The Fallowers

This week we had Shane squared on the show, both from APEC. Our own Shane O'Rourke's boss, Shane Cahill joined us to tell us about his pro rugby career and more recently the fitness education company he currently runs, APEC. They deliver education courses across Ireland and the UK to aspiring S&C coaches. He gave us an excellent overview of what his company can offer, the specific gap he feels they fill and how he sees the future of coach education moving to more of an apprenticeship model than a typical degree.

This week we welcomed on Kelly McNulty. She is behind the Period Of The Period social media platforms. Her PhD research is focusing on the impact of the menstrual cycle and oral contraceptive on athletic performance. She has also investigated other issues that are relevant to both athletic and active females such as bra-sizing, nutrition considerations, higher prevalences of ACL injuries and pelvic floor health. 

This wee we welcomed on Colm Crowley who is a GDA working for Cork GAA and runs the CoachingThe GAAme Twitter page where he creates and shares a considerable amount fo resources to support hurling coaches. We discussed a number of topics relevant to coaching at underage. How to recruit new coaches and current adult players. The role of academies and development squads. Does underage success transfer to senior level? How can we develop games based coaches? Do "hurling walls" have a role in the development of young players?

This week we were joined by Amy McGuire who is a lecturer in Nutrition and Physiology at Limerick IT. Amy also works as Performance Nutritionist with Tipperary GAA and Waterford LGFA. She takes a very realistic approach to nutrition ensuring that players enjoy the food they're eating while still getting the necessary nutrients. Amy provided some really interesting insights on her research where she is looking at low energy availability in athletes.

This week we were delighted to be joined by Cork native, Make Carroll, who is based in California and works with a number of PGA Tour Professionals. He broke down the 3 key components of S&C for golf. How his business and Fit For Golf App works. What he learned at Cressey Performance and gave us some detail around Bryson's transformation with a particular emphasis on improving his golf game.

This week we were joined by Longford's and formerly Essendon's Mickey Quinn. He spoke about his promising talent as an underage soccer star, 4 seasons in professional Aussie Rules, his current approach to training using a HR monitor and the importance of basic skills for the enjoyment of sports.

This week we were delighted to welcome on Colm Nally. One of Ireland's most well known football coaches following his time with Louth senior and underage teams, publishing two coaching books and his time as a Master Tutor for the GAA's Coach Education group. We discussed his current role with Meath Senior Footballers, how he developed his approach to coaching over the years. How he integrates physical development into his football coaching. Individual learning Plans. Drawing Inspiration from other Sports and much much more.

This week we welcomed on Darragh Mulcahy who has represented Ireland in powerlifting and runs his own gym in Tramore, Co Waterford. Darragh has drawn on his experiences of playing school rugby at a high level and coaching numerous GAA & strength athletes to develop a straight forward system for developing strength that can be easily adapted to suit individual needs.

We discussed the needs and merits of using the traditional 'Big 3' lifts, useful accessories/alternatives and spoke our favourite weightlifting shoes.

We took a deep dive into facilitators and barriers to girls participation in sport and physical activity. Bronagh, Emma & Sara provided plenty of insights from both their experiences and research in this area. See biographies below:

Bronagh is a full time lecturer in DCU in the area of primary physical education. She completed her PhD in 2015 in the area of school based interventions in FMS and PA. After that she moved to work in the UK in Edge HIll University and returned to DCU in 2017. Her research areas include FMS,PA, wellbeing, physical self-confidence and coaching. She is a coach education tutor, Gaelic 4 Teens ambassador and her club LGFA development officer. Her interests include gaelic football, fitness and  the outdoors.

Emma is a Marie Curie PhD Candidate in Liverpool John Moores University. Prior to this she completed her MSc in Exercise Science and Medicine from the University of Glasgow and moved to London to work with the European Commission helping academic partners, such as TCD, Imperial College and Oxford University develop healthcare funding bids. Her research focuses on the development of a holistic exercise programme for teenage girls (The HERizon Project). She is passionate about women lifting weights and is an ex-powerlifting and qualified weightlifting coach.

Sara McQuinn is a final year SPHeRE PhD Scholar at DCU. She has a MSc by Research in Child and Young Peoples Health and Well-being and a BSc in Public Health. Sara’s PhD research, the Girls Active Project (GAP) involves the co-design and testing of a school-based intervention aimed at increasing adolescent females’ physical activity levels. Sara is also a qualified personal trainer running her own health and fitness business. From a very young age growing up in Tipperary, Sara was exposed to a wide variety of sports and has always loved being active.

This week we welcomed on Robbie Cannon who is an excellent amateur golfer in his own right but has recently focused on applying S&C principles to golf, most notably in his work with Shane Lowry. Robbie discussed important considerations for golf, whether you are an experienced pro or eager amateur. We spoke about fitness wearables, managing stress and downtime while on tour. We also asked Robbie about his involvement with the Tipperary footballers who enjoyed Munster football success in 2020.