Social GAA – That old saying ‘we don’t stop training because we get old, we get old because we stop training’ really rings through for so many Irish adults who were so active during their 20s and 30s. The winds of change are coming however and are being welcomed in large numbers all around the country. The increase in social Gaelic Games has to be one of the most positive steps forward in the GAA in recent times.
We now have Gaelic for Mothers and Others, Half-Pace Hurling, Social Hurling and Dads and lads, all thriving in clubs across the country. The significance and benefits of these initiatives cannot be understated. For the players themselves they connect or reconnect with their peers playing the sports they loved all their lives, they get regular exercise in a world where we are headed for an obesity epidemic, mental health benefits of releasing endorphins, improving digestion and metabolism, a sense of belonging and most importantly fun in world full of stress.
For their kids? They now have a living example of a healthy exercising adult similar to the @20×20 campaign if they can’t see they can’t be. They have a shared interest with their children in their local GAA club.
With the @gaa_official_ireland ‘s new manifesto centered around everyone being welcome and everyone belonging in their local GAA club, social Gaelic games is vital. In Ireland the GAA club has become a place where a whole family can belong and have that sense of community. They can collectively stand behind their local crest and play our national games.
So may it live long and prosper! If you don’t know who the social players are, they will be the gang having a laugh at end of the bar, having soup and sambo after training or knocking over scores dressed as one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The jerseys might be slightly tighter but the smiles are brighter!
#g4mao #gaelic4dads #gaelic4dadsandlads #halfpacehurling #socialhurling #over35s
#gaa #gaelicgames #gaelicfootball #lgfa #hurling #camogie #sliotars #hurls #hurleys #gaacoaching #crokepark #1884sport #gaelicgloves #gpa #wgpa
