Gaelic Football Learning Mantras

FJMC

Trying to collect some basic mantras to help kids learn skills of Gaelic football - the good ones stay with you forever.

Just wondering if there are any good sources for these or if we can get a few posted in?

We use the three B's for soloing - Back of the ball; Bridge of the Toes; Belly (and sometimes a fourth - Backspin).

Three / Four D's for Defence - Deny; Disrupt; Delay; Dispossess

Etc.

Thanks

F

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058300723/gaelic-football-learning-mantras

Well done on the mentoring of the kids. I do it, and find it very fulfilling. Great to see them develop. Sorry, I don't have any specific set of ideas, but I'm sure others will post on here with some. I just google and bring the ideas to training every week.

But one reason that I just want to post on here is to give one piece of advice. The kids will generally train for say 2 hours in a week, and have a match on for another hour. Some parents think that is enough for their own kid to improve, and just leave it at that. But it definitely is not enough. Without trying to impose myself on peoples private lives, I always try to stress to parents to take their kids out to the backyard/park etc. as much as possible, and teach them the basics - soloing, kicking, catching, picking off the ground, passing. That is the only way that they will improve at the same speed as the others that are doing that. It is so obvious to see the kids that are falling behind, and I know the parents have no interest in taking the kids out to play. It is viewed by some as a social get out for the kids. Which is fine - everyone has their own priorities and needs in life. But there will then be many parents wondering why their Johnny or Mary is not doing as good as the others.

So I guess, in summary, try to get the parents to row in behind the team on this too - encourage them to practice with the kids. And do it in front of the kids, so that the kids will then go home and annoy them about it.

FJMC

Thanks.

We try to set them homework - which might be as simple as lifting a ball 20 times per day with each foot - hand passing 20 times per day with each hand - watching a game on TV, etc.

I find the mantras, analogies or rhymes are great for getting the basic watchpoints into their heads for each of the basic skills - and once they have them as as set of instructions or rules it never leaves them.

F

rpurfield

One I picked up that has stuck with me is making 4 the magic number. As in 4 steps between bounces or solos. You can work in to whatever you are doing and then you're asking what's the magic number. I only wish I'd picked it up sooner as I still have 14 year olds who's first instinct is to bounce the ball once they catch it instead of powering out of there with 4 steps.

Another one I heard at Go Games one time was comparing tackling to having flippers, thought it was a brilliant way of describing to kids how to tackle.