By Phil Kearney
University of Limerick
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @kearney_phil
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3425-663X
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Phil_Kearney
Google Scholar profile: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=ZFggoBgAAAAJ&hl=en
University of Limerick
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @kearney_phil
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3425-663X
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Phil_Kearney
Google Scholar profile: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=ZFggoBgAAAAJ&hl=en
In February, the Coaching Science group of the Sport & Human Performance Research Centre at the University of Limerick hosted an informal gathering to discuss research projects relating to Game-Based Approaches (GBA) currently being undertaken at institutions across the island.
These informal gatherings serve to build a network of coaching science researchers; by sharing insights into research questions, methodologies and experiences, we hope to aid researchers in enhancing the quality of their work.
Researchers from the University of Limerick, Atlantic Technological University Galway, Technological University of the Shannon Athlone and Munster Technological University Tralee attended, as well as representatives from various national and regional sporting organizations.
The first speaker was PhD candidate and lecturer in Munster Technological University Kerry Niall O’Mahony who presented an update on his work looking at high performance Gaelic football coaches’ practise and the extent to which they were aligned with GBA pedagogy. He also gave a brief update on his work with youth Gaelic football coaches, their partial alignment with GBA pedagogy and his plans for an intervention with these coaches. You can find out more about Niall’s research and coaching practice in this podcast.
The second speaker was Dr Carmen Barquero-Ruiz who provided an overview of her evolving interest in GBAs, starting with interventions, but then examining assessment within TGfU and developing a new instrument, and most recently her work comparing Teaching Games for Understanding and Non-Linear Pedagogy. Carmen also outlined her plans for future research focusing on the difference between what coaches are currently doing and how that practice differs from the lessons specified in the research.
The third speaker was Luke Barrett who is a graduate of the MSc in Applied Sports Coaching at the University of Limerick and is currently Donegal senior men's football coach. Luke explained how throughout the masters he had a keen interest in GBA, implementing it in his coaching and trying to enhance how he was implementing it. Within his project, he interviewed high-performance coaches to explore how they developed skill within the context of a GBA. He explained how his findings identified scope for improvement in how well coaches were designing purposeful tasks which were deliberately aimed at skill improvement.
The final speaker of the day was Dr Kevin Gavin, newly appointed to Atlantic Technological University Galway. Kevin’s PhD, undertaken at Technological University of the Shannon Athlone, was focused on physical activity levels, and in particular whether a GBA would enhance physical activity relative to more traditional coaching approaches. Compared to their regular sessions, GBA sessions had on average 13 minutes more time in moderate to vigorous physical activity. This increase in physical activity was seen despite an increase in questioning and dialogue within GBA sessions compared to traditional sessions, dispelling the notion that dialogue negatively impacts session intensity in well-run GBA sessions.
Further researchers undertaking GBA-related research within the Coaching Science group who did not present today include Dr Paul Kinnerk, who is writing up an analysis of an intervention with youth Gaelic football coaches, and Dr Philip Kearney who is examining session sequencing. Furthermore, researchers from other institutions on the island are also engaged in GBA-related work, such as Technological University of the Shannon PhD candidate Cian O’Dea and Dr Philip Connors who recently graduated from South East Technological University. Clearly a second informal meeting to hear updates from these and other related projects is warranted in the near future.
If you are researching or employing GBAs within an Irish context and wish to connect on future such meetings, please reach out to [email protected].
Picture: https://pixabay.com/photos/damien-comer-galway-roscommon-3511499/
These informal gatherings serve to build a network of coaching science researchers; by sharing insights into research questions, methodologies and experiences, we hope to aid researchers in enhancing the quality of their work.
Researchers from the University of Limerick, Atlantic Technological University Galway, Technological University of the Shannon Athlone and Munster Technological University Tralee attended, as well as representatives from various national and regional sporting organizations.
The first speaker was PhD candidate and lecturer in Munster Technological University Kerry Niall O’Mahony who presented an update on his work looking at high performance Gaelic football coaches’ practise and the extent to which they were aligned with GBA pedagogy. He also gave a brief update on his work with youth Gaelic football coaches, their partial alignment with GBA pedagogy and his plans for an intervention with these coaches. You can find out more about Niall’s research and coaching practice in this podcast.
The second speaker was Dr Carmen Barquero-Ruiz who provided an overview of her evolving interest in GBAs, starting with interventions, but then examining assessment within TGfU and developing a new instrument, and most recently her work comparing Teaching Games for Understanding and Non-Linear Pedagogy. Carmen also outlined her plans for future research focusing on the difference between what coaches are currently doing and how that practice differs from the lessons specified in the research.
The third speaker was Luke Barrett who is a graduate of the MSc in Applied Sports Coaching at the University of Limerick and is currently Donegal senior men's football coach. Luke explained how throughout the masters he had a keen interest in GBA, implementing it in his coaching and trying to enhance how he was implementing it. Within his project, he interviewed high-performance coaches to explore how they developed skill within the context of a GBA. He explained how his findings identified scope for improvement in how well coaches were designing purposeful tasks which were deliberately aimed at skill improvement.
The final speaker of the day was Dr Kevin Gavin, newly appointed to Atlantic Technological University Galway. Kevin’s PhD, undertaken at Technological University of the Shannon Athlone, was focused on physical activity levels, and in particular whether a GBA would enhance physical activity relative to more traditional coaching approaches. Compared to their regular sessions, GBA sessions had on average 13 minutes more time in moderate to vigorous physical activity. This increase in physical activity was seen despite an increase in questioning and dialogue within GBA sessions compared to traditional sessions, dispelling the notion that dialogue negatively impacts session intensity in well-run GBA sessions.
Further researchers undertaking GBA-related research within the Coaching Science group who did not present today include Dr Paul Kinnerk, who is writing up an analysis of an intervention with youth Gaelic football coaches, and Dr Philip Kearney who is examining session sequencing. Furthermore, researchers from other institutions on the island are also engaged in GBA-related work, such as Technological University of the Shannon PhD candidate Cian O’Dea and Dr Philip Connors who recently graduated from South East Technological University. Clearly a second informal meeting to hear updates from these and other related projects is warranted in the near future.
If you are researching or employing GBAs within an Irish context and wish to connect on future such meetings, please reach out to [email protected].
Picture: https://pixabay.com/photos/damien-comer-galway-roscommon-3511499/
