The Mike Quirke Podcast

Mick Bohan has travelled a fairly unique coaching journey from being a PE teacher for over 33 years to becoming a skills coach with Dublin under Jim Gavin before working with Colm Collins in Clare, winning Sigerson cups with DCU and eventually leading the Dublin ladies football team to multiple All Ireland senior titles as manager. He shares his thoughts here on coaching, on developing skills, the differences and similarities of coaching men and women, managing people and much more in a must-listen episode. To purchase Mick's recently released coaching manuals for coaching Gaelic Games you can go to; mickbohan.myshopify.com for more information. Similar to both of the previous two seasons, I've set up this podcast with a dual purpose in mind, firstly to provide some thoughtful debate for coaches, but I've also linked up with the Lily Daly Foundation, who are a new charity raising funds for the heart ward in Crumlin children's hospital and Ronald McDonald house. For more info, listen to the podcast about the Lily Daly Foundation. If you found some value in the podcast, it would be great if you could donate any amount, no matter how small to the Lily Daly Foundation through the link here: https://bit.ly/3t9EtfI  If you enjoyed this episode, click on the like button, please share it around, leave a review and follow the podcast. My sincere thanks also to PST Sport for their continued support as title sponsor for this project. Go to pstsport.com for world class delivery of all your artificial grass pitch needs. You can also check out Game Sense Coaching who run an online GAA coaching platform that advocates for a games-based approach that is suitable for teams of all ages. www.gamesensecoaching.com Thanks for listening.

It's great to be putting out a third series of the coaching podcast and I'm delighted to link up with the Lily Daly Foundation to help raise much-needed funds for the heart centre in Crumlin's childrens hospital as well as Ronald McDonald house. Here, I chat with Lily's mom Caroline about her heartbreaking story and the promise she made to her daughter. The Lily Daly Foundation The Lily Daly Foundation (LDF) was set up in Memory of Lily Daly with the aim to support and help as many families as possible in hospital who have kids with Heart related issues. The LDF goal is to raise funds to provide supports and services to the families with loved ones in hospital with heart related issues by running public fund-raising events which the LDF plans to run over the coming years. The Lily Daly Foundation is currently at an early stage but the aim is to support families going through similar challenges and journeys Lily and her family went through. Lily’s parents know what it’s like to be in the hospital and to hand your child over to the medical team. It’s the most traumatic experience a parent can go through and that’s why The Lily Daly Foundation was established to assist and support similarly affected families. The Lily Daly Foundation plan to run events over the next few years to build on the foundation and to support families in hospital with heart related issues. The first of these events will be “Lily’s Pink Challenge” where all proceeds raised will be directed to both the Heart Centre in Crumlin Childrens Hospital and Ronald McDonald house two facilities which Lily and her family have a strong association with.  

For this episode, the final one of the season, we take a look at some of the questions that you have asked during the series about different episodes or specific parts of the various conversations.   (3.00) – Why developing people skills is so important (7.15) – Specific advice for coaching underage sport (12.15) – Another look at biobanding (29.50) – Skill acquisition                                                                                                  Similar to season 1, I've set up this podcast with a dual purpose in mind, firstly to provide some thoughtful debate for coaches, but I've also linked up with Recovery Haven in Tralee, who provide free cancer support services for the people of Kerry and beyond. If you found some value in the podcast, it would be great if you could donate any amount, no matter how small to Recovery Haven through the link here: https://bit.ly/3tfsxWw  If you enjoyed this episode, click on the like button, share, leave a review and follow the podcast. My thanks also to PST Sport for their support with this project. Go to pstsport.com for world class delivery of all your artificial grass pitch needs. Thanks for listening.  

Former Irish rugby player and coach, Ronan O’Gara, talks about the importance of confidence in players and the impact of stability and good people in a rugby team. He discusses the value of authenticity, trust, and fun in sports, as well as the importance of different perspectives between parents and coaches.

Kieran Donaghy will be well known to listeners for his exploits as an All-Star player both on the football pitches and basketball courts of Ireland for the bones of nearly 20 years. In this episode he takes us through his fledgling coaching career having coached and managed Tralee IT in Sigerson cup football, as a performance coach with the Galway hurlers and currently as a forwards coach under Kieran McGeeney with the Armagh senior football team. He also has an interesting perspective on children’s sport given his involvement in running hugely popular basketball / football camps for hundreds of kids each year. That crossover between basketball and football is a recurring theme through this episode with some interesting takeaways for coaches off all ages. (19.50) – Basketball influencing Gaelic football (29.00) – Developing better communication (32.00) – Camp coaching (43.28) – Parenting and coaching (51.33) – Working with Kieran McGeeny   Similar to season 1, I've set up this podcast with a dual purpose in mind, firstly to provide some thoughtful debate for coaches, but I've also linked up with Recovery Haven in Tralee, who provide free cancer support services for the people of Kerry and beyond. If you found some value in the podcast, it would be great if you could donate any amount, no matter how small to Recovery Haven through the link here: https://bit.ly/3tfsxWw  If you enjoyed this episode, click on the like button, share, leave a review and follow the podcast. My thanks also to PST Sport for their support with this project. Go to pstsport.com for world class delivery of all your artificial grass pitch needs. Thanks for listening.

