I speak with Dr David Moran in this week's episode. David is a coach and coach developer in Gaelic games. He is a post-doctoral researcher with the Insight Research Ireland Centre for Data Analytics and the School of Health and Human Performance at Dublin City University.
We discuss a paper David led which examines grouping players by ability. Following the introduction of formal competition structures, youth sport often features ability grouping, referred to as streaming, for training and competition. In Gaelic games, a set of participatory sports indigenous to Ireland, streaming is commonly used to organize players. Despite its prevalence, streaming in sport has been under-researched. This study explored the experiences and perceptions of players, parents, and coaches across five Gaelic games clubs. It's findings on the advantages and disadvantages of streaming are relevant across all sports and will be of interest to every coach involved in youth sports.
