GG011 – Mod 1 – Understanding the Young Child Player U6 & U8

This is the first Module of the GG01 course. It provides wonderful depth of knowledge on the Under 6 and Under 8 player as he or she grows from infancy to joining the local Gaelic club. It is a  key to success that the coach understands the development process of the child from 4 to 6 and from 6 to 8 to be a really top class coach. Knowing hurling and knowing the skills of the game is only one side of the coaching equation. Knowing the young child is the other and that is what this module addresses. The module contains 10 very interesting background topics of interest to parents, teachers and to the hurling/camogie coach. It discusses and advises on how to cope and plan for the short attention span of the children, activity organisation and how best to design training to ensure that fundamental motor skills are given top priority at training.

Topic 1 – Introduction to the Course – presents the aims and objectives of the course as well as outlining the importance of sports and physical activity for the growth and development of the child. In particular it shows how the maturity of the child impacts on sports participation and demonstrates the importance of skill learning and physical activity has on the development of the child as a person.

Topic 2 – Growth and Development in Early Childhood – examines why children like sport.  It also looks at why some children turn away from sport at an early age. It examine how maturation can affect sports participation as well as looking at the question of gender differences in how parents and children view sports. It presents an interesting discussion on individualism and its importance to growth, development and physical activity and sports participation.

Topic 3 – Importance of Play and Physical Activity – presents a clear overview of the importance of play and physical activity on the young child. It presents the suggestions of governments and experts on the type and variety of physical activity child need in their daily lives. It discusses the issues of structured play and free play and the relative importance of both to the child.

Topic 4 – Development of the Brain and the Senses – examines the importance of physical activity and sport in the development of the young child’s brain. It also presents a case for the 7 senses – adding balance and proprioception as the extra two senses. It explains how these two senses are so important for developing technical and tactical hurling/camogie skills.

Topic 5 – Stages of Development of Young Child Players – examines Balyi and Hamiltion’s Long Term Player Development Pathway and presents an unique approach to presenting how the LTPD can be implemented for the Under 6 and Under 8 Hurling/Camogie players.

Topic 6 – Windows of Opportunity for Young Players – discusses and presents the concepts of Balyi and Hamiltion on the Windows of Opportunity for Rapid Development in the 5 Elements of Physical Fitness.

Topic 7 – Rationale for the Windows of Opportunity – examines the supporting science and empirical evidence available to support the theory of the Windows of Opportunities. It presents research on the play activities of modern young children and raises 4 main issues that coaches need to consider.

Topic 8 – Understanding the Windows of Opportunity for Rapid Development – examines the Windows of Opportunity that open for the 5 to 8 year old children playing hurling/camogie. It present excellent ideas for skill, flexibility and speed development as they should be coached to Under 6 and Under 8 players.

Topic 9 – The Coach and Postural Awareness – presents the coach with a wonderful background awareness of the importance of good posture and the growing child. the objective of the topic is to make the coach more knowledgeable of the problems of poor posture, how to improve posture and how to build homework for each player to enhance growth and development

Topic 10 – Understanding the “Fundamentals” – presents the coach with an understanding of how the child should progress through the various stages of skill development. It also discusses the reason why children do not develop good fundamental motor skills and the effect this issue has on their sporting prowess in later life.

 Module Duration – This topic contains almost 28 hours of lecture content, diagrams, photos and video clips t ensure the coach is fully aware of how to work with children in the 5 to 8 age groups. One has 60 days to complete this module of study but we feel that most coaches will complete the work much earlier. If you need further time due to work, family or coaching commitments be sure to email us to extend enrolment for you at any time.

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