Why is the attitude towards underage GAA coaches so negative?

well that was not good.

however - I would go back to the 'ask' of coaches that are, like yourself, parents - but they are volunteering their time. That in addition to doing the coaching, running the games, contacting the oppposition, contacting the refs and loads of other things - they are also expected to go chasing parents up to make sure players (i) have fees paid and (ii) have registration paid.

yes, you can say - well they should have told us, they shouyldnt have told the kid…. and that makes sense. But it is also saying, all this work that you do for free that I benefit from hugely, i'm not happy with you & you need to do more.

havent seen it in gaa, have seen it a few times in soccer. and quite literally, the difference there might be the GAA pitch is so much bigger, what would be the point in roaring at a coach the far side of it.

The right coach for one team might be the wrong coach for another - a big thing for me though is excessive talking. In particular - halftime is over, the ref is standing in the middle, one of the teams is on the pitch and ready to go. The other team still in a huddle….. the team talk is still going on….. and on and on….

Thought that struck me today (while watching my daughter playing).

There are without doubt a few coaches out there that will give all other coaches a bad name, because in short they are too aggressive and have the wrong attitude.

Part of the problem here I think is that the GAA and LGFA are not strong enough on the Do's and Don'ts. And I amnt talking about rules of the game, specifically about coaching etiquette.

Two obvious examples.

Its is a big no-no for the coach to be on the field of play during a match. I dont mean the coach that runs on becaue one of the players has twisted their ankle and is bawling their eyes out. I mean the coach that stands ten yards in from the sideline barking instructions. This is really common. Its really bad because it intimidates the kids on both sides. It should be absolutely crystal clear that this isnt allowed - I've never seen any communication of any sort to tell me its not allowed. The same applies to umpires that are also roaring instructions from the goalmouth, just as bad.

Second example, and it relates to the first. At underage, up to u12 anyways, the referees are kids. No coach should ever be roaring at a 15 year old ref about steps or throw pass or whatever. But its happens frequently. The 15 year old ref is simply not in a position to tell adult coach to stfu.

GAA would do everyone a favour - especially the kids - if they would come down heavy on this type of behaviour.

Again, you are talking one coach in 20, but an awful pain in the neck when it happens.

One final point - again relating to etiquette, and probably relevant here given some of the earlier comments - Its OK To Lose. And its also ok to get hammered.

Especially at u12 or u13. If you lose badly, its not because your players didnt try hard enough, its not because your warm up was bad, its not because one of the players arrived lated, its not because the team wouldnt follow your tactics.

It is ONLY because the opposition have better players. And there is f**k all your players can do about that, so dont be roaring at them.

I understand the point - if there is a large group, there are going to be some that are physically intimidated, unfit, have other issues adhd or dyspraxia or whatever. And some that dont enjoy it. I wouldnt put any of those in the category of 'bad attitude', in fact 'bad attitude' might be more common place with the stronger kids - e.g. refusing to pass, refusing to play certain positions.

What is very important though - in relation to what you saying - is that there are enough coaches. If there is only one or two coaches all the time, then very hard to have those one to one conversations; and a lot of time can be spent dealing with disruptive individuals (lads who cant stop talking for example).

Yeah, agree on all those points.

However it can be intimidating for people starting out. I'd say thats a big reason women dont take it up. Because they think they wouldnt be good at it.

To your point regarding 'attributes of a good coach' If you are showing up, helping out, putting out cones, telling lads they have to put their boots on cause the session starts in two minutes…..then you are a valuable coach. Showing up is the single most important thing, especially for the lower streamed or weaker teams.

I think there is an education job to be done that says 'most parents should be able for this'; especially as a shortage of coaches is the biggest issue I would think.