Wicklow Cúl Camps aim to treat every child well and foster a love of the games

NEXT week the Kelloggs GAA Cúl Camps will commence in clubs throughout the county.

In 2015 over 102,000 children attended Cúl Camp nationally.

In Wicklow, last year we catered for in excess of 3,000 children and employed close to 100 coaches.

For the next eight weeks, camps will take place in most clubs in the county, where children get a great opportunity to play and learn in a safe, fun environment.

So far the weather looks to be very kind to us, club facilities are in great condition and there is a huge feeling of optimism about the quality of Cúl Camps this year.

A lot of organisation goes into ensuring that Cúl Camps run successfully. The GAA has employed a full time Cúl Camp co-ordinator who organises how the camps are organised nationwide.

Every year his working group try to make different adjustments to help improve the product. Croke Park takes responsibility for all the marketing and packaging of brochures, advertisements, kit, bags and pricing.

They negotiate with sponsors, organise photo-shoots with county players and they also make recommendations about the range of activities coaches need to provide for children. Each individual county is then responsible for running the Cúl Camp programme in their area.

In Wicklow the games manager, Hugh Kenny, has the responsibility for setting up the schedule of dates.

Each club requests the dates that suit them best and that request is usually accommodated. Hugh also invites applications for coaching jobs at the camps.

People who are over 18 years of age with a foundation coaching award are entitled to apply for coaching positions.

This year we are very lucky as a lot of top quality coaches have agreed to work at the camps. The quality of the coaching is a major factor in determining the success of the Kelloggs GAA Cúl Camps.

This week our new team of coaches will be challenged to two training days to prepare for working at the camp. These training days are designed to prepare the coaches to plan their coaching programme over the course of a full week. Cúl Camps last over 22 hours in total and in that time it is possible for children to make significant improvements.

Our coaches will be been trained to structure a week of progressive activities pitched at the age and ability of their group.

Like a spider making a web, a good coach uses time wisely during the week and on Friday has great results to show.

When training coaches it is always vital to define what a coach is.

Coaches can be called many names including teacher, role model, friend, mentor, motivator and guide.

One of the names that we heard last week was facilitator. Facilitator comes from the French word facile meaning easy.

A facilitator makes things easier for people and coaches with ability are worth their weight in gold.

While the majority of children who attend camp play with a club some children have never played before. Making things easy for them will enhance their overall enjoyment.

It is often very difficult for an 18 or 19-year-old to coach six or seven-year-olds. We often forget how long it took us to learn skills of the game and sometimes we fail to appreciate that children learn in different stages.

Great coaches put more rungs on the ladder and find new ways of making the game accessible to more people.

When coaches work as a team, they share their ideas and this generates greater levels of activity, excitement and confidence at the camp.

Our best coaches use coaching models to design a range of activities that assist and challenge their group over the week.

Coaches need to find a balance between activity and learning. Children can tire easily on warm days and coaches need to be aware of the ratio of activity to rest their children are getting.

Some activities require a lot of movement and others can be done from a stationary position. It is always good to begin the day with movement games to develop agility, get the heart racing and generate excitement at the camp.

Parents generally love to see their children playing matches when they collect them at the end of the day.

The middle part of the day is always a good time for skill development where children are not running as much as they do during games but are still learning.

Each camp has a head coach present who is in charge of that camp for the week. Children love structure and discipline and they are always put at ease when the person in charge knows what they are doing. Uncertainty can be frightening for children.

The head coach should implement a few rules to ensure the camp is enjoyable and safe for all children.

It is important that these rules are communicated to everyone and that people know that certain behaviours will not be tolerated.

In our experience incidences of bad behaviour are minimal at Cúl camp when everyone is aware of the rules.

Cúl camp is an enjoyable but tiring week for children. Parents should ensure that their child – especially very young children - get enough rest in the evening.

It always helps for the child to eat healthily. A good nourishing lunch and water help a child to stay active during the day.

Sugary foods and drinks cause a short term energy highs and crashes. A good breakfast and healthy food including fruit that allow a slow release of energy is always preferable.

Over the next eight weeks, Wicklow GAA are committed to running the Kelloggs GAA Cúl Camps to a very high standard. We believe that the week is beneficial to all children between 6 and 13 years of age.

We want to treat every child well, to help foster a love for our games and to give them lots of opportunities to play games with their friends. It’s going to be a great summer.

Full details on Wicklow Cúl Camp are available on www.kelloggsculcamps.gaa.ie.