Des Ryan — Youth Athletic Development

The first Injury Rehab Network event of October 2024 with BASRaT, is taking place on Tuesday 8th October with a presentation from Des Ryan. Des will discuss examples of evidence-based Youth Athletic Development programmes. Taking place online on Tuesday 8 October 2024 from 7pm – 8pm. Registration is free – click here to sign up.

Des Ryan, Director of Sport & Physical Wellbeing, University of Galway

Des Ryan is the Director of Sport & Physical Wellbeing at the University of Galway, where he leads the strategic development and management of the university’s sports programs and facilities. With a distinguished career in sports management and performance coaching, Des brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his role.

Des joins the University of Galway from his position as Director of Coaching & Athletic Development at Setanta College and prior to that Des was the Head of Sport Medicine & Athletic Development at Arsenal Football Club Academy, which he held for 9 years and where he has re-shaped the concept of player development within the world of football. He has also previously served as Head of S&C at Connacht Rugby and as Fitness Education Manager within the IRFU, where he spent over 13 years developing the IRFU’s coach and player development system.

Over the years Des has presented at the UKSCA, ASCA and the NSCA conferences as well as many other conferences around the world. He also has worked as a consultant to World Rugby and the National Cricket academy in India.

Des has a Masters in Strength and Conditioning and is also an Accredited Strength and Conditioning coach with the UKSCA. He has achieved the High-Performance Sports Accreditation from the British Association of Sports and Exercise Science and is a chartered scientist.

As the Director of Sport, Des Ryan is instrumental in shaping the university’s sports landscape, overseeing the implementation of high-performance training programs, Sport for all programmes, and ensuring the provision of top-tier facilities for student-athletes. His passion for sports, coupled with his dedication to promoting physical activity and wellbeing, underscores his commitment to creating a dynamic and inclusive sports environment at the University of Galway. Des’ leadership and vision are integral to the university’s mission of supporting and empowering its sports community to achieve their full potential.

“Youth Athletic Development”

Des’s presentation will consider examples of evidence-based Youth Athletic Development programmes. He will share examples from Arsenal Academy and also from his years of experience working in youth Athletic Development, Supporting Girl and Boy players in the club, school and academy environments. Biological maturation will be discussed, and how to use that information to reduce the risk of growth-related injuries. Finally, Des will discuss some excellent resources that are available to coaches in the community to support Youth Athletic Development.

Book your place

• Date – Tuesday 8th October 2024
• Time – 7pm – 8pm
• Cost – Free
• Location – Online (Zoom)
• Register to attend – click here to sign up

The next event of the Injury Rehab Network

The next event of the Injury Rehab Network in partnership with BASRaT will take place online on Tuesday 8th October from 7pm – 8pm. Anyone professionally involved with or studying sports medicine, performance and rehabilitation from injury is welcome to attend – click here to register.

There is a LinkedIn group for the Injury Rehab Network where the latest updates and information are shared

Please enter your details into the form below along with any questions or comments and a member of our team will be happy to provide you with more information: