Coach's Lab with John Murphy

Join my weekly coaching & performance email list:
https://fhs-performance.kit.com/4d8709e773
What can GAA coaches learn from elite track & field?
In this episode, I’m joined by Colm Bourke — National Indoor Long Jump Champion, coach, and host of the Track & Field Performance Podcast — to explore how sprinting and jumping principles can improve speed, power and physical preparation in team sports.
We discuss:
Acceleration vs max velocity and how to structure speed training

Why sprint sessions should prioritise intent over aesthetics

Strength training: when it supports speed and when it can blunt it

Pairing gym work with track sessions

Profiling athletes (elastic vs force-dominant types)

Conditioning power athletes without killing explosiveness

Planning microcycles and building from general to specific

The importance of reflection and coaching philosophy

This is a practical conversation for GAA, LGFA and Camogie coaches looking to sharpen their approach to speed development and weekly planning.

Sign up to my weekly coaching & performance email list:
https://fhs-performance.kit.com/4d8709e773
How do you condition players so they’re fit enough for the game — without leaving them cooked, flat, or under-recovered?
In this episode, I’m joined by Ciaran Boyle, S&C coach with Tipperary Senior Camogie, to discuss a more individualised approach to conditioning using speed-endurance profiling and micro-dosing speed.
We cover:
Why one-size-fits-all conditioning often fails

Speed-based, endurance-based and hybrid player profiles

MAS, Max Sprint Speed and Anaerobic Speed Reserve explained simply

Why two players with the same MAS can respond very differently

How to manage different profiles within the same squad

Micro-dosing speed to maintain performance in-season

Straight-line vs curved sprinting and progression

Managing load, recovery and congested schedules

A practical conversation for GAA, Camogie and LGFA coaches looking to improve fitness while keeping players healthy and available.

Sign up to my weekly coaching & youth development email list:
https://fhs-performance.kit.com/4d8709e773
How well are young athletes actually supported to fuel themselves properly?
In this episode, I’m joined by Paul O’Sullivan, performance nutritionist working with the Cork senior hurlers and across underage and development squads. We move beyond calorie counts and food lists to talk about habits, behaviour change, and the environments young athletes grow up in.
We discuss:
Why adolescence places huge energy demands on athletes

Common fuelling mistakes in teenage players

Why carbohydrates are often under-fuelled

Protein myths in youth sport

Eating around the school day and busy training schedules

The role of parents in shaping positive nutrition behaviours

Avoiding diet culture and harmful language with young athletes

Teaching cooking and food prep skills

Supplements, body composition and safeguarding

📲 Follow Paul on Instagram: @paul_bespokecoaching
This episode is essential listening for parents, coaches, S&C practitioners and teachers working with young athletes who want to support performance without creating anxiety around food.

Weekly coaching insights & updates: https://fhs-performance.kit.com/4d8709e773
Lavin’s Game Sense Coaching resources: https://www.gamesensecoaching.com/
What is Game Sense — and how do coaches actually develop it?
In this episode, I’m joined by the Lavin brothers, creators of the Game Sense Coaching framework, to break down how games-based coaching improves decision-making, skill execution, and understanding in Gaelic Games.
We discuss:
What Game Sense really means beyond the buzzword

Why skills must be learned in game-like contexts

Using Whole–Part–Whole through games, not drills

How to design better games using space, numbers and rules

Common mistakes in games-based coaching

The coach behaviours that matter most: observation, questioning and restraint

A practical, coach-friendly conversation for anyone working in GAA, schools or youth sport who wants to design better sessions and develop smarter players.

Free Youth Athletic Development Programme + 5-Day Email Course: https://fhs-performance.kit.com/a441db6d48
Weekly Coaching Email List: https://fhs-performance.kit.com/4d8709e773
How do we combine strength, speed, skill, and decision-making in a way that actually transfers to the game? In this episode, I chat with Stephen Casey, an S&C coach and skill acquisition practitioner working across GAA and rugby, to explore the messy reality of performance.
We discuss:
• Why siloed training often fails to improve match performance
• Agility as a decision-making challenge, not a cone drill
• When strength work improves kicking… and when it won’t
• Using constraints to improve skill, agility & game understanding
• Why racing & chasing develops speed better than most drills
• KPIs (MAS, CMJ, 0–10m, GPS) — useful or misleading?
• How to design games that develop physical, technical & tactical qualities
• The importance of individualising training instead of chasing generic numbers
A brilliant episode for any coach trying to blend S&C, skill acquisition and game-based coaching into one coherent model.