IFA JD Academy Case Study
Learn how Kairos has transformed IFA JD Academy staff and player communication
The IFA was formed on 18 November 1880 by seven football clubs mostly in the Belfast area, as the organizing body for the sport across all of Ireland. It is the fourth oldest football association in the world. In all this time they have learned a lot about the industry and have been updating themselves to pursue success. This led them to Kairos.
IFA head of Academy Andrew Waterworth spoke to us about the value he finds in Kairos: “I think most organizations’ two fundamentals are: organization and effective communication. And I wanted to ensure that that was paramount and we really had a grip on organization planning and then, consequently communication, and I wanted it in a safe way. So Kairos provided us with exactly everything
The Problem
Different members of the academy performance and management staff told us about some problems that they encountered every day before starting to use the platform.
JD academy physio Gareth Robinson: “Traditionally, you would create an appointment board whereby people could come in and choose the slot of their choice. One of the difficulties with that was that people often missed out or didn’t get the time that they needed or suited best for them. Occasionally, folk booked in advance and slots were lost.”
Sean- Paul Murray (Grassroots coach education coordinator): Before we took on the platform, we had your Whatsapp, your email, your text messages,You have to check everything to see if anybody communicated.
The Solution
Many staff members have found different benefits when using Kairos, that have allowed them to add a level of professionalism and efficiency to the set up.
Simon Coleman JD Academy Coach says: “It’s given me a lot more free time. So I can do other aspects of my job role just because we can upload it onto the site and the players have immediate access to that. Certainly time and it certainly streamlined everything. The players are fully aware that the main place where they need to go to find out information is through the Kairos app.”
JD academy coach Kris Linsday found different benefits using Kairos: “It’s like night and day, to be honest. There’s that clarity of message. Obviously, using the Kairos app, we have a calendar there that’s up to date. And players, parents, staff can go in and see that full calendar there. And there’s an ease with the app, with the calendar changes. If trips or matches or training sessions are pulled or canceled for whatever reason, it’s easy to communicate.”
Academy coordinator Jackie Blyth added: “So the people that need the information, the right people are getting the information. And it’s one tick box. Instead of going through all your emails and making sure that the right people are getting the right information. So it’s simplified. That’s what it is. It’s just a simplified system. So I think it’s things like messenger, it’s like your dairy, it’s like emails. It’s all rolled into one. So the Kairos system, then when we’re messaging, the parents are getting that information too. So it means it takes that risk factor out of child protection that we should not be what’s up in children.”
Waterworth continues: “ It also gives our players, and I think players at any stage, a bit more of a role to make sure that they’re accountable. If you like to make sure they’re buying in, they’re prepared, switched on and they aren’t asking the kit man what time we’re meeting or they’re not asking the coach again. It’s there, they are prepared, they’re organized. There might have a wellness questioner in the morning, or they may have to fill something out. So straight away from the morning they need to be switched on and focused on their football, which we want to make footballers, we need people who are thinking about football. 24/7.”
Staff have benefited from Kairos by saving time, communicating efficiently and protecting children with guardian management among others. The new generation of IFA young players come with a strong projection towards the future.
Find out more about how Kairos can transform how your team communicates – get in touch here.