Passionate Coughlan bringing science into the GAA

In his time studying sports science, Ed Coughlan got the opportunity to study elite sportsmen and to tease out the little differences that seperate the very good from the great.

That led him to focus academically on skills coaching — learning why one team can execute their skills better than another, even when they’re both tired, or why one kicker can maintain calm or control at the sharp end of a game.

In another sense, though, he was following through on a conversation he had as a kid.