Leinster GAA's ambition to level standards throughout the province has taken a significant step forward with the addition of 30 new full-time coaches.
It's anticipated that around 90 clubs will benefit from the scheme in the bid to catch up with the numbers working in Dublin.
The coaches will work as games promotion officers and are currently being inducted. They will assume positions throughout the province in the coming weeks.
A grouping of club, county and provincial resources will fund the wages of the coaches. Each GPO will be aligned to a club or clubs, similar to a scheme long since in operation in the capital, where the appointed club pays a portion of the coach’s salary.
In this regard, Dublin blazed a trail in the early noughties with a specific coaching template to boost participation in schools and clubs. It is estimated that they now have 50 GPOs in operation.
This compares to 90 throughout the rest of the province, meaning that the latest addition of 30 more coaches will help provide a better balance.
The latest development comes soon after the success of the East Leinster Project, which was established in 2017 with the placement of GPOs in Kildare, Louth, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow.
The success of this project saw a direct increase in activity in areas such as Go Games, camps and schools coaching, and a dramatic rise in volunteerism within the clubs.
The new project will reach into Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, Carlow, Laois and Kilkenny, as well as filling some east Leinster vacancies.
Clubs will be paying more than 50% of salaries, counterbalanced by Leinster GAA, who will be covering PRSI costs and expenses.
The provincial council has made this commitment until October.
At that point, the GAA's new €12m national funding model for coaching and games development kicks in.
"We'll sit down and see what our spend is in each county," says Leinster chairman Pat Teehan.
"We will see what the county allocation of funding is and where this fits into it. We will still continue to put in some money from Leinster as well.
"It is great to see this level of take-up in the GPO model across the province. It is evidence of our commitment to assisting clubs in developing both their underage activity and overall structures. To see this number of staff head out to clubs and know the impact they will have is extremely heartening.
"Each club is submitted to a rigorous audit before qualifying for a GPO. This involves sitting down with clubs looking at their activity levels at underage, how they interact with schools and devising a work plan that would see a GPO support them in these areas. It is very much not a one size fits all nor the ultimate solution, it is just another addition to existing supports that are provided through ourselves and the National Games Development Committee. We will continue to work with all stakeholders for the betterment of our association."
