THIS WEEK, 17 of the country’s top coaches began the first steps on the road to acquiring the highest qualification in their field.
The candidates for this year’s UEFA Pro Licence course were brought to Lansdowne Road on Wednesday for an introduction day ahead of the 18-month process with current men’s senior manager Martin O’Neill invited along as a guest speaker.
The topics covered on the course, the fourth of its kind held by the FAI, include business management, delegating, administration skills, profile management and on-field coaching while former Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland boss O’Neill discussed crisis management and dealing with problematic situations before holding a Q&A session.
Among the participants is Sue Ronan who, along with Eileen Gleeson of Peamount United, will become the first women in Ireland to earn the qualification.
Having taken over from Noel King as manager of the women’s international senior side in 2010, Ronan is regarded as one of the best coaches in the country and speaking to TheScore.ie this week, she gave her initial thoughts on the group and spoke about meetings with her men’s counterpart.
“Martin O’Neill was fantastic,” Ronan said. “He speaks from the heart about his experiences and you know it’s all genuine.
Before Christmas we had a meeting with all the underage teams. When he was talking to me he offered his support and I’m sure it’ll be a case of his door being always open.
“The first day went well. You’re apprehensive as with anything new as you don’t know what to expect and you’re meeting new people.
“I would’ve heard of all the guys on the course but was meeting many of them of the first time. I think it’s going to be a good bunch.”
Ronan and Gleeson know each other well as the pair share a number of players who play for both WNL outfit Peamount United and Ireland. When asked about what it means for women’s football in the country, Ronan says it can only be a positive thing.
“It’s great as it shows barriers are being broken down in regard to women’s football in this country.
“When you look at a country like Germany, who are ahead of everybody, they have 23-25 female coaches with a Pro Licence. So we have a long way to go.
“From a personal point of view, to have the highest coaching badge will give me more credibility.
“It’s great that both of us are on it as we can bounce things off each other. Saying that it wouldn’t have been a problem had it just been one of us as I was the only women on my B and A Licence.”
Improvements have been made in recent years with the formation of the Women’s National League in 2011 and an emphasise put into strength an conditioning.
“For years, there wasn’t a definite structure but the development of the WNL as an elite league has definitely improved players,” Ronan explains.
There is great work being done by Eileen (Gleeson at Peamount United) and Raheny United as well as clubs around the country like Castelbar Celtic.
“A huge area where we’ve been let down is strength and conditioning. We’re addressing it around the country and at academy level with girls of 12, 14 and 16 doing it now.
“Other countries are doing it in schools whereas it’s not really in our culture. The key is improving our underage structure.”
Ronan takes a squad to Cyprus for a warm-up cup competition next month ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Ireland are currently second in Group 1 thanks to two wins and a draw but heavyweights Germany and Russia are next up.
“We’ve got huge games coming up. Germany are a real powerhouse and we’re looking forward to it. We’ve seven out of nine but are a little disappointed that we don’t have the full nine.
“These are the games you want to be playing in. We’re developing as a squad and it’s quite a young team as some players have retired in recent years.
“You get players retiring at an earlier age in the women’s game. At the end of the day, they’re not playing professional and normally have other responsibilities like work and kids.”
