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how they add value...To me Ireland did the most brilliant economic thing... they gave a tax break on income authors! Dem ah eat food off Jamaicans.....
I know it is not popular to praise catholic priests... But here is a case of positive attributes....Also a tale of small investment not necessarily in money reaps results....
Ireland inspiring sporting success
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
This time of year is all about being Irish.
By Derval O’Rourke
For an island with a tiny population, we make a pretty big impact globally in sport. Results are seen on rugby pitches, golf courses and on tracks all over the world.
But off the track, in the background, the impact of the Irish is staggering. For every world-class performance that sets athletics stadiums alight, there is, more often than not, an Irish person in the background with a key role.
Discover Ireland have done an amazing job with their Inspire Ireland YouTube video. The montage is a wonderful showcase of the many facets of Irish life and the impact of the country globally. It shows, among other things, how we’re the best country to do business with, adaptable as a workforce and how Irish innovation enhances the world.
With this in mind, it’s no wonder Irish connections seem to play a part in a vast amount of what makes world athletics prosper. Whether it is managing the affairs of world superstars, coaching or taking care of the physical wellbeing of the track elite, there’s nearly always an Irish link.
The superstar of track is Usain Bolt. He lit up the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and has been a global star ever since. The man charged with managing the life of Bolt is Donegal super-agent Ricky Simms. He manages the relationship between Bolt’s fame and fortune, while maximising his ability to win races. In a sport with a short window of earning potential, it’s key to get the balance right between big performances and sponsorship opportunities.
The balance for someone like Bolt is tricky — there are lucrative offers coming his way all the time but he isn’t a celebrity, he’s a track star. To get it right is a talent worthy of an Olympic medal and that is exactly what Simms does. Throw into the mix the fact that Simms has 70 other athletes in his management stable, Mo Farah amongst them, and the magnitude of his influence becomes clear.
The management of athletes is irrelevant if they’re not physically fit and that is where an Irish company is making a big name for itself. Off the track, the world’s elite athletes must be meticulous in their preparation for training and racing. One of the key areas is recovery — athletes push their bodies hard but knowing when to pull back can often be the difference between winning and losing. Over-training causing illness and injury, which is a major barrier to success. Irish-based company Orecco, headed by Sligo native Brian Moore, specialises in this and they believe they can identify the markers that show the highs and lows of training through data analysis of blood and saliva.
This data is an additional tool coaches can use in formulating the training and race plans of elite athletes. Orecco works with many of the superstars in world track. Oregon Track club, a Nike-funded training group, has recently extended it’s contract with Orecco to 2016. Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton is just one of many stars on their books. It’s interesting to think 2016 Olympic track champions may be having their blood results analysed in a lab in Sligo to determine their path to medals and success.
Agents and blood analysis have their place but no one is as important to an athlete as their coach. Kenya has been a dominant force in distance running for years, behind the medals and records has been the world-class coaching of Brother Colm O’Connell. The beauty in his story is the simplicity, he went to Kenya as a missionary to teach and he started coaching the children he was teaching. Br Colm learned as he went and before long he started to see great results. He then began to organise training camps. There are now more than 100 camps in Kenya, with the top athletes living and training there. People travel from all over the world to observe this Irish man coaching the world’s elite. In London 2012, David Rudisha broke the world record for 800 metres, watching was his coach Br Colm, another athlete guided to world dominance. Good going for a man who says he knew nothing about coaching when he started, perhaps an example of the Irish ability to adapt.
It should come as no great surprise that the Irish consistently have an impact on the US athletics scene. For years, Irish athletes have been going to American colleges on scholarships and the effect of that is visible in coaching. Ray Treacy went to Providence College on a scholarship in the late 70s and has gone onto become head coach, having a huge impact on their success alongside coaching many of the best professional distance athletes in the world. Possibly the best coach in the NCAA history is none other than Ballina man John McDonnell, the head coach at Arkansas. Add in to the mix Cork’s Marcus O’Sullivan, former World Indoor champion, coaching at Villanova and it’s easy to see the Irish play a big role.
The most prestigious track meet in the US is the Millrose Games, held in New York each February. It earned Eamon Coghlan his reputation as ‘chairman of the boards’ and recently it afforded Rob Heffernan the chance to compete and showcase his skills. Like most parts of the track world, it doesn’t take much to find the Irish connection, former Irish distance legend Ray Flynn is now the meet director of the Millrose Games. Alongside this role, Flynn is one of the major agents in world track.
Success in track is measured by the medals the Irish team bring home each year but when you start scratching the surface, it doesn’t take much to discover how important the Irish are behind the scenes of world track and field. There is always plenty to be inspired by and proud of.
