TURAS – the Irish word for Journey – was chosen as the name of the Leinster GAA’s Coach Development programme to reflect the journey taken by both coaches and players as they play and stay in the GAA. TURAS recognises that coaching is central to player development and investing in quality, long-term and sustainable coach education will have significant and positive impacts on the progress of young players and the competiveness of senior teams into the future. In this webinar, Aine and James will present the evidence, rationale and principles underpinning the TURAS programme. Attendees will be able to consider how to practically apply the TURAS coaching principles to their own coaching and context
Dr Áine MacNamara and James Devane
Áine MacNamara is an Associate Professor in Elite Performance at Dublin City University. Áine’s background is in physical education and coaching and she has worked with young people in a range of sporting environments as an educator, coach and sports psychology consultant. Her main research interest is in Talent Development and Coach Development and she has published widely including over 45 peer-review journals, 15 book chapters and technical reports, and two books. She has consulted with a range of sporting organisations in the UK and Ireland to help them develop Talent Development pathways and policies as well as providing coach and parent education to support the implementation of these ideas and frequently engages with NGBs of sport by contributing to coach education and player development workshops.
James Devane is the Provincial Coaching & Games Manager for Leinster GAA since 2015, having previously worked in Games Development for Kildare GAA. James has led the design, development and implementation of the TURAS Coach Education programme across Leinster. Since 2018, over 6000 coaches, from nursery through to inter-county level have participated in the TURAS coach education programme through workshops, seminars and on-pitch mentoring. James has also responsibility for coach development in Leinster, working closely with Games Development staff developing coaches at Club, School & Talent Academy level.