GAELIC SPORTS WORLD Issue 35 – October 6, 2015 | Page 43

BY JOE TROLAN
OCTOBER 2, 2015
An earlier article touched upon coaching players with disabilities in regard to enabling trust and respect between
coaches and physically disabled players. What is also important is to understand how to coach players where a disability
that may not be so obvious such as those players with learning disabilities. Playing with a physical disability is accepted
as “normal,” today and there are a plethora of regulations
that provide the opportunity to those with physical disabilities. On the other hand, those with learning disabilities or
“invisible” disabilities still face difficulties in acceptance and
understanding though the process is improving.
INCLUSION
What is important for coaches to remember is the idea of
inclusive coaching. Players will have different needs and
wants and coaches can become more inclusive coaches
through learning and training. What is imperative is that
the coaches work with the athletes to comprehend their disability. Once a coach has a grasp of a players concern or issues then he or she can modify training to encourage them
to participate. The idea behind understanding the players
concerns is to empower them to challenge themselves individually and as a group.
MODIFY
One of the major issues for the coach is how does he or she
group the players (remember they are children) so that players do not feel excluded. One method is to do both a group
(modified) and parallel group (non modified) activity that
is both inclusive and open. Those with learning disabilities
may take longer to understand instructions and lose focus
if a coach spends too long explaining an activity so modifying games can assist in activity progressions. For example,

when a coach is explaining activities as a group, they can do
so through small-sided examples rather than using full game
mentality and slow the activity down to highlight important
aspects of it.
UNDERSTAND
What this creates is an opportunity for those with learning
disabilities to better comprehend and yet allows those without
to still understand. Additionally, coaches should give snippets
of information with demonstrations and ask if players understand rather than giving one long informational speech and
tell players to go practice. This can be classified as a modified activity, then the coach can break groups into levels (skill
level, size level, age level) and the players can then practice the
activity unmodified and at a level they are competent at. This
allows players to be able to compete against players of similar
attributes.
PLAN
Coaching players with learning difficulties can be demanding
but having a good plan of action and a progressive attitude can
encourage those same players to become more involved and improve. Coaches should provide directions that are simple and
ask that the group understands them; they should also provide
numerous demonstrations (modified and unmodified) that can
allow people to visualize the activity; they should provide activities that both lead to success and can be broken down into separate parts (easier to explain); and finally, provide an atmosphere
of acceptance where everyone is treated the same and rules are
enforced the same. Players with learning disabilities should be
given the same opportunities as those without, in sport, and it is
essential that coaches through their methods become the principal leaders in creating an inclusive atmosphere.

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