Gaelic Football, the Real Beautiful Game

Gaelic Football, the Real Beautiful Game

By Des Shaw

31/03/14

As long as I can remember I have known the game of soccer to be called 'The Beautiful Game'. The phrase’s origins are disputed but it has been attributed to Brazilian footballer Waldyr Pereira (Didi) and the presenter Stuart Hall claimed to have coined it in 1958. In its current manifestation; with all the billion dollar sugar daddy owners, superstar egos with bank accounts to match, the mercenary ethos of most of the players and the constant diving & feigning injury, I’m finding it hard to see the beauty in this game. I conducted a coach education course recently with some Dutch physical education (PE) teachers who were visiting this fair isle and found myself coming away from it having somewhat of an epiphany; that our own Gaelic games are more special than I had ever realised before.

Some background about this visit; it was part of a European GAA initiative, who have the arduous task of developing our Gaelic games in schools and cities all around Europe. Currently there are over 360 international Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) affiliated clubs worldwide, 51 across Europe and 5 in the Netherlands alone. So my new Dutch friends travelled from the city of Almere located to the east of Amsterdam to pay us a visit and learn about the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and Gaelic football. A total of 7 PE teachers from the Helen Parkhurst School in Almere made the trip. It became clear from speaking to them, that their school system operates differently to ours here in Ireland. They are a public school but they pay special attention to science education, information and communication technology (ICT), culture and society, sport and environmental education. While there is an overall curriculum, there is a major focus placed upon on these particular areas. An example of this is the way their aspiring elite athletes who attend benefit from special education, where they are provided the opportunity to develop their athletic endeavours with more focus by having tailored learning schedules and by being given special exemptions. Our Dutch guests were given a guided tour of Croke Park and then I had the great privilege of presenting a coaching seminar on Gaelic Football, on behalf of the Leinster Council.

My job for the day was to educate these Dutch teachers in the subject of Gaelic football, an introduction to the game so to speak. The main aim was to give them an overview of the game and highlight the basic rules and skills involved. I also intended to provide them with some ideas of drills and games that they could bring back to their schools and use in their PE classes. I decided to use a brief presentation with some group work followed by a practical element introducing the skills, rules and games to the group. After a brief introduction I set the group a little task of introducing themselves, naming their sporting background and highlighting the key components that encapsulated their particular sport. So an example I gave them was golf which requires: eye/hand coordination, balance, core strength, power, touch, reading, timing, flexibility, visualisation and mental toughness (I probably left out some but this was only an exercise). This is where the session became interesting for me and, I hope, for them too. In the room we had some diverse sporting backgrounds, which included swimming, soccer, volleyball, basketball and judo. The group described their particular sports in detail, all of which are great sports in their own right. Though the skills and physical demands required for playing their particular sports often overlapped, there were also unique and interesting components to each of them. To follow on from this exercise and as part of the presentation I used a Youtube™ clip of Gaelic football which provided a reasonable summation of the game.

Side note: I wish the GAA would put together a professionally developed summation of our games which highlights the key skills and rules for people who may never have seen our games before. The video I used although it certainly got the message across, at times was lacking in visual quality and it would certainly have been nice to have HD quality footage to convey our games in the best light.

Upon viewing this video clip the look on their faces was first one of confusion which then turned into amazement. What followed was a barrage of questions which I can only describe as similar to the shelling the allies received at the Siege of Bastogne, they were coming thick and fast and from every direction. It was around this time that I started to break down the basic rules and skills. Through the process of highlighting the skills and rules to my Dutch guests, I tried to relate as many of them back to some other sport that they were familiar with as possible. This is where my epiphany occurred. I came to the realisation that Gaelic football is so multi faceted and is a combination of the greater elements that encapsulate so many other sports. When describing the handpass our volleyball coach in attendance described it as a serve, when describing the catch or bounce it was evident to us all of the basketball skills required to play Gaelic football. This occurred time and time again when explaining the skills/ rules and I began to realise, as did the Dutch teachers, how special and complex our game actually is. The more I thought about the components of Gaelic football, both the skills and physical demands that are required to play it, the more I started to see the limitations of the others sports that I enjoy watching or playing myself. Take for instance soccer which in my opening is described as ‘The Beautiful Game’ which, when you break it down, really does require a lot of skill to play. However one the Dutch teachers made a very significant point, soccer completely lacks the hand/eye coordination of Gaelic football. This was more and more evident when we looked at other popular sports and if you think deeply about it, there are very few sports that feature as many skills to master as Gaelic football. In my opinion the only game that offers as much (and more) is another of our national games hurling, which requires all the same components of Gaelic football but involves significantly more hand/eye coordination with the introduction of a bat/hockey style stick (hurl) and smaller sized ball (sliotar). I know I am completely biased when it comes to this topic but I challenge anyone to suggest another sport that offers more in terms of physical demands and skills required to play.

