The Locker Room Podcast — DSS Coaching

What changes when you go from advising the head coach to being the person making the decisions? Ross Bennett joins me to reflect on his move from performance work into coaching and management, and how the experience has changed the way he sees the job. We discuss managing players and personalities, selection, tactics and the responsibility that comes with having to make the final call.

It is an honest conversation about learning while doing the job. If you are taking over a team, thinking about a coaching role or working alongside a head coach, there is plenty here to consider in your own environment.

The Locker Room Podcast — with Ciaran Deely and Ross Bennett.

For ongoing coaching ideas, practices, webinars and support from the DSS team, explore membership:
https://www.dsscoaching.ie/coaching?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=locker_room&utm_content=head_coach

Membership is €15 a month or €150 a year. Use POD20 for 20% off your first monthly or annual membership payment. Courses and eBooklets are separate purchases, with member discounts available.

Learn Adapt Perform.

You have taken over a team. There are players to get to know, a coaching group to bring together and plenty of opinions about what should happen next. Where do you start? Ross Bennett and I discuss the first few weeks in charge, from understanding the players and the environment to establishing your playing principles and planning the work on the pitch.

We look at making a useful early impact while keeping the longer-term picture in mind. The aim is to help you think through your priorities, rather than feel that everything needs to change in your first session.

The Locker Room Podcast — with Ciaran Deely and Ross Bennett.

Explore DSS membership for practical coaching resources and ongoing support:
https://www.dsscoaching.ie/coaching?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=locker_room&utm_content=first_weeks

Membership is €15 a month or €150 a year. Use POD20 for 20% off your first monthly or annual membership payment. Courses and eBooklets are separate purchases, with member discounts available.

Learn Adapt Perform.

🎙️ The Locker Room Podcast – Performance Series

Host: Ciaran Deely (DSS Coaching)
Guest: Ross Bennett (Head of Integrated Performance at QPR FC)

In this episode, Ciaran is joined by Ross Bennett to discuss how coaches and players can maximise performance on match day.

From the final training session through to kick-off, Ross shares practical insights into balancing physical freshness, tactical preparation, psychological readiness, and game-day routines to help players perform when it matters most.

📌 Topics include:
• 📅 Planning the training week and taper
• ⚽ Tactical & physical preparation
• 🧠 Mental readiness and trusting the process
• 🏟️ Match-day routines and preparation

🎧 Listen here:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00XRjE5PtPYX66yTVaPiL2?si=d7dfd3b266cb45d1&nd=1&dlsi=5d0ae5e2c7ca40d5
Apple: http://buff.ly/3mgU6IU
YouTube: http://buff.ly/36sGDJ2

DSS membership provides new content every weekday, coaching practices, session-planning resources, webinars, our WhatsApp community, the DSS App and Coach Tyler, our AI-Coach Assistant. Courses and eBooklets are separate purchases, with member discounts available.

Explore membership: https://www.dsscoaching.ie/coaching?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=locker_room

Membership is €15 a month or €150 a year. Use POD20 for 20% off your first monthly or annual membership payment.

Learn Adapt Perform.

🎙️Host: Ciaran Deely (DSS Coaching)
Guest: Ross Bennett (Head of Integrated Performance at QPR FC)

In this episode, Ciaran is joined by Ross Bennett for an exclusive look inside the modern academy performance structure and the multidisciplinary team responsible for developing young players both on and off the pitch.

From the Physical Performance Coach and Sport Scientist through to the Performance Analyst, Nutritionist, and Sports Psychologist, Ross explains how today’s academies bring together a range of specialist practitioners to maximise player development and prepare athletes for the demands of elite football.

The discussion also explores the wider academy structure, how these departments collaborate with coaching staff, and what lessons can be applied across other sports, including Gaelic Games.

