Ballinhassig Coleman first played for the
Ballinhassig club at adult level in the late 1960s. He claimed his first major silverware with the club in 1970 when the club secured the
South East Junior Championship after a 3-12 to 3-03 defeat of
Ballymartle. Coleman's side again defeated Ballylartle to win a second successive divisional title in 1971 before losing out to
Bandon in the
County Junior Championship. He collected a third divisional winners' medal in four years in 1973 before winning a county junior championship medal following a four-point defeat of
Meelin in the final. Coleman won a
Cork Intermediate Championship title in 1975 after Ballinhassig's 3-12 to 2-05 defeat of
Blackrock in the final. After one season in the
Cork Senior Championship, Ballinhassig regraded to intermediate level and secured a second title in 1977 after a five-point victory over
Ballyhea. Coleman's side failed in their attempt to secure a third intermediate title after a 1-14 to 1-06 defeat by
Cloughduv in the 1983 final.
Cork Minor and under-21 Coleman first played for Cork when he joined the minor team as a member of the extended panel in advance of the
1967 Munster Minor Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 14 May 1967 when he was introduced as a substitute at centre-forward for
Kevin Fitzgerald, before later claiming a
Munster Minor Championship medal as a non-playing substitute after a 4-10 to 0-03 defeat of
Limerick in the
final. On 3 September 1967, Coleman was again selected amongst the substitutes for the
All-Ireland final and ended the game with a
winners' medal after the 2-15 to 5-03 defeat of
Wexford. He was again eligible for the minor grade in
1968 and took over from
Willie Glavin as first-choice goalkeeper. Coleman claimed his first Munster Championship medal on the field of play that year after the 7-08 to 4-02 victory over
Waterford before later lining out in goal in the 2-13 to 3-07 defeat by Wexford in the
All-Ireland final. Two years later, Coleman took over from
Bernard Hurley as goalkeeper with the Cork under-21 team and collected his first
Munster Under-21 Championship medal after 3-11 to 2-07 defeat of
Tipperary in the
1970 Munster final. He later won his first
All-Ireland Under-21 Championship medal after again lining out in goal in Cork's 5-17 to 0-08 victory over Wexford in a
final replay. Coleman was in his second and final year of being eligible for the under-21 grade when he won a second successive provincial winners' medal following a five-point win over Tipperary. His last game for the team saw Cork secure a record fourth successive All-Ireland Championship, with Coleman claiming a second successive winners' medal after the 7-08 to 1-11 win over Wexford.
Senior Coleman's performances at under-21 level saw him supplant
John Mitchell as second-choice goalkeeper with the Cork senior team shortly after the
1970 Munster Championship. He made his championship debut on 16 August 1970 as a replacement for the injured
Paddy Barry in Cork's 4-20 to 2-09 All-Ireland semi-final defeat of
Antrim. Coleman was later included as a panellist for the
All-Ireland final against Wexford and ended the game with a
winners' medal after the 6-20 to 5-11 victory. Coleman remained as understudy to Paddy Barry over the next few seasons and claimed his first silverware when he was sub-goalkeeper when Cork defeated Limerick to secure the
1971-72 National League title. Later that year he won his first
Munster Championship medal as a non-playing substitute after Cork's 6-18 to 2-08 defeat of
Clare in the
1972 Munster final and was also included as a panel member when Cork suffered a 3-24 to 5-11 defeat by
Kilkenny in the
1972 All-Ireland final. Coleman won a second
National League winners' medal after Cork defeated Limerick by 6-15 to 1-12 to claim the
1973-74 title. He became Cork's first-choice goalkeeper at the end of the year after Paddy Barry's retirement from inter-county hurling and won his first
Munster medal on the field of play following a 3–14 to 0–12 defeat of
Limerick in the
1975 Munster final. Coleman ended the season by receiving his first
All-Star nomination. After claiming a third provincial winners' medal in
1976, Coleman later lined out in the first
All-Ireland final of his career when Cork faced Wexford. He conceded two goals within the first eight minutes but ended the game with his second winners' medal after Cork staged a comeback to win by 2-21 to 4-11. Coleman ended the season by being nominated for an All-Star for the second year in succession. Coleman won his fourth Munster Championship medal after a 4-15 to 4-10 defeat of
league champions Clare in the
1977 Munster final, before later playing in a second successive
All-Ireland final against Wexford. He made a string of vital saves in the last few minutes as Wexford went in search of an equalising goal, however, he collected a second successive winners' medal after the 1-17 to 3-08 victory. Coleman described the win as the "dream of a lifetime realised" and received a third successive All-Star nomination at the end of the season. Cork completed a four-in-a-row of provincial titles in
1978, with Coleman collecting his fifth winners' medal after the two-point win over Clare in the final. He later claimed a third successive All-Ireland medal, the fourth of his career, after lining out in goal in Cork's 1-15 to 2-08 defeat of
Kilkenny in the
1978 All-Ireland final. Coleman was once again nominated for an All-Star. Cork completed a record-equalling five-in-a-row of Munster Championship victories in
1979, with Coleman collecting his sixth winners' medal after the 2-14 to 0-09 victory over Limerick. He played his last championship game on 5 August 1979 in a 2-14 to 1-13
All-Ireland semi-final defeat by
Galway. Coleman was dropped as first-choice goalkeeper in favour of
Tim Murphy during the
1979-80 National League, but claimed a third winners' medal in that competition after a nine-point victory over Limerick. He was not included on the Cork panel for the
1980 Munster Championship, a move that effectively ended his inter-county career.
Munster Coleman was added to the
Munster inter-provincial team as sub-goalkeeper to
Séamus Durack in advance of the
1975 Railway Cup and was an unused substitute when the team suffered a 2-09 to 1-11 defeat by
Leinster in that year's
final. He again served as understudy to Durack the following year, but claimed his first
Railway Cup medal after one-point victory over Leinster in the
final. After losing the
1977 Railway Cup final to Leinster, Coleman claimed a second winners' medal as a non-playing substitute following a 0-20 to 1-11 victory over
Connacht in
1978. ==Coaching career==