To finish our day together I went through some practical work developing skills, drills and games in which my Dutch guests were the participants. This gave them a further understanding and appreciation for our game. Performing each skill individually proved relatively easy for them but when I introduced more skills/ rules to each game, it was evident that there was a demand for increased concentration levels to perform these skills and adhere to the rules. We then discussed at length the different types of games and drills that could be used and in this discussion I made a very important point that using Gaelic football in their PE classes would benefit their pupils greatly by developing skills and movements that maybe alien to them and their preferred sports. In the broader picture of Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD), diversifying and playing multiple sports early will encourage the development of a more complete physical literacy of their athletes. I have found in my coaching observations that players, who have played basketball, can develop better ball handling, tackling skills and incredible spin (pivot) moves that transfer so effortlessly and naturally on to the Gaelic football field. The players who never play basketball can struggle to develop these skills and perhaps in some cases never will. The same principle can be applied to Gaelic football, that it will offer other movements and skills that will help the overall development of any athlete regardless of their particular sports. This is a principle I always endorse and try to pass on to fellow coaches and aspiring athletes.

In conclusion found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable day; the merging of cultures provoked a deeper understanding of our sports in both my Dutch guests and I. It’s a strange feeling but I believe I have gained more from that coach education session than the actual participants. I have to admit I have been one of those critics in the past who have damned Gaelic football in its recent manifestations, with the blanket defences and the over emphasis and reliance on fitness levels. However this experience has unearthed for me a greater love, appreciation and understanding of Gaelic football, it truly is a special game and one which I feel we as coaches, players and supporters are not nearly proud enough of. Its complexity, physical demands and skill levels are unparalleled with the exception of our sister game hurling. My wish is that anyone reading this will also come to this realisation and develop a new appreciation and love for our game. Gaelic football is ‘The Real Beautiful Game.’

Until next time.

Do everything better!

Des.

Don’t Be Left Behind, Performance Analysis Is Here To Stay

Don’t Be Left Behind, Performance Analysis Is Here To Stay

By Des Shaw

27/03/14

Performance - that ultimate and coveted goal that all unwavering athletes, coaches and teams obsess about. We hear it so frequently from the top level coaches, managers and player in their interviews “It’s not about the result; it’s all about the performance”. It seems that the higher the level of competition the more this becomes the focus. So why do we obsess about it so much? Ultimately, for me, it’s the way you can be satisfied internally with what you are doing or trying to achieve within your sport.  Not every athlete, coach or team can win but if you are striving for performance rather than results you will in the end have that overwhelming self satisfaction that you gave your best irrespective of the outcome.

Many factors impact one’s performance such as; nutrition, strength and conditioning, skill acquisition, preparation, tactics and psychology amongst others. Even small changes in these factors can produce changes in performance and at the highest levels of competition and small changes in performance can be the difference between stagnation and improvement, between winning and losing. It is through performance analysis (PA) that these changes can be followed, recorded and judged. A recent study conducted by the Irish Sports Council caught my attention about the use of performance analysis in Irish Sports. Here’s an info-graphic that summarises the study’s findings and a link to the report.