📌 Topics include:
• ⚽ The roles of the Physical Performance Coach, Sport Scientist, Performance Analyst, Nutritionist, and Sports Psychologist
• 🤝 How the performance department works alongside coaches and other academy staff
• 🏟️ The wider academy structure, including Academy Directors, Head of Coaching, Talent ID, Operations, and Player Care
• 📈 How academy environments have evolved over the past 10–15 years
• 🏆 What Gaelic Games can learn from the multidisciplinary academy model
• 🔮 How academy performance departments may continue to evolve in the future

🎧 Listen here:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00XRjE5PtPYX66yTVaPiL2?si=d7dfd3b266cb45d1&nd=1&dlsi=5d0ae5e2c7ca40d5

Apple: http://buff.ly/3mgU6IU

YouTube: http://buff.ly/36sGDJ2

DSS membership provides new content every weekday, coaching practices, session-planning resources, webinars, our WhatsApp community, the DSS App and Coach Tyler, our AI-Coach Assistant. Courses and eBooklets are separate purchases, with member discounts available.

Explore membership: https://www.dsscoaching.ie/coaching?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=locker_room

Membership is €15 a month or €150 a year. Use POD20 for 20% off your first monthly or annual membership payment.

Learn Adapt Perform.

🎙️ The Locker Room Podcast – Coaching Series

🎧 Episode Title: Talent ID in the Youth Development Phase (YDP)

Host: Ciaran Deely (DSS Coaching)
Guest: Ross Bennett (Head of Integrated Performance at QPR FC)

In this episode, Ciaran is joined by Ross Bennett for a practical discussion around Talent Identification in the Youth Development Phase (YDP) and what really goes into identifying, assessing, and developing young players within academy environments.

Drawing on experiences from both the boys’ and girls’ pathways, the conversation explores how coaches assess not just performance now — but long-term potential.

📌 Topics include:
• 🔍 Recruitment, scouting, and academy trial processes
• 🧠 Using the FA 4-corner model to assess players
• 📈 Current performance vs future potential
• 📏 Relative age effect, maturation, and late developers
• 💎 The “rough diamond”, maverick, and project player
• ⚽ Differences between boys’ and girls’ academy pathways

🎧 Listen here:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00XRjE5PtPYX66yTVaPiL2?si=d7dfd3b266cb45d1&nd=1&dlsi=5d0ae5e2c7ca40d5
Apple: http://buff.ly/3mgU6IU
YouTube: http://buff.ly/36sGDJ2

DSS membership provides new content every weekday, coaching practices, session-planning resources, webinars, our WhatsApp community, the DSS App and Coach Tyler, our AI-Coach Assistant. Courses and eBooklets are separate purchases, with member discounts available.

Explore membership: https://www.dsscoaching.ie/coaching?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=locker_room

Membership is €15 a month or €150 a year. Use POD20 for 20% off your first monthly or annual membership payment.

Learn Adapt Perform.

Pre-season can quickly become a collection of hard sessions without a clear plan for how the work should develop. In this episode, Ross Bennett looks at structuring the training programme, managing the return from the off-season and progressing the work over time. He sets out three phases to help coaches think about what their players need and how to organise the weeks ahead.

For coaches sitting down to plan a pre-season, this is a useful starting point for reviewing the purpose and progression of the programme, then adapting it to your own team and circumstances.

The Locker Room Podcast — Performance Series, with Ross Bennett.

Explore DSS membership for coaching practices, planning resources, webinars and support:
https://www.dsscoaching.ie/coaching?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=locker_room&utm_content=pre_season

Membership is €15 a month or €150 a year. Use POD20 for 20% off your first monthly or annual membership payment. Courses and eBooklets are separate purchases, with member discounts available.

Learn Adapt Perform.

🎙️ The Locker Room Podcast – Coaching Series

🎧 Episode Title: 'Video Analysis for Coaches – From Match Prep to Player Development'

Host: Ciaran Deely (DSS Coaching)

Guest: Ross Bennett (Head of Integrated Performance at QPR FC)

In this episode, Ciaran is joined by Ross Bennett for a practical conversation on how coaches can use video analysis effectively across the full coaching process — from youth level right through to senior and inter-county environments.

