underlying physical qualities concurrently developed indoors.
Hot Topic- Sampling v Early Specialisation, it is often reduced to a binary debate but it is much more complex. I think for developing top players in Soccer a Hybrid with holistic support is the best option. Every sport and context is different. Full video
Here is a great example of a clear Vision and Mission from a coach. Also the use of story telling to communicate the Vision and the benefits of some of the gifts of Dyslexia. Its Scott Robinson the new All Blacks coach and the future Irish coach sitting beside him.
Very important to involve the player in a development plan. Here is a clip from the 2020 GAA Development Conference. I recorded an unscripted chat with top professional Joseph Olowu (Doncaster Rovers) Great insights from the young man. Full presentation -
1- Very beneficial morning of CPD at the
@CoachingGalway
coaching workshop organised by
@DennisCarr0
. Derek Savage and
@KevinJ0hnson
delivered excellent theory and practical content in games centred approach to coaching Gaelic Football. Here are some of my take aways.
@CiDeely
Excellent clip. Just a short insight but very respectful. I remember carrying a tee for Eric Elwood. He always picked it up and passed it to me after kicking even though I told him there was no need, class act.
Help Please ! - I am facilitating some internal
@SetantaCollege
CPD next week. We are developing our principles for endurance/fitness/MC for our youth physical development framework. It will be based on previous frameworks and research informed. Any ideas & comments welcome. 1/2
We were delighted to have Dave Fagan as guest speaker at the
@SetantaCollege
graduation. Dave received an award for his contribution to the Irish S&C community. One of the longest serving coaches at 27 years. A friend, ex colleague and legend of the industry.
#setantagrad2022