Over 250,000 coaches volunteer 1 million hours a week to Irish Sport

Sport Ireland has published its Spotlight on Coaching report, which shows that 7% of people over 15, roughly 268,000 people, are actively coaching sport in Ireland, with almost two thirds (64%) of those active coaches volunteering primarily with children.

In total, close to three out of 10 adults (29%) have coached at some point in their lives, highlighting the scale and generosity of community involvement in Irish sport.

However, the report also highlights a key challenge: 22% of current coaches are considering stepping away, with lack of time due to work or study commitments being the main reason.

Benny Cullen, Director of Research and Innovation at Sport Ireland, said: “Coaches play a vital role in Irish sport. The data shows that there’s a great opportunity to re-engage former coaches, as 45% (around 380,000 individuals) would consider returning to coaching.

“Of those who have never coached, 22% - equivalent to 600,000 individuals - indicated there is a sport they believe they could coach.

“When we asked people what was stopping them getting involved, the main obstacles preventing first-time involvement were time constraints, never being asked to coach, and a perceived lack of sufficient skills.”

For those would-be coaches who do want to avail of training there are options available, both from Sport Ireland and from National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of sport.

Working in partnership with the NGBs and the wider sporting sector, Sport Ireland Coaching leads the development of coaching in Ireland through the implementation of quality coach and coach developer training and support programmes.

Michael McGeehin, Director, Sport Ireland Coaching, said: “Sport Ireland Coaching provides a range of programmes for coaches and coach developers. Coach developers are those experienced coaches or instructors that NGBs nominate to train and support their coaches and instructors.

“We want to ensure every participant has access to a qualified coach by providing training, qualifications, and support, while upholding national standards for coach education.”

The ISM report also found that notable gender differences exist, with men almost twice as likely as women to be involved in coaching.

By working closely with the NGBs, LSPs and other stakeholders, Sport Ireland aims to broaden the coaching base to include more women from grassroots to high performance. Progress has been clearly demonstrated by an increase in female participation on coaching courses.

Nora Stapleton, Director of Strategic National Governing Body Programmes and Women in Sport Lead with Sport Ireland.

“Since Sport Ireland's Policy on Women in Sport launched, women taking part and completing coaching certifications has risen by 10%. At entry level, coaching is more gender-balanced, but women still only make up 36% of all coaches and 17% of high-performance coaches employed in Ireland.

“To close that gap, Sport Ireland created the Women in Coaching Toolkit to help organisations create plans to recruit, develop, and retain women in coaching, while the Women in Sport programme funds numerous initiatives across the NGBs.

“In addition, Sport Ireland’s Head of High Performance Coaching [Ciaran Ward] oversees the delivery of Women in High Performance Coaching, a new professional network providing a targeted approach to this area.

“While progress has been made, there is still much to be done in order to address the gender gradients within the coaching landscape, especially when it comes to the high-performance stage.”

The Irish Sports Monitor 2024 survey, which was published in April, found that half a million people in Ireland,12% of adults, volunteer in sport weekly. Active sports participation reached its highest ever level – with 49% of the population taking part in sport on a weekly basis in 2024, up from 47% in 2023.

The country’s growing youth population - the most active demographic - is driving a surge in sports participation. With engagement rates climbing steadily, the country is now within reach of the National Sports Policy’s ambitious 50% target by 2027.

Read the full report: Irish Sports Monitor 2024 - Spotlight on Coaching