Teen development the focus of Cork GAA coaching conference

On Saturday, November 28, Cork GAA will host a coaching conference dealing with the development of teenage athletes.

The event at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh will be aimed at club coaches who work with boys and ages aged from 13-18, with four experts in the field sharing practical approaches and providing tips and advice.

The main aims of the conference, which will run from 9am-12 noon and has a €20 cost, are the safe and effective training of younger players as well as injury prevention, growth and maturation and long-term development. As the teenage years are when players change the most, the importance of good coaching is heightened.

Through four applied presentations and a closing panel, the conference’s speakers will share approaches to developing both male and female athletes, taking account of their growth, maturation and individual needs.

The emphasis is on clear, practical takeaways that attendees can bring back to their club. They will be better equipped to plan and deliver safe, effective training for such players; adapt training to growth, maturation and the individual player; get more from training time with female club players and build stronger, more resilient players who keep developing in the long term.

The four speakers all bring a wealth of knowledge. Eoghan Doran, the lead strength and conditioning coach for the Cork U20 hurling team, will deliver a presentation on the practical implementation of an athletic development programme in a youth club setting.

Previously, he served as the S&C lead for the county minor team for three years, having been assistant S&C coach with All-Ireland-winning Cork senior camogie (2023) and minor hurling (2021) teams. He is currently completing a PhD on the role of sprint mechanics and power output in hamstring injuries.

He will be followed by Rob Mulcahy, the head of athletic development at Setanta College, who will focus on growth, maturation and applied practice.

Mulcahy spent eight years with Clare GAA, first with the senior football team and then as head of athlete development. His coaching spans Gaelic games, basketball, rugby, rowing and swimming, from grassroots to international level.

Dylan Byrne is the Cork senior football S&C coach as well as holding a similar role with the county-winning St Finbarr’s camogie side while operating as the Cork LGFA athletic development co-ordinator and his segment is entitled ‘Busy Isn’t Developing: Getting the Most from the Female Club Player’.

Dylan has extensive experience across male and female Gaelic games at both club and inter-county level, including roles with the Cork U20 hurlers and Cork minor footballers. As well as the three consecutive county titles and a Munster win with the Barrs, he has contributed to county and Munster success with Naomh Abán in ladies’ football and multiple Munster and All-Ireland titles with Cork LGFA underage squads.

The last speaker will be Diarmuid Hayes, who was the Cork minor football S&C coach in 2026 and is now taking up a similar post with the U20 team. He will present a case study of the minor team’s year, which ended with All-Ireland glory.

A former GAA games promotion Officer, he coached throughout the country, from county development squads to clubs such as Uíbh Laoire, Bishopstown and Ballincollig RFC, often with 50-plus players, one pitch and little else.

A practitioner-researcher, Diarmuid is beginning an embedded PhD with Cork GAA exploring the environment of the U20 player. In this case study, he’ll show why we can ask far more of young players than we think.

For more info, see https://gaacork.ie/event/2026-cork-gaa-athletic-development-conference-2026/