DARRAGH CASEY

Hello. My name’s Darragh.

I’m a registered personal trainer.

I support people to move well, to feel well.

Prior to personal training and S&C, I worked as a nurse in the UK. I worked in several community settings; as a community nurse, a public health staff nurse - school nurse, and a health promotion nurse working in the area of cancer prevention. The name oop movement is a nod to the learning and growth over these years - to quote the 2020 Marmot Review on the need to focus on the structural drivers of health inequalities, ‘avoid talking about choices, lifestyles, physical activity. Instead talk about options, opportunities and places.’ I stay away from individualistic, motivation oriented rhetoric. I’m influenced by collectivist approaches to health and wellbeing. We’re all in this together.

Recently, I made the decision to commit more of my time to working as a coach. I’m in the early years of this journey.

I take a functional approach to our strength and movement training. I’m proud of the service I provide.

I’m currently studying a MSc in Strength and Conditioning with SETU Carlow. I’m looking forward to applying this knowledge to my coaching with elite athletes, recreational and specialist population groups. Currently: Wexford GAA Mentorship (schools and age grade), Wexford Minor Football, Half Way House Bunclody GAA.

Get in touch if you’d like to train with me / partner + collaborate to drive positive impact locally. Freelance group coaching and workshops are available on request.

Physical literacy / strength and conditioning / athletic development, register here.

Technology available for training and testing includes OUTPUT, Freelap, and RYPT.

Drop us an email with any questions: darragh@oopmovement.ie

A selection of posts from @oop_movement

  • ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT

    We benefit from variety of movement. In our gardens, fields, courts, woods, parks, lanes and shared spaces. Different settings, different sports. Different stimuli, different tasks.

    There are plenty of outside play options locally. @ballydehob_community_tennis and @ballydehobfrisbee are just two of the great welcoming social options that I've come across recently. Both provide opportunities for developing athleticism – coordination, balance, spacial awareness, speed, agility – while having fun in the process!

  • TOGETHER

    We're in this together. We're all connected — a person is a person through other people.

    Our training is a partnership. And through this partnership, of mutual caring, there's a space for us to both grow and learn from each other.

    /

    Your relationship with movement is unique to you. It's complex and can change over time. The people we interact with, the communities we're part of, the culture we experience, the places we move in, all influence our relationship with movement.

    It's my job to support you to have a positive experience. To meet you where you're at. To support you to move competently and confidently going forward.

    /

    With health and wellbeing as a central tenet, training should be established on a strong foundation of movement skills and structured appropriate to your movement quality and history.

    Long-term athletic development doesn't just apply to youth athletes and their development. As adults, we can benefit from thinking long-term and from tailored training with athletic development in mind. It's never too late.

  • SLOW DOWN

    Is it just me or is dawdling not only important for our health but also, maybe counterintuitively, for us to move? Specifically for unplanned and unstructured movement. We're so stimulated all of the time, especially with technology. We're full to the brim with consumption. Maybe we need to leave time to allow for idleness; to invite in creativity and movement. To slow down. To invite in play. Because exercise is now so synonymous with movement, do we tend to box up and overly structure our activities?

    Big up to pottering about, idleness, boredom, putting the technology away, taking a stroll with no destination in mind, and not predetermining everything.

    /

    Image of The Idler by @lillyhedleyprint in Our Isles: Poems Celebrating the Art of Rural Trades and Traditions. @liznojan_books

  • PLAY

    We ran, we climbed, we jumped, we crouched. We used jumpers as goal posts. We got a ball and played against the wall. We explored movement in different forms.

    We developed coordination, agility, and all-around athleticism and movement skills. We developed an awareness of our bodies in space.

    All through movement and play.

    /

    I believe it’s important to incorporate play and variation into our movement as adults, benefiting our bodies and minds, and I try to do that in my classes and coaching.

    We can take a lot of inspiration from children's movements and unstructured play.

  • THE SIMPLE THINGS

    Lane walks, sea dips.

    The simple things are a tonic for the soul.

  • CYCLES

    Life, movement. It's OK to rest a while, to feel the ebb and flow.

    📖 Wintering, Katherine May. @wormbooksschull