The Ulster Council of the GAA is confident that with the return of pupils to schools, their coaches can soon resume their work with children.
lready, the negotiations are ongoing, according to Ulster Council PRO Declan Woods.
"Once the schools got back, coaching departments were immediately engaging with schools as to when that was going to happen," he said.
"And that's on a 32-county basis, not just on a six-county basis. That is an ongoing discussion that is taking place.
"I spoke to one of the coaches here in Cavan, Chris Conroy, I was talking to him one of the days last week and they were very hopeful with the schools back.
"Schools have been back just over a week, but the remainder are going back on Monday. They were all hoping that there would be a possibility that it would follow. That once children were back at school that would follow thereafter.
"It's definitely something we would hope would happen fairly soon. Once they are all back at school, and of course there are coaches who are funded, we would be hoping that would be the case."
It's been a hard couple of years for coaches employed by the Ulster Council.
"Their employment often hangs on a knife-edge with a Government funding block that, as often as not, is uncertain.
"It's been hugely uncertain. There is the other factor in that there a yearly group of coaches, I think it is KeyStage 2, if I am not mistaken.
"Their contracts are only renewed yearly and last year there were some of them being threatened with the end of the process because the southern government hadn't confirmed the funding.
"Then at the 11th hour the funding was confirmed and we are looking at the same situation again. The same thing is happening at the moment where you have the same pool of coaches don't know when the funding is going to be confirmed.
"That is something year on year that can cause problems. That's an issue."
A year on from the Coronavirus pandemic struck, there have been multiple reports anecdotally and academically of children losing intertest in their sport, because of a lack of formal structure and opportunities to play.
This is an area that will require attention from schools, clubs and coaching structures, but Woods himself feels the problems will be largely restricted to certain age profiles.
"I suppose my gut feeling would be that it is dependent on age groups.
"The love of getting out and playing with their friends, for taking in sporting activity and we would be more focused on our own sporting activity within the association, I would have thought that the age groups up to 13, definitely will just want to get back out to play.
"I don't think their interest would have waned."
He continued: "Clubs are trying their very best at all age groups to have their youngsters following their programmes and doing their exercises. I think while it is well intended and shows great resourcefulness from the clubs and coaches, I think that at under-13 it doesn't make sense. You couldn't motivate kids to do programmes on their own at that age, even to go out and do a bit of practice. Because it is about the team sport and playing with their friends.
"Because of that, I think they are just mad to get back doing that and as soon as there is a ball thrown up in the middle of a group of boys and girls, they will get back into it.
"I would succumb to the thinking that once you get into the 15, 16 years of age, age-group, where you can struggle with the hearts and minds anyway, could be a different situation.
"And there are considerable numbers of them who were on the cusp of playing in finals and competitions and didn't get to finish them.
"You don't know how they will react to those sort of things and that is definitely a challenge; that will be a huge challenge to the association.
"Not in the younger age groups, because I think that's more about participation, playing with friends and we have a great range of sports to partake in and a number of codes."
Woods also reiterated the message that the Ulster Council are wholly committed to completing the Ulster Minor Football Championship, which has been in a limbo for the last couple of months at the semi-final stage with Fermanagh due to play Monaghan and Derry and Tyrone in the other side of the draw.
"It's still on the list and we are very much committed to trying to play it and still making sure that if it is behind closed doors to make sure it is aired, as we did with the other games," he said.
"I happened to be in Brewster Park the last day out when Fermanagh gave a brilliant performance and was sitting beside Peter McGinnity, who was doing commentary, and to hear the excitement and passion in Peter was something.
"We want to see those competitions finished definitely. "