📌 Topics include:

• ⁠ 🎯 Using video for match preparation and opposition analysis
•⁠  ⁠📊 Structuring simple and effective match reviews
•⁠  ⁠👤 Supporting player development and IDPs through video
•⁠  ⁠🧩 Working with units and position-specific learning
•⁠  ⁠📱 Building player ownership using platforms like Hudl, Veo, and Performa Sports

🎧 Listen here:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00XRjE5PtPYX66yTVaPiL2?si=d7dfd3b266cb45d1&nd=1&dlsi=5d0ae5e2c7ca40d5

Apple: http://buff.ly/3mgU6IU

YouTube: http://buff.ly/36sGDJ2

DSS membership provides new content every weekday, coaching practices, session-planning resources, webinars, our WhatsApp community, the DSS App and Coach Tyler, our AI-Coach Assistant. Courses and eBooklets are separate purchases, with member discounts available.

Explore membership: https://www.dsscoaching.ie/coaching?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=locker_room

Membership is €15 a month or €150 a year. Use POD20 for 20% off your first monthly or annual membership payment.

Learn Adapt Perform.

🎙️ The Locker Room Podcast – Coaching Series

🎧 Episode Title: 'How to be a Great Assistant Coach!'

Host: Ciaran Deely (DSS Coaching)

Guest: Ross Bennett (Head of Integrated Performance at QPR FC)

In this episode, Ciaran is joined by Ross Bennett for a practical conversation on the role of the assistant coach and how they can best support a head coach in a team environment.

📌 Topics include:

• 🤝 Building a strong working relationship with the head coach

• 🏃 The assistant coach’s role in training sessions

• 🎮 Matchday responsibilities and game observation

• 👥 Supporting player development and communication with players

• 📊 Contributing through analysis, operations, and organisational support

🎧 Listen here:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00XRjE5PtPYX66yTVaPiL2?si=d7dfd3b266cb45d1&nd=1&dlsi=5d0ae5e2c7ca40d5

Apple: http://buff.ly/3mgU6IU

YouTube: http://buff.ly/36sGDJ2

DSS membership provides new content every weekday, coaching practices, session-planning resources, webinars, our WhatsApp community, the DSS App and Coach Tyler, our AI-Coach Assistant. Courses and eBooklets are separate purchases, with member discounts available.

Explore membership: https://www.dsscoaching.ie/coaching?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=locker_room

Membership is €15 a month or €150 a year. Use POD20 for 20% off your first monthly or annual membership payment.

Learn Adapt Perform.

🎙️ The Locker Room Podcast – Coaching Insights Series

Hosted by: Ross Bennett (DSS Coaching)

🎧 Episode Title: What should a new Manager & Head Coach focus on? - with Ross Bennett MSc

In this short 10 minute episode of The Locker Room Podcast, Ross breaks down the 6 priorities that a new Manager or Head Coach should focus on when joining a new team or for a new season.

This is the first in the new Coaching Insights Series from DSS Coaching, in which we use short-format podcast episodes and videos.

Enjoy and we would love to hear your feedback and thoughts on it!

Listen here:

Apple: http://buff.ly/3mgU6IU

Spotify: https://bit.ly/49jdA96

YouTube: http://buff.ly/36sGDJ2

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🎙️ The Locker Room Podcast – Coaching Series

🎧 Episode: Coaching the Child & Youth Player at Foundation Phase (FP) & Youth Development Phase (YDP): How We Actually Develop Players

Host: Ciaran Deely (DSS Coaching)
Guest: Ross Bennett (Head of Integrated Performance, QPR FC)

In this episode, Ciaran is joined by Ross Bennett for a practical conversation on what long-term player development really looks like — from U9s to senior level.

📌 Topics include:
• 🔍 What “development” actually means
• 🧠 What to focus on at different age grades
• 🎯 Balancing freedom and structure
• 🎲 Why variety & unstructured play matters
• 📈 What separates players who progress

Listen here:
Apple: http://buff.ly/3mgU6IU
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00XRjE5PtPYX66yTVaPiL2?si=d7dfd3b266cb45d1
YouTube: http://buff.ly/36sGDJ2

DSS membership provides new content every weekday, coaching practices, session-planning resources, webinars, our WhatsApp community, the DSS App and Coach Tyler, our AI-Coach Assistant. Courses and eBooklets are separate purchases, with member discounts available.

