On Monday March 22nd, a workshop took place aimed at those involved in the organisation of Camogie Development Squads. This workshop was very well attended with 50 people online, with most counties having at least one representative in attendance.
The night began with a short presentation by Camogie Youth Development Co-ordinator James Heffernan who introduced attendees to a new resource that has been developed to be used in the recruitment of development squad mentors.
The first speaker on the night was Grace Mc Namara, Grace has a professional career spanning over 20 years in fitness, tech and leadership and is the current Limerick Camogie County board chairperson. Grace presented on the topic of Development Structure & Planning and gave excellent insights into how to approach this in a professional and purposeful approach while also challenging some of the traditional norms.
Grace’s presentation was followed by Liam Sheedy who spoke around the topic of Recruitment of a Mentor Team. As an All-Ireland hurling winning manager in 2010 & 2019 Liam was in a great position to bring this knowledge and experience to the table. Liam’s practical insight and also his prior experience of working with development squads was thought provoking for those in attendance.
The final speaker of the night was Dr Paul Donnelly who spoke about Managing Your Mentor Team. Paul currently works as a Lecturer/Researcher in Sport Development and Coaching at Ulster University. Paul spoke excellently on the topic and gave great ideas and insight around the four areas he had identified as being important in this area: – Lead & Inspire, Guide & Provide, Educate & Motivate and Recognise & Provide.
The night was rounded of by Stuart Reid Munster Growth & Participation who hosted a questions and answers session with the three guests. This session will be followed in April with workshop aimed at development squad mentors.
