Pictured is former Roscommon Footballer and Sigerson Cup winner with DCU, Cathal Cregg. Through its #FirstClassRivals campaign, Electric Ireland will continue to celebrate the unique alliances that form between county rivals as they come together in pursuit of some of the most coveted titles across GAA and Camogie.
By Cian O’Connell
A total of 95 clubs will be serviced by Connacht GAA’s Club Development Officer initiative.
Clubs, County Boards, and Connacht GAA collaborate to cover the costs of the coaches, who operate throughout the province.
Cathal Cregg, Connacht GAA Coaching & Games manager, is encouraged about how the project has unfolded. “It is evolving all of the time,” Cregg says.
“We're very happy with how things are going. Participation levels in males and females is increasing all the time. The Club Development Officer Programme is building.
“You had 80 plus clubs in it last year, you've 95 clubs in it this year. We've 35 full-time staff across the province covering child, youth, Academy squads, coach education, schools coaching, all that side of things. So, there is a massive volume of work going on.”
The CDO programme is monitored, but the feedback has been extremely positive. “We review it every year afterwards with the staff, the counties, club representatives, and the teachers, who are all of the main stakeholders in it,” Cregg says.
“Obviously, the CDOs themselves, and any themes, in terms of things that aren't working, we've changed them. We're going into the third main year of it now, we'd a pilot initially, we got through a few bits on that.
“After the first year, there was a lot of changes, naturally there was a lot of changes to be made with it. Not so much, with this year gone by. So, we're coming close to a happy place with it.”
Connacht GAA Coaching & Games Manager Cathal Cregg. Photo by Cody Glenn/Sportsfile
During a successful Sigerson Cup stint in DCU Dóchas Éireann, Cregg relished combining study and sport. “For me, it was a very enjoyable period,” Cregg reflects.
“The Sports Science had just started in DCU, it was and is one of the leading places in the country. Now, you've lot more of them in play at the moment. I was very lucky I went into DCU at a time when they'd put massive emphasis on football and athletics in the college. We had really, really good teams.
“I was lucky enough to win two Sigersons, and probably should have won another one or two. The quality of player I was lucky enough to play with, it was exceptional, really. It was great times looking back. It was a very enjoyable period of football.”
With an increasing amount of sports related courses being offered in the country, Cregg is delighted that many of those students will work as CDOs for a stint.
The value of sport shouldn’t be underestimated. “You’ve lots more courses now, even in the GAA, but across, even the Sports Partnerships, they're taking on a lot more jobs,” Cregg says about the sporting industry.
“You've the S & C and fitness side of things, and even the online fitness world has got bigger with more of an emphasis on it, rightly so. A lot of kids are without adequate fundamental movements and skills. Obesity is a big issue in Ireland.
“The funding needs to be greater around the activity levels in schools, the promotion and education for kids and parents around that whole lifestyle, nutrition, and physical activity area.
“We're probably as a country veering not in the right direction, with the caveat that there is a lot of good work going on, too, but maybe not with the exposure to the whole population of the country.”