Explore membership: https://www.dsscoaching.ie/coaching?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=locker_room

Membership is €15 a month or €150 a year. Use POD20 for 20% off your first monthly or annual membership payment.

Learn Adapt Perform.

🎙️ The Locker Room Podcast – Coaching Series
Hosted by: Steven Poacher (Leitrim Senior Football Manager)
Guests:
• John Divilly (Galway Senior Football Coach, 2020–2025)
• Aidan O'Rourke (Kildare Senior Football Coach)
• Shane Keegan (Wexford Senior Hurling Coach)

In this special Locker Room Podcast episode, Roscommon senior football manager Steven Poacher hosts a lively and insightful coaching roundtable ahead of the upcoming Coach Education Day at St Joseph’s High School, Newry — taking place on Saturday, December 13th, from 10:00am to 12:30pm.

Steven is joined by an all-star panel of inter-county coaches to preview the event and explore some of the key themes that will be addressed on the day.

Topics discussed in this episode include:

• 🧠 Scenario-Based Coaching – creating learning environments that reflect match demands
• 🔄 The Evolution of Gaelic Football – how tactics and styles have changed in recent seasons
• ⚙️ Preparing Players for Performance – what elite coaches focus on across physical and tactical areas
• 💬 Coaching Influences – the mentors, thinkers, and methods shaping how today’s top coaches work

Whether you're attending the Coach Education Day or simply looking to improve your coaching craft, this roundtable offers valuable insights straight from the sidelines of inter-county football and hurling.

Listen here:
Apple: http://buff.ly/3mgU6IU
Spotify: https://bit.ly/49jdA96
YouTube: http://buff.ly/36sGDJ2

DSS membership provides new content every weekday, coaching practices, session-planning resources, webinars, our WhatsApp community, the DSS App and Coach Tyler, our AI-Coach Assistant. Courses and eBooklets are separate purchases, with member discounts available.

Explore membership: https://www.dsscoaching.ie/coaching?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=locker_room

Membership is €15 a month or €150 a year. Use POD20 for 20% off your first monthly or annual membership payment.

Learn Adapt Perform.

Managers, Head Coaches, Specialists, & Selectors – What’s the Story?
Hosted by: Ciaran Deely (DSS Coaching)
Guest: Ross Bennett (Head of Integrated Performance, QPR FC)

In this thought-provoking episode of The Locker Room Podcast, Ciaran is joined by Ross Bennett, Head of Integrated Performance at QPR FC, to unpack the ever-evolving world of coaching and management structures in modern sport.

Drawing on his experience across professional football and multi-disciplinary performance environments, Ross brings clarity to the often-muddled landscape of roles—whether you're dealing with managers, selectors, head coaches, or performance specialists.

This episode explores:

• The current coaching and support structure in professional football —and how it compares to setups in Gaelic Games.
• The evolution of terminology: from “selectors” to “specialists”—what's in a name, and does it matter?
• Building effective backroom teams—common mistakes and lessons from professional setups.
• Advice for GAA clubs: how to use a Head of Methodology/Coaching; having a sounding board; getting the best out of your staff; and how to pick a starting team!
• Striking the right balance between challenge and support in coaching dynamics.

Whether you’re managing a county panel or setting up a club coaching team, this episode offers practical insight on structuring your environment for success.

Listen here:
Apple: http://buff.ly/3mgU6IU

Spotify: https://bit.ly/49jdA96

YouTube: http://buff.ly/36sGDJ2

DSS membership provides new content every weekday, coaching practices, session-planning resources, webinars, our WhatsApp community, the DSS App and Coach Tyler, our AI-Coach Assistant. Courses and eBooklets are separate purchases, with member discounts available.

Explore membership: https://www.dsscoaching.ie/coaching?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=locker_room

Membership is €15 a month or €150 a year. Use POD20 for 20% off your first monthly or annual membership payment.

Learn Adapt Perform.