New Jerseys

Transfers, families just moved to the parish, total beginners who never held a football — one night that turns new faces into clubmates with names.

Gaelic football
All ages
60 min
12–30 players (works with 3 new faces or 15)
2 coaches
Effort 3/5
One third of a pitch
integration
new players
welcome night
club community
beginners

The PitchPlans coaching teamGAA Award 1 & 2 coaches

Kit: 12 footballs, 30 cones, 20 bibs (2 colours), a marker and masking tape for name labels, tea and biscuits arranged for afterwards

Warm-up8 min

The Handshake Grid

Setup: A 25×25m square, a ball between two. Everyone — new and old — wears a tape name label on the chest, because the veterans forget that THEY are strangers too.

How it works: Jog and hand-pass in pairs. On SWAP, find a new partner, shake hands, trade names and counties or countries — then play on with them. Every swap must be with someone you haven't partnered yet, and club players are under instruction to reach the new faces first. After four swaps, add the memory test: before each pass, call the receiver's actual name, read the label only if you must. Finish with the whole group in one circle, ball flying across it, name before every pass, applause for every correct hard one.

What to say

“Veterans move first — a new player should never stand waiting.”
“Name, then ball — every single pass.”
“Ask where someone's from and listen to the answer.”

Easier

Rolled or thrown balls for anyone brand new to Gaelic — the game tonight is names, not technique.

Harder

Circle round with two balls and eyes-closed name calls before the throw.

Activity14 min

Buddy Ball

Setup: Before the night, pair every new player with a chosen club buddy — same rough age, patient, sound. Buddy pairs (plus a spare veteran making threes where numbers are odd) at their own cone island with a ball.

How it works: Ten minutes of two-way teaching. First five: the buddy teaches the club basics at whatever level fits — the hand-pass grip for a total beginner, the club's kickout calls for an experienced transfer. Second five, the twist that makes the night: the NEW player teaches the buddy something from their own sporting life — a soccer volley, a basketball pivot, a hurling touch from their old county, a cricket catch. Coaches float and learn along. Finish with each pair showing the group one thing that travelled in either direction; the pitch applauds both directions equally.

What to say

“Buddies teach at their pace, not your pace.”
“New players are not empty pages — mine the skills they brought.”
“Show-and-tell both ways — the club learns tonight too.”

Easier

Skip the show-and-tell for shy pairs; a coach demos for them.

Harder

Pairs merge into fours and teach their imports to each other — four skills now moving around the group.

Activity16 min

The Graded Game

Setup: A 40×30m pitch, gate goals, mixed teams with buddies kept together on the same side. Two bib colours; the referee-coach carries the graded rulebook in their head.

How it works: One game, personal rules — the trick that lets a county transfer and a total beginner enjoy the same pitch. Everyone plays Gaelic football at their own grade, declared before throw-in: beginners may catch-and-throw instead of solo and can't be tackled, only shadowed; improvers play full rules with a three-second grace on the ball; experienced players play tight rules and may only score off their weak side. A beginner's score counts double and any score assisted by a new player earns a bonus point. Referee narrates the grades out loud early and often so nobody's embarrassed and everybody's stretched.

What to say

“Grade people up mid-game the moment they look comfortable.”
“Veterans: your job is assists and cover, not highlights.”
“Name every good beginner touch out loud.”

Easier

Beginners' zone in front of each gate where only they may score.

Harder

STEPR: veterans drop to one touch; grace periods shrink as the game grows.

The rest of this session is free — along with 3 more this week.

PitchPlans coaching team

Free on PitchPlans — new sessions weekly.