Roger Keenan Talent ID – Profiling Players, Progressing Talent, Producing Stars Years

Outcomes Where are we now? What are we looking for in “talented players”? Why & what should we measuring? What is an exceptional development environment? Assessment/Profiling – What & How? The Mental Profile – coach-ability “the 80% in the mind”

Where are we now? GAA Performance Ladder Sports Institute Sports Institute Provincial Strategy……………… Under 10 / 12 Under 14 / 16 Under 18/21 Senior Development Squads Ulster Under 17 Minor Under 21 Sigerson Senior Provincial Ireland School & Club Regional Squads International / Provincial County, Higher Education & Development Squads PARTICIPATION PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE FOUNDATION Nursery/Participation Talent ID

Nature verses Nurture?

Research Recent Studies of Track & Field Sports have shown that many athletes identified at are not making it through! Why? Poor Talent ID Systems – incorrect criteria – no confirmation criteria! Biological Development (Relative Age Theory) – Physical (Don’t look for what is but what might be) Lifestyle Choices – Priorities Poor Talent Confirmation System – no progression/feedback Hunger – Some believe that they have “arrived”

Relative Age Theory Gaelic Relative Elite Age Theory - some Gaelic players may miss out on a spot at the top level. This is simply due to the month that they are born on. Development difference greatest at U14/U16. Even when groupings are limited to 1 year categories, e.g. U15; U16; U17; U18, development differences can be great. In such cases players born in January and December will have almost a year difference in their age. Ulster Elite Squads U16 – 7 times more people born in first 3 months than last 3 3 out of 4 born in first half of the year

Age factored performance Taking the elite squad and testing their performance in several areas the result was that the older players outweighed the younger always proving age is a factor. Question: Do we take a short term view of what is rather than what might be???

Current Methods for Talent ID The Process of Identifying Talent:  Scouting/observation  Trials  Blitz  Club Games  Referral/Clubs, Schools, Coaches  Training Camps  Current Form  Profiling/ Benchmarking (IRFU)

Task 1 - Why Profile ? To establish a baseline for team/individuals To inform our training programme for team/individual To establish the critical success factors To monitor the effectiveness of our training programme To motivate players & team To establish norms for physical, technical, and psychological development To develop a pathway for success – What should a talented 24 year old look like? To embrace best practice

Reasons for Assessments A Functional screen can be used to assess competence in general dynamic movements. A Fitness assessment can identify general capacities of agility, endurance, flexibility, speed, strength and power, and relate these to body composition. A Skills assessment can identify technical proficiency and bi-lateral transfer in developing players Assessments are therefore used to; – Establish each player’s strengths, weaknesses and priorities for development – Help maximize the sports potential of each player – Monitor team/player fitness progress – Determine the effectiveness of the training programme – Monitor individual player response to training/playing – Ensure that a player is ‘fit to play’

Task 2 – Talent ID Criteria (Sheet 1) What we are looking for in talented players? Can it be accurately measured? How can it be measured? How do we check for progress?

What to benchmark? (Assessment) Physical Based Assessment Why? Skills Based Assessment Why? Functional Based Assessment Why? Characteristics of Winners Why? Training Load & Social Diary Why? Record Keeping

Talent Player Profile

Functional Movement Used to scan general posture & review of previous injury Exercises used to identify flexibility, mobility and / or stability issues Exercises include overhead squat, in-line lunge, double hurdle-hops and active straight leg raise

Typical range of movement from other disciplines (prior to entry to The Institute)

The GAA Player – poor flexibility and mobility due to over use and poor programme structure (prior to entry to The Institute)

Interpretation & Talent Confirmation Meaningful changes should be highlighted Compare percentage differences Comparisons within positions may be useful Compare results with benchmark data Provide individual feedback to players in the form of a hard copy of their results Realistic individual targets should be set for each player using their scores

Eg. Team Summary Football U16

Eg. Team Summary Hurling U16

Summary The initial assessment is used to establish the strengths, weaknesses, and priorities for development for each player, allowing an individualized programme to be prescribed. This represents a baseline level and further evaluations allow the effectiveness of the individualized training programme to be determined. Although sports performance is multifaceted, improvements in functional movement and physical fitness should facilitate enhanced performance during competition. For any structured yearly training, the coach and sports physiologist should decide on and plan all testing dates in advance. Generally appropriate testing times are at the beginning and end of each training phase, allowing assessment of the effectiveness of each phase. The coach can then use this information to plan the next training phase at both the team and individual level.

