Connacht GAA has announced the appointment of current Roscommon footballer Cathal Cregg as the Provincial Strength and Conditioning Officer.

His appointment was ratified at a meeting of the council in Áras Chonnacht last night. He will be the first person to occupy this new role in the province.

The new Connacht GAA official is a member of the Western Gaels club in Roscommon and is the current captain of the Roscommon Senior Inter-County team. Cathal completed a Sports Science degree and Research Masters in Exercise Physiology, both with Dublin City University. Cregg is one of the rising generation of players with qualifications in sports science and gained experience with Connacht rugby, American strength and conditioning gurus Mike Boyle and Eric Cressey in Boston, and AFL franchise Great Western Sydney Giants and Collingwood.

Cathal’s role will be to provide specialist support in the area of strength and physical conditioning to Connacht GAA counties, clubs and schools. He will devise and implement strength and conditioning modules for coach education, develop and implement physical testing, screening and evaluation programmes for Schools, Clubs, Academy and Development squads and foster and maintain close links with all associated bodies (eg. Coach Education Committees, County Coaching Committees, Schools Committees and other such bodies).

Cathal will be based in the Connacht GAA Centre and will be tasked with the role or coordinating all strength and conditioning activities within the Province and establishing protocols for fitness testing, diet & nutrition and match analysis.