GAME CHANGER
Future Leaders Transition Year Programme
The Future Leaders
Transition Year Programme
is one of the most innovative
developments in Transition
Year in recent years. The
origins, aims and roll-out of
this programme fit TY like
hand-in-glove and, if a
school was to introduce only
one programme in TY, then
this one would surely make it
onto the short-list.
WHAT IS THE FUTURE
LEADERS TY PROGRAMME?
The programme is a joint
initiative from the GAA and the
PDST (Professional Development
Service for Teachers) and gives
TY students the knowledge and
skills to support all roles required
in the effective staging of Gaelic
Games. As part of the
programme pupils are challenged
to organise and run a GAA Super
Games Blitz or set up a Super
Games Centre for younger
students and support coaching of
younger players in their school or
community. The programme comprises 8
modules (of 6-10 hours each)
that are further broken down into
tasks. The completion of tasks is
recorded via e-portfolio for
assessment and completion of a
module leads to a certificate.
The concept is so simple and its
development so elegant it seems
almost effortless, but this belies
the tremendous amount of
passion, dedication and
collaboration underlying the
programme. The programme considers GAA
in its widest context and
identifies the key areas that it
may be divided into. These key
areas form the basis of the
modules and include;
!
!
Modules may be offered as stand-
alone or in combination with
other modules. Completing the
programme (5 modules + a
practical component) leads to the
awarding of a “GAA T Y Future
Leaders Certificate”.
!
!
• Coaching & Physical Literacy
• Refereeing
• Administration
• Sports Journalism
• Performance Analysis
• Event Management
• Wellness
• Nutrition
!
A practical application
component completes the
programme, with schools
choosing either or both;
!
• Organising a GAA Super
Games Blitz
• Coaching younger players in
their school or community
Modules come with a host of
support material and PDST offer
training and development to
participating teachers.
!
Modules can be easily linked to
school subjects such as PE,
Maths, English, Science, Business
Studies, Home Economics or
History.
!
A competitive element has been
added to help incentivise
students. The winner of each
module will shadow a subject
expert at one of the main
sporting events of the year in
Croke Park.
!
We caught up with Eoghan
Hanley to learn more about this
new initiative and how it came to
be. Eoghan is the TY Coordinator
at Gort Community School in
Galway, National Coordinator of
GAA Future leaders TY
programme, and Munster Coach
Education Tutor. Eoghan is as
passionate about teaching as he
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