Among the sectors seeing changes from the norm is education. IT Carlow runs the only FAI affiliated degree courses in Ireland.
Both a BA in Sports Coaching & Business Management (Soccer) and a BA in Sports Management and Coaching are available to study in the IT.
Speaking to FAI.ie, Programme Leader Luke Hardy (pictured above) spoke about on-campus education ending in mid-March.
“It’s been a big adjustment for everyone, but everybody has adapted well so far… It’s an important time of year for students, particularly the final year students.”
With much of both Bachelor of Arts courses taking place outside of the traditional classroom, Hardy said that the lecturers and tutors had to get creative in how classes were taught.
“We had a couple of weeks planning to come back after Easter, before restrictions continued. My colleague Tom Elmes sent the students player development sessions that they could do in their own time.
“We were also planning for the final coaching practices for the second and third year students. They are completing their FAI C and UEFA B Licences… The guys would have presented their sessions to us by video.”
IT Carlow also runs GAA and rugby related courses, and Hardy has been in regular contact with his colleagues in the Department.
“We all find ourselves in the same boat. There is a lot of exchanging of ideas, and work going on in the background to make sure students are tested to the proper levels.”
Hardy and Elmes conduct on-field assessments each Easter for potential first years for the following academic year. That plan had to change last month.
“We were still able to proceed with the interviews, we managed to do them online. We completed over 80 of them. The hope is we will be able to do a practical assessment, and will have more applicants after the May 1st deadline.”
It’s almost two months now since educational buildings were closed, and Hardy said the focus is still on the wellbeing of the students.
“It’s been very challenging. The priority is to support the students. It’s a stressful situation. Different students will be in different situations. Some may have technological issues. The message we are now giving the students is that if they have issues, we’re here to help them.”
For more information of the IT Carlow-FAI Courses, click here.