“In many ways, it’s a dream job,” says Aaron Kyles, of the position he took up in March as Donegal’s new Coaching and Games Development Manager.
By Alan Foley
“I’m very humbled and lucky to have it,” the 26-year-old added. “There’s a lot to put in place and I’ll try to put my own spin on it. I have a passion for it.”
Some of Kyle’s responsibilities include producing a Strength & Conditioning blueprint for the Donegal development squads, schools programming, coaching the coaches and putting a player pathway in place.
When Micheál Cahill, then Clare’s footballer’s Strength & Conditioning Coach, gave a guest lecture at Institute of Technology Tralee a few years back, Kyles was an interested observer as a student that would see him graduate with the BSc Hons in Health & Leisure Studies in Health and Education.
“It never hurt anyone to send an email,” Cahill concluded and Kyles, a native of Dunkineely, would take him up on that advice and arrange a meeting at Maeve Frawley’s gym.
Kyles got involved with Cahill’s workings, helping out or heading things up at Garrycastle in Westmeath, Clare’s Cratloe and Ardfert, who are based in north Kerry, with the Tralee Sigerson Cup panel and local club sides Milltown/Castlemaine and Na Gaeil.
Doors were starting to open for Kyles, who was building a strong working relationship with Cahill, who in 2013 took up a position as Sports Science Department of Jesuit Dallas operates out of the Ranger Performance Center in Texas.
Kyles took up a role in early 2015, as Performance Coach / Performance Administration at Athlete Training and Health, also in Texas.
There he worked on long-term development plans of athletes for a variety of disciplines – soccer, basketball, American football, baseball – from youth, high school, collegiate and professional from the likes of Houston Dynamo in the MLS and the NFL’s Houston Texans.
“A lot of the fundamentals are the same and basically, we would evaluate them,” Kyles added. “From an early age the programs are similar but then they become more tailored and specialised the further up the chain you go.
“Things are on a different level in the United States, that’s the first thing that struck me when I went over there, as athletes have such exposure from a young age. College footballers are on television all the time and they have massive opportunities.
“But there’s no real place for a step back, say someone here plays county football they can always go back then and play club but in America there’s no place for that. There’s no safety net so the drive is huge to succeed.
“I had a lot to learn and I understood that. I was an intern initially so worked hard to get staying on, so I managed that.”
Kyles moved onto Manager, Performance Operations, whilst also getting stuck into a MSc in Sport Performance at the University of Limerick and hopscotching over and back the Atlantic.
When Kyles came home, he worked with the Iron Force Strength to develop unique and cutting-edge strength and conditioning equipment for the everyday gym user to the elite athlete, played some football with his local Naomh Ultan club and worked under Martin McHugh for Kilcar in 2016.
He has since joined the Donegal seniors’ backroom team, under Paul Fisher in Strength and Conditioning and was in Clones in the summer as Declan Bonner’s team made it back to back victories in the Ulster SFC.
With men like Kyles around, Donegal can look forward to more days like that in the future.
