Cian O’Dea was a Clare Senior Footballer for nine years and a New York Footballer for three, he now works as a GAA Games Development Officer in New York, having previously held similar roles with Clare GAA and Éire Óg Inis. He is a graduate of the MSc in Advanced Athletic Performance with Setanta College.
Below, Cian discusses his coaching journey from Clare to Brooklyn, what the master’s added to his career as an intercounty footballer and coach, and where he hopes to go next.
A Family Immersed in Sport
Coaching was part of Cian’s life from an early age.
“I grew up on a farm in Kilfenora, Co. Clare, with my brother and three sisters. We are all massively into sports, and my parents would drive us all over the county for football, hurling, soccer, cross country, everything really. With football being my first sport, I represented the Clare Senior Footballers for nine years and the New York Footballers for three.
I first got into coaching in my local club, Kilfenora, when my father, JJ, would bring us along with him on one of his many coaching roles at the club as young lads. As I got older, I would help my mother, who coached the nursery-age kids, and that’s where I really started to take a liking to coaching.”
A Week in New York GAA
Cian’s current role keeps him busy across New York.
“I’m currently employed by New York GAA and based in Brooklyn. I took up the role in June of 2023 and went straight into planning and organising the Cúl Camps, which were held at Gaelic Park in the Bronx. A typical week out here is usually filled with long evenings and weekends of coaching, organising blitzes, tournaments and development squads, and promoting the GAA.
There are 14 different underage clubs within New York GAA, spread across the Five Boroughs, Long Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Westchester, Orange County, Dutchess County and Putnam County, so travelling to them all can take time, especially in rush-hour traffic. On any evening, I’d try to get to at least one club and work alongside their coaches to help upskill them and the parents.
On weekends, we’d have either an underage blitz or Go Games for the U6, U8 and U10, mostly at the state-of-the-art facilities at Redmond Park, Yonkers. Since my appointment, New York has implemented Go Games, Monster Blitzes and Development Division small-sided games. In the winter, we run indoor Monster Blitzes in a dome similar to the one in Mayo.”
From Clare to Brooklyn
Cian’s path into coaching as a career began with a college placement.
“My first actual coaching role was with Clare GAA when I did my college work placement in third year. This was really beneficial, as I got to network with lots of different coaches in Clare and in other counties. When I came out of college, I was looking to get back into coaching as a career, and with the people I’d met at Clare GAA I was able to start working for a few different clubs as a schools coach, coaching local kids across different clubs.
Then Covid hit and I started my master’s with Setanta. Afterwards, I began working with Éire Óg Inis as their Development Officer. The Éire Óg club were amazing and really made me feel like one of their own. There are some great people involved who made it a really rewarding job. In 2023, after three years in that role and never having travelled too far for too long, I decided to move to New York to take up the role as Games Development Officer here.”
Why Setanta
The link between the programme and the Gaelic Players Association was a key draw.
“What initially motivated me to join Setanta College was their link with the Gaelic Players Association. I always wanted to further my knowledge in coaching, and the MSc in Advanced Athletic Performance was a great fit. I started it in September 2020, and due to its flexibility and mostly online layout I was able to work, coach and play while still doing it, which is brilliant.
The master’s was a really in-depth version of what I did in my bachelor’s, and focused more on elite-level players and coaching through physiological and psychological aspects like nutrition, recovery, conditioning, data analysis, anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, coaching and mindset.”
Nutrition on the Intercounty Stage
“What I enjoyed most about studying with Setanta was the flexible nature of the course, which allows students to progress in their careers while also upskilling in their field through education. Learning about sport nutrition was great for me, as I was playing intercounty football at the time and was able to use all that information for my own benefit.
We were researching the energy demands of elite sportspeople and how they differ from sport to sport, and how, each day, whether pre or post training or game, each athlete needed to eat based on their positional requirements, body composition and sport demands. It was really insightful and showed me that in any sport, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t apply anywhere.”
Advice for Others
“A piece of advice I would give someone in my field of sport science and coaching is to always keep learning and upskilling. Sport science is a relatively new science and is always changing with new studies, techniques and standards. ‘If you aren’t moving forward, you are going backwards.’
Always stay busy, always keep trying new things. Even if you make a mistake or fail, you will learn from it and it will help you develop in the future. Help out with local clubs and get your name out there by trying different sports.”
Looking Ahead
“My future coaching plans would entail some sort of elite-level managerial role, like intercounty or a high-level club. Right now I’m in New York and there are lots of opportunities to progress with New York GAA, so I’m happy here at the moment. I’d like to get involved in some American sports like football, baseball or lacrosse, which are big here.
I like the elite side of sports and all the physiological, psychological and tactical aspects of it as you progress up the levels, but I also like helping youth and children develop, so maybe something along the lines of an Academy Director or Head of Development in a sports organisation. Once I’m out helping people get better, I’m happy.”
