Seventeen of the country's top coaches were honoured last night at the ESB Coaches of the Year Awards, which were presented in Croke Park by Dr Jim McDaid, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation.

The awards scheme is co-ordinated by the National Coaching and Training Centre (NCTC) in Limerick as part of their strategy to promote excellence in coaching.

A further 37 coaches who have graduated as tutors were presented with certificates. Among those honoured were former Olympians Maeve Kyle (athletics), Lt Col Gerry Mullins (equestrian) and Noel O'Reilly, assistant to FAI technical director Brian Kerr.

Former Irish goalkeeper Packie Bonner was among the 37 graduating tutors who have completed a year-long course which entitles them to coach other coaches.

The awards were broken into five categories, with three coaches being honoured in each category. Boxing coach Austin Carruth received an honorary award.

Special presentations were made by the University of Limerick and NCTC to Ireland's World Championship-winning rowers (Sam Lynch, Sinead Jennings, Tony O'Connor and Gear≤id Towey) and to James Moore, who was a bronze medallist in the World Boxing Championships.

"It is very encouraging to see that nominations for the event have come in from all over the country," said Dr McDaid. "This geographical spread is indicative of the steady growth in the National Coaching Development Programme."

Dr Pat Duffy, director of the NCTC, also commented on the central role that coaches play in every stage of the development of high-performance athletes.

A new video dealing with sports injuries was also launched in Dublin yesterday, the first of its kind to be produced in Ireland. Preventing Sports Injuries, a three-part video guide, is intended for use by athletes and coaches, and covers various topics from prevention strategies to rehabilitation.

Produced by Sports Active, the programme is also designed to give the minimum standard of knowledge required to implement an injury prevention programme. Further information can be attained at www.sportsactive.ie

ESB Coaches of the Year Awards

Coaching Young People: Emby Walsh (Tipperary), athletics; Damian Walsh (Clare), soccer; Lilian Gorey (Waterford), basketball.

Developing Talent: Doug Barnes (Dublin), ten-pin bowling; David Keane (Limerick), GAA; Peter Fenton (Kildare), Special Olympics/athletics.

Coaching Club Sport: Mary Barrett (Galway), athletics; Jim Kavanagh (Meath), athletics; Dominic Casey (Cork), rowing.

High Performance Coach: Riet Kuper (Holland), hockey; Sean and Maeve Kyle (Belfast), athletics; Jim Moore (Arklow), boxing.

Tutoring: (Coaching Coaches): Lt Col Gerry Mullins (Dublin), equestrian; Craig Casey (Cork), badminton; Noel O'Reilly (Dublin), soccer.

Honorary Award: Austin Carruth (Dublin), boxing.