Monaghan minor football manager Mark Counihan hosts a webinar'Developing Resilience in Our Players' on Wednesday May 6 at 7.30pm.

Further details and a registration form are available by clicking here.

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All sorts of different challenges are being faced by people throughout the world currently so the topic of developing resilience in players is sure to attract some interest in Monaghan GAA’s interesting webinar series.

Mark Counihan is in charge of the Monaghan minor footballers and will provide an insight into the way young players can be helped cope with adversity in their lives.

“I find it is a topic I discuss a lot with work colleagues and coaches,” Counihan admits. “It is a topical one, it is something some people might have a backward and outdated view on resilience in that they think it is something that is fixed. People might think you either have it or you don't have it. For me it is something that needs to be viewed as a skill everyone has.

“There is room to improve it and there is also to maybe slip back if you don't have the tools and strategies to deal with things and setbacks. I think it is something that will be very relevant to coaches.”

Ultimately Counihan is adamant that resilience can be nurtured and developed in various ways. “That is what the webinar is hoping to address, to show how players can become more resilient with strategies and cues players can use to improve their resilience,” Counihan adds.

“Also to show how coaches can create an environment to improve players resilience. There is no doubt it can be improved on. You are probably looking at a broad picture.

“You have a lot of stakeholders in how a person is developed, how that happens. The positive relationships, having a good self image, a positive attitude, your environment and interactions within your environment all contribute to developing resilience. As coaches we have a big role to play in that.”

What Counihan has noticed too, though, working with teams is the central role a coach occupies. “Teenagers have a lot to deal with nowadays, some of the stuff they enjoy, some of the stuff they mightn't enjoy,” Counihan remarks.

“It is about achieving a good balance in your hobbies, interests, and school. Balance is a key element of that, but within those environments they are going to have setbacks.

“Exams mightn't go well, football things mightn't go well, it is something we would put a lot of stock into: creating a good environment that can help boys overcome these issues.”

Ensuring players can inadvertently learn from one another is critical too according to Counihan. “It is even creating an autonomous set-up where players have a lot of say in things,” he responds.

“Then they feel more a part of it, they feel more together. When resilience is challenged they will try that bit harder, to push through the setback as opposed to just giving up on it.”

Despite being unable to train collectively Counihan is encouraged by the manner in which the Monaghan minor panel continues to remain enthusiastic.

“We are blessed, the coaching staff we have with the Monaghan minors is top class,” Counihan says. “We are certainly not sitting back doing nothing. We are probably busier than we have ever been. We have been coming up with new and creative ways.

There is a lot of remote coaching going on, we are keeping the boys interested that way. We are coming up with different challenges and the boys themselves are fantastic, they are coming up with their own challenges too.

“They took on the Doing It for Dan 5K challenge a couple of weeks ago, they all donated and did their run. We are doing it now for Dean Rock's Stewart Care. They are a conscientious bunch and are looking at different ways to improve themselves when they are on their own.

“Again resilience is being challenged here, but they are meeting the challenge trying to improve themselves. They are looking at creative ways to try to do things to make themselves better. It is a tough time, but the element they probably miss the most is seeing each other and being part of a group.

“We are even trying to overcome that by having zoom quizzes, things like that so they can see and interact with each other.”

It has been an especially encouraging stint for Monaghan in recent campaigns at senior and underage level. A feeling of hope exists in the county. “There is no doubt about that,” Counihan comments.

“In the last decade we have won three minor championships, we had only won three in the previous 80 years before that. So there has been a big push from Monaghan Coaching and Games led by Paul O'Connor.

“The club coaches are getting more interested, doing courses, bringing the thing on in clubs. The schools are very competitive in the Ulster colleges tournaments. There is a big push, but getting back to resilience again, Monaghan has a fantastic can do attitude.

“You have a lot of successful business stories in Monaghan which comes from a deep seated thinking in Monaghan people that they can push through things. They want to get the best out of themselves.”