There is a lot of information contained within the report but two findings in particular are especially interesting. The first was that 51% of level 1 coaches or higher use performance analysis (Irish Sports Council, 2014); so the more experienced and progressive coaches are, the more likely they are to use PA to support their coaching endeavours. The other statistic which intrigued me was that 87% of coaches said that PA was essential to their coaching and 79% of these coaches felt that it was also essential for developing tactics/ playing style. From these statistics it is evident that PA is becoming more prevalent with progressive coaches in Ireland but I find PA use is still in its infancy particularly in the lower levels of Irish sport. This is similar to strength and conditioning in this country 10 or 15 years ago when its use was also in its infancy but now it has become common practice with the majority of serious athletes, teams or clubs. I believe that PA will in time follow strength and conditioning and become an integral part of coaching practice and development for the majority of athletes, teams and clubs.

What Is Performance Analysis?

Performance Analysis provides the athletes and coaches with objective information that helps them understand performance. This process is underpinned by systematic observation, which provides measurable, valid, reliable and detailed information relating to performance. Performance Analysis can help enhance the coaching process by providing statistical, scientific and video information. There are many forms of performance analysis such as notational (statistical information), video analysis (video clips) fitness monitoring (fitness tests) or blood/ lactate testing (scientific).

This objective data facilitates enhanced feedback between coaches and athletes. Subsequent interventions in the; strength and conditioning, coaching process, tactical setups or style of play can then lead to a greater performance impact. How precisely this analysis is effectively integrated into athlete development programmes will determine how much performance can improve.

For the purposes of the rest this article I am going to concentrate my attention on the areas of notational and video analysis. Scientific and fitness monitoring would require a whole article on their own.

Why Use Performance Analysis?

In order to improve on performance and become more successful athletes/ coaches must reflect upon previous performance. Coaches and athletes must know and understand what they have done to make themselves successful/ unsuccessful. A great deal of time can be spent thinking about how to improve, or on trying to understand the elements that make up a good performance. Coaches generally rely on what they observe in real-time to inform their coaching decisions and provide their athletes with feedback. However, it has been identified that coaches are only able to recall 30—50% of key performance factors they had witnessed, even with special training in observation (Franks and Miller, 1991). So if the observation of performance is limited then the rest of the process is then in question. That’s why PA can be extremely beneficial. PA is used to provide measured observation during or after an event to quantify performance in an accurate, reliable and valid way because even the most experienced coach cannot achieve this type of measured observation.

How It Benefits Coaches

·        Provides the coach with a better understanding of how the athlete/team actually perform.

·        Provides the coach with objective data to help them develop an athlete/team’s understanding of how they actually performed.

·        Empowers the coach to make more precise decisions when it comes to their team selection process, coaching practice or tactical setups.

·        Helps coach develop a better understanding of the athlete/team’s strengths and weaknesses.

·        Provides the coach with a better understanding of the oppositions strengths and weaknesses or playing styles and tactics.

Notational Analysis

There is no excuse for any sports team for not organising some notational analysis to be collected for their games/ training. Pen, paper and a small bit of concentration from a well chosen volunteer is all that’s needed. Selecting and recording simple statistics known as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like scores, turnovers etc. will provide the coach with valuable information to assess the athlete/team’s performance.  Notational analysis can be conducted live during the event but trying to record too many KPIs can prove difficult and lead to inaccurate records. It’s best to select a small number of important KPI’s and record these accurately. Post game notational analysis yields the best results if you have a video recording of the event and will provide more in depth statistical analysis for the coach and athlete/team.  

There are two styles of notational analysis which can be used:

Frequency Tables

A frequency table is a simple case of creating a table based sheet and ticking off each event as it happens. Excel is a perfect tool for producing a KPI frequency table.

Schematic Plotting

A Schematic on the other hand involves plotting what happened on the pitch, this method gives you a more graphical representation of the events.

Once all the statistical information is recorded a more professional looking dossier can be produced for ease of reading for the coach and athlete/team. Here’s an example using excel.