Skills Profiling

Agility Ball Control

Speed and Ball Control

Moving Punt Pass

First Touch - Fielding

Kicking for Scores

Task 3 (Sheet 2) What are the key aspects of a good training environment? Are they evident in your club/county? Which ones are missing?

Sport Desired Performance Employment Health EnvironmentFinance Relationship Network Education Other Impact on Performance Minimise distractions to sports performance while preparing for achievement beyond sport

‘Player centred, coach driven’ Lifestyle Management Technical Development Mental Toughness Tactical Development Coach Performance Analysis Personal Support (family / friends) Core Strength Sports Science Athlete

The key areas of athlete preparation Psychological preparation Physical Preparation Technical preparation Tactical preparation Lifestyle Management

Profile model (coach-ability) Constructive Evaluation Mental Toughness Mindset Motivational & Working Traits Learning Style Coach Player/Athlete (Coachability)

Talent that fails To maximise your potential you need to have the mental capabilities to deal with setbacks and successes “The mind messes up more performances than the body” Jimmy Bolt

Constructive evaluation “one of the characteristics of a top player is that they are able to deliver a genuinely honest assessment of their own performance and ability” Arsene Wenger Constructive Evaluation

Self-Awareness Simply put, it means having an understanding not only of your own strengths & limitations, but also of psychological functions ‘People with a strong self awareness are realistic, neither overly self critical nor naively hopeful. Rather they are honest with themselves’

Talent Profile

Mindset “I want to win all tournaments, but being the best me – that’s a little more important” Tiger Woods Mindset

Mindsets A Mindset is a belief Fixed Mindset (FMS) Growth Mindset (GMS)

Fixed Mindset Commonly found in talented individuals Symptoms of a FMS: Labelling Low effort syndrome This is the path of stagnation!

Growth Mindset Aware that talents can be developed Abilities are build over time “Coach-ability” Above average but not always the most genetically talented This is the path of opportunity & success

Mental Toughness Without addressing the mental deficiencies we are limiting the chances of producing professional footballers” Jose Mourinho Mental Toughness

The 5 Internal C’s Inner Competitiveness, Inner Commitment Control (Emotion & Life) Challenge Confidence (Abilities & Interpersonal)

Inner Competitiveness, Inner Commitment “ The body should never tell the mind it is tired, the mind has the strength to out will and Push the body” General George Patton

Confidence & Commitment

Motivational & Working Traits “it’s important that I am able to establish the right level of communication, this is very important for successful management” Arsene Wenger M&W Traits

Language & Behaviour (LAB) Purpose is to help coaches gain a higher level of performance in your players Through Understanding the individual by identifying their motivational and working traits through the players language

Learning Styles Both players & coaches need to be aware Ultimately we are teaching players to play football, if we are not aware of learning styles can we effectively maximize their learning “Coaching should enhance learning not get in the way of it” Learning Style

How styles of Coaching can affect learning Data from many research projects ToldTold & Shown Told, shown & with your input 70% 72% 85% 10%32%65% Recall after 3 weeks Recall after 3 months

Individual Mental Skills Training Athletes report, during competition mental attitudes account for 80% of their success. Few training programs train their athletes to control their mental attitudes Mindmapping T-CUP/Thought stopping Positive Reflection Mental imagery Influencing language Team Talks/Training sessions Bio-dermal feedback training Turning a Skill into Skill Resilience

The brain is like a muscle, the more you work on the inside the more it shows on the outside Constructive Evaluation Mental Toughness Mindset Language & Behaviour Learning Style Coach Player/Athlete

The Role of the Coach THE EFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENT COACH Improving players’ performance through high quality coaching Key outcomes of a player centered approach: 1. Increased self awareness 2. Increased self reflection 3. Increased responsibility and understanding of their own performance & development The coach has a clear responsibility to the players and the Development programme to help create a coaching and learning climate that must be of a higher standard than the player receives back in their own club or school environment. Effort and commitment are obvious prerequisites to success. However, they are not enough on their own; the players’ development will largely depend upon your coaching methodology and the effective delivery of game related knowledge and skills.

Guiding Philosophy “When winning is kept in perspective sport produces children who enjoy being skillful, who strive for excellence, who dare to risk error to learn and who develop with practice and constructive feedback. When winning is kept in perspective there is room for fun in the pursuit of victory – the pursuit of victory is fun” Geoff Gleeson - The growing child in competitive sport: Hodder Staughton (1987)