I know it is not popular to praise catholic priests... But here is a case of positive attributes....Also a tale of small investment not necessarily in money reaps results....
Ireland inspiring sporting success
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
This time of year is all about being Irish.
By Derval O’RourkeFor an island with a tiny population, we make a pretty big impact globally in sport. Results are seen on rugby pitches, golf courses and on tracks all over the world.
But off the track, in the background, the impact of the Irish is staggering. For every world-class performance that sets athletics stadiums alight, there is, more often than not, an Irish person in the background with a key role.
Discover Ireland have done an amazing job with their Inspire Ireland YouTube video. The montage is a wonderful showcase of the many facets of Irish life and the impact of the country globally. It shows, among other things, how we’re the best country to do business with, adaptable as a workforce and how Irish innovation enhances the world.
With this in mind, it’s no wonder Irish connections seem to play a part in a vast amount of what makes world athletics prosper. Whether it is managing the affairs of world superstars, coaching or taking care of the physical wellbeing of the track elite, there’s nearly always an Irish link.
The superstar of track is Usain Bolt. He lit up the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and has been a global star ever since. The man charged with managing the life of Bolt is Donegal super-agent Ricky Simms. He manages the relationship between Bolt’s fame and fortune, while maximising his ability to win races. In a sport with a short window of earning potential, it’s key to get the balance right between big performances and sponsorship opportunities.
The balance for someone like Bolt is tricky — there are lucrative offers coming his way all the time but he isn’t a celebrity, he’s a track star. To get it right is a talent worthy of an Olympic medal and that is exactly what Simms does. Throw into the mix the fact that Simms has 70 other athletes in his management stable, Mo Farah amongst them, and the magnitude of his influence becomes clear.
The management of athletes is irrelevant if they’re not physically fit and that is where an Irish company is making a big name for itself. Off the track, the world’s elite athletes must be meticulous in their preparation for training and racing. One of the key areas is recovery — athletes push their bodies hard but knowing when to pull back can often be the difference between winning and losing. Over-training causing illness and injury, which is a major barrier to success. Irish-based company Orecco, headed by Sligo native Brian Moore, specialises in this and they believe they can identify the markers that show the highs and lows of training through data analysis of blood and saliva.
This data is an additional tool coaches can use in formulating the training and race plans of elite athletes. Orecco works with many of the superstars in world track. Oregon Track club, a Nike-funded training group, has recently extended it’s contract with Orecco to 2016. Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton is just one of many stars on their books. It’s interesting to think 2016 Olympic track champions may be having their blood results analysed in a lab in Sligo to determine their path to medals and success.
Agents and blood analysis have their place but no one is as important to an athlete as their coach. Kenya has been a dominant force in distance running for years, behind the medals and records has been the world-class coaching of Brother Colm O’Connell. The beauty in his story is the simplicity, he went to Kenya as a missionary to teach and he started coaching the children he was teaching. Br Colm learned as he went and before long he started to see great results. He then began to organise training camps. There are now more than 100 camps in Kenya, with the top athletes living and training there. People travel from all over the world to observe this Irish man coaching the world’s elite. In London 2012, David Rudisha broke the world record for 800 metres, watching was his coach Br Colm, another athlete guided to world dominance. Good going for a man who says he knew nothing about coaching when he started, perhaps an example of the Irish ability to adapt.
It should come as no great surprise that the Irish consistently have an impact on the US athletics scene. For years, Irish athletes have been going to American colleges on scholarships and the effect of that is visible in coaching. Ray Treacy went to Providence College on a scholarship in the late 70s and has gone onto become head coach, having a huge impact on their success alongside coaching many of the best professional distance athletes in the world. Possibly the best coach in the NCAA history is none other than Ballina man John McDonnell, the head coach at Arkansas. Add in to the mix Cork’s Marcus O’Sullivan, former World Indoor champion, coaching at Villanova and it’s easy to see the Irish play a big role.
The most prestigious track meet in the US is the Millrose Games, held in New York each February. It earned Eamon Coghlan his reputation as ‘chairman of the boards’ and recently it afforded Rob Heffernan the chance to compete and showcase his skills. Like most parts of the track world, it doesn’t take much to find the Irish connection, former Irish distance legend Ray Flynn is now the meet director of the Millrose Games. Alongside this role, Flynn is one of the major agents in world track.
Success in track is measured by the medals the Irish team bring home each year but when you start scratching the surface, it doesn’t take much to discover how important the Irish are behind the scenes of world track and field. There is always plenty to be inspired by and proud of.
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