Event details
GAA Coach and Player Development Summer Webinar Series 2026.
This webinar "Theming: Find a Story to Belong to" is delivered by David Sharkey.
David Sharkey is the founder and director of Polaris Teams, a global high-performance communications consultancy working across elite sport and business.
He is a pioneer in the design and application of Themeing - a culture and motivation-shaping methodology - and is currently completing a Professional Doctorate in Elite Performance at Dublin City University, undertaking the first research into meeting practices in high-performance sport.
David has worked with some of the world's leading coaches and organisations, including Ronan O'Gara and Stade Rochelais across six seasons, Arsenal Women, GB Rowing, Rugby Australia, IRFU, Dublin GAA, Melbourne Storm and Port Adelaide FC, among others. High performing teams and leaders across sport and business all around the world, trust him to assess and to refine their design and delivery of key messages.
“If you have the words, there’s always a chance you’ll find the way” - Seamus Heaney
Be it on pitch or off pitch, the language we use not only shapes who we are but who we want to become. This session on themeing looks at how we can shape that language into a coherent structure to: Engage a group; Connect with one another; Prime players for training and matchday. Drawing on a wide range of experiences across different sports and from all around the world, we will cover: What theming is (and isn’t); how to choose themes that fit our groups and; what theming looks like in action.