The Gaelic Players Association has announced details of a new leadership programme aimed at developing men and women players from across all the main gaelic games codes into becoming successful leaders in the community.
The Jim Madden Leadership Programme will give as many as 100 players the necessary skills, motivation and experience to step up into leadership roles at every level from team to club to local communities and beyond.
It is being funded by Jim Madden’s son Michael and his family. Michael was born in Portroe, County Tipperary where his father was a stalwart of the local GAA club. A successful business career with American Express and then as Chairman of Teneo Capital has enabled him to give something tangible back in memory of his Father and the GPA was a perfect conduit for his six figure investment.
First of a kind
The programme is the first of its kind in Ireland and will establish a learning pathway for players who wish to develop qualities which can be harnessed both for their personal development and for the benefit of society.
It will run initially for three years as one-year blended learning course which will be delivered by the Gaelic Players Association in conjunction with independent leadership experts. The syllabus will be divided into a leadership masterclass; a personal effectiveness module; an interpersonal skills module and a group skills module.
Participants will have a GPA personal development coach assigned to them and will undergo personal development training and will have to design, construct and deliver a community project through the primary schools network.
Inspire
“As a family we are immensely proud of our late father Jim’s legacy and we wanted to mark his memory in a positive way,” said Programme sponsor Michael Madden.
“This Leadership Programme will hopefully inspire a new generation of Jim Madden’s all over the country, people driven by the desire to lead, to give back and to make a difference in their communities and society.”
“We are delighted to work with the Gaelic Players Association to deliver this new Programme and to be the first to include camogie and ladies footballers in the mix. We wish all the future participants in the course the very best of luck with their education and look forward to watching them grow and develop as people, as players and as role models along the way.”
Courage
“We are deeply indebted to Michael Madden and his family for having the foresight, courage and generosity to help develop a new cohort of leaders from within the county playing body,” added Gaelic Players Association CEO Dessie Farrell.
“This Programme is unique yet it is inspired by the legacy of Jim Madden and the many selfless community volunteers who underpin our games and our society. This is the first time a GPA Programme will have an intake of elite female athletes from camogie and Gaelic football – a historic step for the Games and the development of player welfare across the sports.”
“Tailored to suit county players, the new syllabus will sit centrally in the GPA Player Development Programme and will help players to harness the many transferable skills they develop at the top level of their sport.”
“Through the Madden Programme, the Players Association is now in a position to support the next generation of young leaders – players who are considered to be successful in their lives and careers outside of their sporting endeavours, who understand the importance of civic and social responsibility and can see the benefit of ‘giving back’ in a host of different ways by optimising their status as role models in society.”
“Using a primary schools network by which the students can execute their new skills, the three-year course will encourage this cohort of young men and women to dream big and think bigger, to be as ambitious for what they can achieve in life away from the playing fields and to go on to do extra-ordinary things which will make a real difference in their own lives and in the lives of people they encounter.”
It’s a great programme from a great organisation and a wonderful way to end the year.
Sport for Business is proud to have PwC as it’s Leadership Partner in 2015. We will be announcing further details of this partnership in January.
