Coaching Corner – Planning For The Season

by Michael Fennelly (Performance Lead Kilkenny GAA)

Key Considerations for Youth Coaches

Effective planning is the cornerstone of success in any sporting environment, but its significance becomes particularly evident when working with youth sport teams. A well-structured season plan not only guides the team’s development but also ensures that players are exposed to a balanced programme that prioritises skill acquisition, personal growth, team building and enjoyment. In the GAA, where time and resources are often limited, creating a comprehensive season overview becomes essential to ensure that every session is maximised in a meaningfully manner to the team’s long-term development goals.

The GAA relies heavily on its dedicated coaching volunteers, who invest countless hours into the growth and development of our youth teams. Without this support, the organisation would face considerable difficulties. Typically, when a club member volunteers to coach a youth team, they commit to multiple years, becoming deeply embedded within the coaching system. This involvement generally requires finding the time and dedication to fulfil the role of coach or selector, and once they begin, they’re fully engaged. However, does the club provide clear guidance on what’s expected from each team? Is there a framework outlining the skills that players should be learning and executing at each grade level, as well as skills testing to measure whether yearly objectives are being met? As a coach, are you actively questioning the purpose behind each session or season, or are you simply conducting them out of routine? Without this planned framework through the different age grades, there’s a risk of losing valuable development years. To clarify, this isn’t about rigid rules or adding complexity to coaching but rather creating a supportive structure to help coaches achieve player development goals. In terms of measuring a skill, a simple test like how far an U6 player can strike the ball on their left and right hand side from the ground could provide valuable insights at both the beginning and end of the season. This approach aims to demonstrate the player’s progression from the start to the end of the season, providing a foundation for the next coach to build upon in the following season. Such assessments would be rewarding for players, coaches, and parents alike, offering concrete evidence of progress and comparing to benchmark figures at that age grade.

This type of framework, ideally extending from U6 to U12, would establish clear milestones and support resources to guide coaches. With measurable results, coaches can identify players who may not be progressing at the same rate as their peers and adjust their approach to those players accordingly. Of course, hurling’s demands go beyond technical skills; it also requires development in areas like fundamental movements, teamwork, spatial and tactical awareness as a player moves through the age grades.

As a skill-intensive sport, hurling benefits significantly from early skills development, which can aid in retaining players as they reach adolescence stage. During teenager years, confidence and ability become increasingly important, and equipping young players with foundational skills at the child level can be pivotal to their long-term engagement in the game. Right, so you have committed to a coaching role with one of the underage teams for 2025 and you have been left to your own devises (no input from club) in terms of coaching for the season. So, what’s next….

Step One – Planning and Preparation

1. Start by mapping out when games or blitzes typically occur on the calendar. This will assist with commencing a structured overview for the season.
2. Schedule a “light session” prior to games or blitzes. These sessions should focus on skills and tactical practice for the upcoming game which is not going to be too heavy.
3. Plan a skills testing session at the beginning, middle, and maybe end of the season depending on age group. As the saying goes, “If you’re not measuring, you’re guessing.”
4. You may start with two sessions per week, and consider increasing to three for a number of weeks at a later stage as the season progresses.
5. Conduct a brief survey from parents to understand their summer holiday plans. Identifying overlaps in holiday schedules may suggest a natural period to give players and parents a break.
6. Finally, fill in as much as possible on the calendar, including start and end date of season training, challenge matches, club events, or fundraising activities that may impact on training.

Figure 1: Month of May Schedule Example 

This task will assist you in creating a preliminary draft calendar for the year, allowing you to plan what extra training sessions are needed if required, to complement existing schedule. Once the calendar is nearly finalised, sharing a partial or full version with parents can be invaluable for supporting their future family plans.

Step Two – Overview of the Session Design through the Season (Aeroplane View)

With the calendar in place, you should now have a clear view of the number of sessions available for skill development, principles of play, and tactical awareness (if appropriate to the age grade). Identify the key areas you want to focus on throughout the season and determine the number of sessions required to effectively work on these components. This initial overview allows you to prioritise essential principles and establish a structured progression. For instance, if “support play” is a focus, outline how it will be introduced, practiced, and progressed over various sessions. As per table 1 below, I have outlined some of the session principles, skills and components which will be used in the session which will give more clarity and focus of what you are attempting to do in the session. In this example, running game and support play, in possession of the ball, handpassing, in the first third of the pitch will be the focus.   Avoid the mentality of “this is how we’ve always done it”; instead, not only draw on past experiences but also present literature to enhance your philosophy and planning without simply following traditional methods.

Table One: Example of Game characteristics

Step Three – Session Design

With a grasp of your available sessions to get working with players and the principles of play you want to work on, it’s time to delve deeper into each session, detailing the specific activities:

• Theme: The overarching focus for the session/week.
• Principles: Key elements or tactics to emphasise e.g. Support Play
• Activities, drills, game scenarios
• Intensity: Identify the level of intensity (low/medium/high) per session and balancing their other sporting commitments so we don’t burn out players.
• Cues: Key Words on specific on executing of skills.

Each session should have a clear, consistent focus, much like a “golden thread” running through it. Within the warm up, it may include some isolated skills to get players confident and get their eye in. Incorporating multiple skills in the drills would be beneficial to maximise time (dependant on age grade). From here, you might implement a drill or game based scenario where a decision needs to be made or there’s some form of pressure. Increasing pressure throughout the session would be sought after, however it will depend on how execution of the present drill/game is going. Too much pressure to early can be counterproductive. With the focus of the theme being key to the session activities, completing the session might finish with some form of full pitch game. What’s really important here is that we apply a rewards system in terms of a player receiving points for executing a particular principle or skill within the game. Thus, you are rewarding for that specific behaviour which you want to become a habit.

Figure 2: Partial Sample of Session Design

In a separate example, you may have a link to the next session in terms of developing a certain principle.  For example, if the theme of the session is on deliveries (delivering ball from backs to forwards),  start with unpressured deliveries and aiming for a specific area marked out with cones. In the next session, you might introduce forwards to move for the ball and the player needs to deliver where he or she is running. Progress it further by placing defenders in front of the forwards to increase decision-making and raise the pressure gauge. Plan these progressions across multiple sessions rather than condensing them all into one. Coaches may benefit from working on different elements in tandem, one coach working on the delivery with defenders and another coach working with the forwards’ on movement. Developing these synchronised patterns throughout the team is critical and having everyone on the same page.

Conclusion

Creating a structured overview of the season will help clarify the time available with players on the field, allowing for focused development of the team’s style and principles of play. This will aid with creating clear objectives to achieve the end of year goals and focusing on areas of development in particular. Ultimately, a well-planned season is not just about developing better players; it’s about shaping positive experiences that encourage lifelong participation and enjoyment in sport. Reviewing and reflecting from session to session or week or week will be important to understand how players are adapting and the learning impact that is happening. Having mini discussions with players on what they understand will be pertinent along with giving them some problem-solving tasks.