Derval O'Rourke; player development manager with the Munster.

Derval O'Rourke, one of the very few World class track athletes Ireland has ever produced (in any event other than distance or walks) has been appointed as the new Player Development Manager for Munster.
I think it is great to see someone from a non-rugby background involved and her expertise will undoubtably be a great asset to Munster after her excellent athletics career.
What do the Munster faithful think?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/29915080

Here's what I think...............

?


Player Development Manager.  Hmmmm.  She'll have the poor guys knackered for one thing as according to the bits and pieces I read from her Twitter remarks (published in a sports supplement) she seems to be always either getting ready for an early morning run or just coming in from an evening one.

But we'll see.  I like the idea too of people from other athletic backgrounds coming in to give some extra cirricular knowledge.  And it's no secret that I've always called for more high profile 'running/sprint' specialists to be involved.  So we'll see.  Would I class her as exceptional in her field?   Hmmmm again.

Boy you are hard to please!!

Indoor World Champion and several medals at European Indoors is pretty good in my books. She was world class. Not many from these islands have ever been faster.

She is employed on a part-time basis by IRUPA (Players's Union) not Munster Rugby. According to the IRUPA (and what similar Player Dev. Managers do in the other provinces):

IRUPA wrote:
Being based in Northern Ireland, Pamela will be supporting player development for the Ulster Squad. A range of services areas will be offered on an individual bases from career exploration and development, transition support, personal development to educational support. Initiatives will also be developed and delivered that players can engage in from short courses in key skills, formal qualifications and local experts from a range of backgrounds who can offer advice and support that players may need.

IRUPA wrote:Deirdre is a graduate of the University of Limerick with an honours degree in Sports and Exercise Science and is currently pursuing a PhD in sports psychology, exploring the transitions experienced by high performance athletes as they move from second to third level education. This, combined with her experience on the ground, has allowed her to develop an excellent understanding of the needs of high performance athletes at every stage of their development. She has also built strong relationships and developed extensive networks across all areas of the sporting, education and business community.

Deirdre will join Dr. Kate Kirby and Pam Gilpin in developing and delivering the Players Services Programme, including career, education and personal development support. Deirdre specifically manages the programme at a provincial level for our members in Connacht and Munster Rugby.

I think its rather interesting IRUPA have stayed away from employing any ex-players (all their Dev Player Managers are women).

I've heard of some of the stuff they do, like for instance, Duncan Casey (munster's 23 year old hooker) wants to be a journalist when he is finished with rugby and they have had him writing articles for their inhouse magazine and he is now doing stuff for the Independent as well.

As for Derval - she seems to be highly qualified coming from a sporting career which is completely different to a team sport in that you have to be very self-motivated and self-reliant, knows all about victories as well as defeats and how to deal with them etc. Apart from all of that she is also very personable and a good communicator.

MrsP wrote:Boy you are hard to please!!

Indoor World Champion and several medals at European Indoors is pretty good in my books. She was world class. Not many from these islands have ever been faster.

My criteria is ALWAYS - consistency at the Top.  Not inconsistency in the middle.  Yes, I'm tough as nails on athletes getting public money to train in nice places around the world.  No apologies for my demanding more from most of our athletes who are given the elite treatment.  You should hear my opinion of Sonia O'Sullivan - but I'll save you the ire!

So...

Only those winning every gold at Worlds and Olympics then?

What is your definition of "the Top"?

MrsP, i'm not entirely clear on what her job is? What will she actually be doing with the players day to day? And how does her athletics career tie into it?

I think it would be getting the players ready for life after rugby. Making sure they plan and are prepared for the transition.

Consistency.  That's 'Top'.  Whether that's in the middle or at the top - consistency there for most of a career.

I repeat, these athletes are well treated, the top ones.  They're not given grants for personal development, to see the world or worrying about 'Personal Best' Times.  Ireland doesn't have the leisure or the economy to be so generous with limited funding.

They are given grants to represent their Nation at the highest levels they can reach.  Period.  
Inconsistency is Ireland's biggest downfall in the athletic field - athletes coming to major championships and complaining that the championships came at the wrong time.  I don't tolerate those excuses when they're as frequent as I've heard them over the years/decades.  It's systematic and might not be all the athlete's fault but it needs serious work.  Maybe Derval could have done something in that field - improving Athletics Ireland.
Anyway, ... we'll agree MrsP that our opinions on this one don't merge and let's move on.

Have you heard what Derval thinks of Athletics Ireland?

Ah sure we will not fall out about it Secret but it is impossible to acheive consistency without the back up of S&C, physio etc provided by governing bodies.

And, top 4 at Europeans or Worlds 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 could be viewed as consitency, no?

Notch wrote:MrsP, i'm not entirely clear on what her job is? What will she actually be doing with the players day to day? And how does her athletics career tie into it?

Summary in her own words: She will be trying to develop the players outside of rugby and will be working with all players from Academy upwards. She will also be helping players that don't make it as top level pro's developing their other skills and interests outside of rugby.

Derval would have come from a different sporting career where she has had to mainly manage herself without the organisation of what a club gives you and would have had to make all the right lifestyle choices and would understand what they are. she would also understand all about coping with injury, success and defeat etc. etc.

IRUPA seeks out opportunities for players after rugby such as the scheme they started a few years ago where they got players onto boards of charities so that they get some sort of corporate experience in the real world (DOC is on the board of UNICEF, Shane Jennings Ronald McDonnald House, David Wallace Special Olympics, Eoin Reddan on Irish Youth Foundation for example). Yesterday, IRUPA had a workshop with Bank of Ireland about finance, getting a mortgage etc. etc. for their academy. The Dev Man would organise all of these things.

Here is a link to an interview with Tommy O'Donnell about how IRUPA helped him:

http://www.irupa.ie/education-rugby-tommy-odonnell/

More work from IRUPA.

In continuing to recognise the need to develop the skills of rugby players outside the sport, particularly in the area of business, Munster Rugby, IRPUA and CIT collaborated to develop a 'Certificate in Enterprise Potential'.
The aim was to promote and protect the welfare of players by endeavouring to safeguard their futures both on and off the pitch. With this in mind, IRUPA (Irish Rugby Union Players Association) approached CIT to develop an enterprise and business focused course.

CIT's School of Business in conjunction with IRUPA and Munster Rugby, designed, developed and delivered a 30 week 20 credit Special Purpose Award entitled 'Certificate in Enterprise Potential'.

Past and present players who participated in the course - which began in 2012 - included Donnacha Ryan, Donncha O'Callaghan, Mick O'Driscoll, BJ Botha, Doug Howlett, Leifimi Mafi and Denis Fogarty.

The objective of the course was to provide participants with the skills to understand how an enterprise operates and the steps involved in turning an idea into a business opportunity. Flexible hours allowed players to fit in lectures and study around training and match sessions at provincial and national level.

Areas covered included; exploring business viability, communication practice, management in action, and finance and tax for business. Another key element of the course was to build up a network of both entrepreneurs and business support contacts for players. In support of this, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalists attended a 'Meet the Entrepreneur' workshop for participants.

Munster's Donncha Ryan and Doug Howlett were present to receive their awards at CIT last night, while awards for those not in attendance were awarded in absentia.