Video Analysis

Video analysis is the process by which coaches and players review video footage of practices and games to improve the players' performance or to prepare them for future opponents. Video recording equipment is required to record footage of the game/ training. Footage can be shown to athletes/coaches but this is a cumbersome method of analysis because its time consuming and you still have to keep a watchful eye for key events that need to be addressed. A much more practical form of analysis use video analysis software such as Dartfish, Focus x2 or Sportcode. These types of software can allow the footage of key events that need to be addresses to be edited and compiled into shorter video clips for ease of viewing and presentation. Also many of these types of software can also double up to record and export the statistical analysis too.

Video analysis is a versatile tool for working with athlete/teams in search of improvement. Here are some reasons to use it:

1.     Tactical Setup or Style of Play – Coaches can use video footage to demonstrate formations, tactical positioning and styles of play i.e. long direct passing. It can be used to highlight where improvements need to be made by the teams tactically.

2.     Opposition Breakdown – Coaches can use analysis of the opposing team and highlight key areas like how they setup tactically, key players to watch and areas which they are weak and your team can exploit.

3.     Statistical Analysis – Video Analysis can be use to provide in depth and accurate statistical analysis of KPI’s which can be used to identify areas which may need improvement and also allows for comparing and contrasting previous or future performances.

4.     Individual Analysis – Focus can be placed on individual performances which will give the coach and athlete a better understanding of the individual’s contribution to the overall outcome.

5.     Bio- Mechanical Analysis – Video analysis can also be used to break down the bio-mechanics of an athlete’s performance. This great for sports like golf, powerlifting, swimming, sprinting etc. It provides coaches with slow motion video to break down the subtleties of the key movements required. 

               

Video and Statistical analysis is a central part of my own coaching practices and I would advocate its use to all coaches regardless of their level of experience. As I have outlined above, PA will provide you with that much needed objective data that can be used in your decision making for team selection, tactical setup or coaching practice. Coaches have been relying solely on their subjective views of the performance in their decision making processes for far too long. I'm sure all of you involved in sport have probably at some stage wondered ‘what the hell was the coach doing making that change’ or ‘can he not see that player is playing awful, he should take him off.’  My point is that often the subjective opinion of a coach can be to detriment of the team. I find that sometimes coaches can get too emotionally charged on the sideline and their viewpoint of the game is not conducive to making good decisions.  This is why video footage is shot from a high vantage point, so we can see the game in its totality. Rugby, AFL and NFL have all seen their head coaches remove themselves from the sidelines and positioned themselves in corporate boxes which allows them to get a more objective view of the game. It’s this objective view that empowers them to make better decisions and PA will give them even more quality information to make the best decisions.

Performance analysis, video analysis in particular can be great for teams or players who don’t respond well to verbal instruction. So when it comes to on field coaching about tactics or areas of weaknesses that need to be addresses some players find it difficult to comprehend what the coach is trying to work on. The use of video footage can produce that eureka moment for some athletes/teams when they see it visually. An example I personally experienced was with a coach who knew his team were turning over the ball too much and addressed it in his coaching session but couldn't get through to the players and no change occurred.  After I presented a short clip and statistics over three games, of their turnovers, the ‘eureka’ moment happened amongst the players and turnovers were reduced by 50% next game. Now it doesn't always work like that but perhaps just seeing it for themselves, refocused them to retain possession better the next game and that sometimes that is all it takes to get improved performance.

I could continue with more examples and more information on the benefits of using Performance Analysis but I think you get my point and it’s clear from the Irish Sports Council’s report that many coaches out there are availing of its many uses and benefits.  My advice is DON’T BE LEFT BEHIND, performance analysis is the way forward and its use is becoming more prevalent and if you’re not using it you can be sure the opposition will be. Find a decent performance analyst and bring them on board in your coaching endeavours you won’t regret it.

Now for the shameless plug, Shaw Sports Performance Solutions provide a variety of performance analysis packages tailored for even small budgets. For more information check out our Video Analysis page. Until next time.

Do everything better.

Des.

References:

Franks and Miller. (1991). Training Coaches To Observe and Remember. Journal of Sport Sciences, 285-297.

Irish Sports Council. (2014). Coaches Use and Perception of Performance Analysis in Irish Sport. Dublin: Irish Sports Council.