#GameChangers: Niall Curneen
If anyone knows what it takes to be a Game Changer it’s Niall Curneen, Northern Ireland Sports Development Officer and face of the recent Electric Ireland Northern Ireland #GameChangers Ad. Niall has been coaching football for over 15 years at an international and local level, with both men and women, several of whom have gone on to succeed at as . We spoke to Niall during the filming of the recent #GameChangers TV Ad to hear about his coaching career, what he has learnt over the years and how he sees women’s football developing.
“I’ve been coaching since I was 16. I got my first coaching qualification when I was at University at 18, then I quickly went through all my badges. I have my license now as a level four coach, which is quite young for 33… That was probably the result of me working in sport and having a desire to coach. I stopped playing due to an injury so that accelerated my coaching career.”
Despite his years of experience, Niall isn’t complacent about his coaching. In fact, he appears to be continuously finding ways to improve his skills and keep up with the game.
“Coaching is a bit like driving: you might have your bit of paper and qualification but that doesn’t mean you’re a good coach. You’ve got to go out and research, watch other people, find out other methods and continually be open-minded because sport evolves and coaching changes all the time. What was relevant and worked 10 years ago doesn’t work now,” says Niall. “There is a different school of thought that develops behind different techniques and drills. Being open minded and gathering as much information as possible does take time and is difficult - especially when you’re running a business, trying to coach and have a family… but that’s what it’s all about.”
He continues, “I just think the game goes past you if you don’t evolve as a coach… It’s important to stay on top of the trends, the changes and developments out there.”
Spotting Talent
Niall clearly appreciates the responsibility a coach has in spotting and nurturing talent.
“It’s huge. . . You’ll have plenty of players at different levels who at their level will think they’re talented - and will look talented in a small pool - but when you measure that up against the whole country, and try and get that all on to a level playing field, that’s difficult,” says Niall. “Then you need to nurture that talent which takes time. It’s challenging. There is plenty of talent out there that hasn’t been developed and they may or may not have had the same opportunities someone of less talent has had… Coaching has a role to play in spotting talent but it’s difficult.”
With football developing so much in the last few decades, it seems the idea of “natural talent” is not enough to make it as a professional footballer these days.
“A lot of talent is born in you but that doesn’t always come to the fore if you’re not coached right… You don’t hear of anyone any more just having talent and making it to the professional end of sport. The “George Bests” who were hardly ever coached and were world stars rarely happens nowadays.”
The Importance of Coaching
“There is much more emphasis on coaching now. Players are getting more intelligent and they’re having a better knowledge of the game, which is obviously down to TV and other media making information available instantly. They’re analysing games. Players now come to sessions and expect drills and to work on tactics; they know a bit more about the game than before,” says Niall. “I think this is good because it challenges coaching and you don’t have as many coaches who are bluffers – for want of a better word! You have to be knowledgeable and you have to know what you’re talking about.”
You can tell that coaching is no ordinary job for Niall and that he does put a lot of energy and time into it. He tells us about the most satisfying parts of his job:
“It’s now three years since I’ve been out of the female international set up but I see a lot of players that I coached at Under 17s now playing in the senior team, one or two of whom almost fell off the programme but we managed to retain, and that’s very satisfying,” he says. “On a Saturday there is nothing more satisfying than coaching during the week and seeing that come into a game on Saturday. That is the most satisfying thing as a coach.”
Coaching vs. Playing
After finding his way into coaching after a football injury, Niall would be forgiven for thinking “what if?” in terms of his own football career, however, it seems the experienced coach has no regrets about the direction his life has took.
“People say you can’t match the changing room when you’re playing but I have to say I’ve found coaching a fairly good substitution. I don’t come into the changing room and wish I was playing; I still get that buzz from coaching and it still scratches that itch I had as a player. I wouldn’t be without sport.”
Women’s Football
Niall describes women as being “a gift to coach” through his years of coaching women’s football. He has coached women of all ages, including Grace Montgomery, who also features in the recent #GameChangers TV Ad.
When describing Grace he says: “Don’t be deceived by her size. Grace is quite quick, agile, and technically very strong and loves to get on the ball. She loves to demand the ball; she wants the ball, and that’s great for a coach. She has a great personality, is selfless and is very much a team player… She has got leadership potential.”
He goes on to say, “Women are a gift to coach because they listen. You ask females what to do and they won’t question it. That’s the difference between females and males. They’re sponges and it can be very rewarding to coach them.”
Niall describes the women’s game as “catching up” on men’s but is realistic about the differences and the work that still needs to be done to improve upon and raise the profile of women’s football.
“Obviously there is the physical gap between men and women sometimes and the IFA Excellence Programmes are working on that. Clubs are also taking more responsibility. Now there is much less of a difference technically and tactically.
“Women’s football is on the crest of a wave. It’s now getting to be on power with men’s sport. What it needs is more spectators, interest, and more investment from sponsors… Before you know it a few more players will be paid full time and that’s when it will explode.”
Watch the #GameChangers TV Ad featuring Niall here and make sure to do your bit to support women’s football.
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