Paddy Tally is currently coaching the Kerry senior football team, having previously started his 15 years of inter-county football experience with Tyrone back in 2003. There have been plenty of stops along the road, including Sigerson success in St Mary’s Belfast, as well as stints in Down and Galway. As a lecturer in the PE department in St Mary’s for 25 years, he shares some of the gems he has picked up along the way in a lifelong journey through coaching, teaching and learning.   (10.00) – lessons learned over 15 years (20.00) – how do you motivate players (30.30) – teaching games for understanding (TGFU) (36.00) – developing your own culture                                                                          Similar to season 1, I've set up this podcast with a dual purpose in mind, firstly to provide some thoughtful debate for coaches, but I've also linked up with Recovery Haven in Tralee, who provide free cancer support services for the people of Kerry and beyond. If you found some value in the podcast, it would be great if you could donate any amount, no matter how small to Recovery Haven through the link here: https://bit.ly/3tfsxWw  If you enjoyed this episode, click on the like button, share, leave a review and follow the podcast. My thanks also to PST Sport for their support with this project. Go to pstsport.com for world class delivery of all your artificial grass pitch needs. Thanks for listening.

Phil Kearney is a lecturer in Skill Acquisition, Coaching and Performance in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences in the University of Limerick. His research has examined human motor behaviour; that is, how humans control their movements and develop their skills across their lifespan. His recent research has concentrated on youth sport, in particular within the context of track and field athletics.    (20.00) – What is skill? (32.40) – How long does it take for skills to stick? (37.27) – Fast-tracking your learning (54.40) – Developing life-skills through sport and coaching                                    Similar to season 1, I've set up this podcast with a dual purpose in mind, firstly to provide some thoughtful debate for coaches, but I've also linked up with Recovery Haven in Tralee, who provide free cancer support services for the people of Kerry and beyond. If you found some value in the podcast, it would be great if you could donate any amount, no matter how small to Recovery Haven through the link here: https://bit.ly/3tfsxWw  If you enjoyed this episode, click on the like button, share, leave a review and follow the podcast. My thanks also to PST Sport for their support with this project. Go to pstsport.com for world class delivery of all your artificial grass pitch needs. Thanks for listening.

Alan Keane, an accomplished Irish basketball coach, shares his journey from Tralee to coaching in the UK, emphasizing player psychology and self-regulated learning. He discusses the evolution of coaching over the past 15 years and the importance of empathy in building player relationships. Keane highlights the critical role of soft skills and emotional intelligence in coaching, along with the significance of self-reflection and body language in enhancing player interactions. His insights aim to inspire coaches to create positive team cultures and foster athlete independence.

Frank Dick has done most everything that can be done in the world of coaching. From being the British Athletics Federation’s director of coaching to becoming the high-performance director with the South African Olympic committee while helping to deliver several medals along the way. In 2016 Frank was invited to become a strategic consultant with England rugby’s leadership team ahead of the rugby World Cup in 2019. He is the author of four major publications including; ‘Winning Matters’ and ‘Wining Lines’ and his contribution to coaching was recognised by being awarded an OBE in 1989, as well as being honoured with doctorates from the national sports academy of Bulgaria and Loughborough University for his contribution to coaching and coach development in Europe. Frank is a hugely engaging motivational speaker and works with various organisations to enhance the capacity of the people within them. Here, he shares some of the tricks of the trade he’s picked up along the way during a life spent coaching. (1.35) – The essence of coaching (6.00) – Ownership (21.45) – Language matters (34.25) – Satisfaction seduces (52.10) – The transferability of skills from sports coaching to business Similar to season 1, I've set up this podcast with a dual purpose in mind, firstly to provide some thoughtful debate for coaches, but I've also linked up with Recovery Haven in Tralee, who provide free cancer support services for the people of Kerry and beyond. If you found some value in the podcast, it would be great if you could donate any amount, no matter how small to Recovery Haven through the link here: https://bit.ly/3tfsxWw  If you enjoyed this episode, click on the like button, share, leave a review and follow the podcast. My thanks also to PST Sport for their support with this project. Go to pstsport.com for world class delivery of all your artificial grass pitch needs. Thanks for listening.

Fionn Fitzgerald will be well known to followers of GAA, having captained Kerry to a senior football All Ireland title in 2014. The Dr Crokes club man is a lecturer in MTU Kerry campus and is currently undertaking a PhD looking at the area of biobanding, relative age effect and maturation rates of players involved with GAA development academies. In this episode, Fionn shares his thoughts on the ‘growth spurt’ ages for boys and girls, and the impact that can have on their performance. He talks about the need for coaches to be aware of the difference between the early and later physical developers and the challenges posed by each. His research has potentially significant implications for coaches and parents of kids in that 12 -16 age bracket and shines a light on topic previously underappreciated in general by youth sport in Ireland. Similar to season 1, I've set up this podcast with a dual purpose in mind, firstly to provide some thoughtful debate for coaches, but I've also linked up with Recovery Haven in Tralee, who provide free cancer support services for the people of Kerry and beyond. If you found some value in the podcast, it would be great if you could donate any amount, no matter how small to Recovery Haven through the link here: https://bit.ly/3tfsxWw  If you enjoyed this episode, click on the like button, share, leave a review and follow the podcast. My thanks also to PST Sport for their support with this project. Go to pstsport.com for world class delivery of all your artificial grass pitch needs. Thanks for listening.