Sharpening reflexes while having fun

An underage coach asks: "I'd like to work on the reflexes of my players, in terms of reacting to the football as it comes their way. I think we are a bit slow off the mark in that regard. Any suggestions?"

This is an area coaches at all levels want to improve; you can never have a player with perfect reflexes. Getting them to a point close to their potential is the challenge. The challenge was taken up with great effect by Paul O'Dowd, Monaghan's goalkeeping coach, in 2007.

During his side's barnstorming run to the All-Ireland quarter final, O'Dowd enhanced the reflexes of, first, his goalkeepers and subsequently the outfield players using a product called the Reflex.

The Reflex was developed by Corkman David Twomey, of Na Piarsaigh on the city's northside, just under two years ago. In the meantime hundreds of clubs and school have invested in his 4ft by 3ft, irregular surfaced coaching aid, which sharpens the reactions and reflexes of players, no matter what their previous standard was.

Says David: "As a young fella, I'd hit a ball against a flat wall and get bored quickly. I saw my own sons doing the same and that gave me the idea for the Reflex."

A relatively short time later, the likes of Paul O'Dowd was performing drills like the following in Croke Park prior to taking on Kerry.

"Place the reflex on the ground. Players line up and take turns running towards the coach, who bounces the ball off the reflex. The player must then adjust his run in a split-second to gather the ball."

"When I made the reflex I was thinking mainly of the elite player market," says David, whose product has crossed over to professional sports and is used by Wigan Athletic and Munster Rugby. "But we've had just as much success with schools and underage teams. They like it because as well as sharpening reactions and co-ordination, it's ball-orientated and therefore fun."

Another drill that's popular with underage teams is the one-minute-challenge. In this drill, the Reflex is attached to a wall and a player stands at least 10 yards away. A good player will kick and hit the relatively small target and gather the rebound successfully 20 – 23 times in a minute.

The Reflex comes with a booklet which has many more drills. For more information, check out www.irishsportsproducts.com.

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