Starting Hurling in Late Teens?

GA361

I'm in my late teens.I play rugby,but I've always wanted to play hurling.Nobody in my my family has ever played hurling(just Gaelic football and Rugby).So hurling was never really encouraged.I'm also from carlow(not the best hurling county).

So,could I pick up hurling now,or is it too late?

Any advice appreciated

Orizio

Sure, I would suggest getting a hurley and sliotar first and playing off the wall for a quarte of an hour a day or so, doing basic skills and so on. Then get in contact with a club (Eire Og?), Carlow hurling seems to be doing alright these days, I'm sure there are a couple of good hurling clubs up there.

2Scoops

It's like this, if you start practicing now and really work hard on it (which gets harder as you get older and busier) you can look forward to being an average club hurler in your mid-twenties - you will be better than many playing the game right now.

If you're big and strong from rugby, that can give you an edge against technically more skillful players. But it's unlikely that you will ever be a truly great player - but so few are when you think about!

Bottom line: it's not too late.

GA361

Orizio wrote: »

Sure, I would suggest getting a hurley and sliotar first and playing off the wall for a quarte of an hour a day or so, doing basic skills and so on. Then get in contact with a club (Eire Og?), Carlow hurling seems to be doing alright these days, I'm sure there are a couple of good hurling clubs up there.

Thanks,I have a hurl and plenty of fields around me to practise.
No sliotar.I only have a tennis ball.Is it much harder to use a sliotar

GA361

2Scoops wrote: »

It's like this, if you start practicing now and really work hard on it (which gets harder as you get older and busier) you can look forward to being an average club hurler in your mid-twenties - you will be better than many playing the game right now.

If you're big and strong from rugby, that can give you an edge against technically more skillful players. But it's unlikely that you will ever be a truly great player - but so few are when you think about!

Bottom line: it's not too late.

Thanks for that advice.As regards being strong from rugby. . . .well,lets just say I'm a winger,but I'm fast. . .

2Scoops

GA361 wrote: »

Thanks,I have a hurl and plenty of fields around me to practise.
No sliotar.I only have a tennis ball.Is it much harder to use a sliotar

There's no comparison - use proper sliothars. You're going to be learning the skills from scratch and a tennis ball has a totally different feel to it. I know some people who use a tennis ball up against the wall for the craic sometimes because it's a lot bouncier but it's only after they've learned the proper motor skills for hitting and controlling a sliothar.

They're expensive, but if you're serious about playing there's no other way. Would you practice rugby and field-kicks with a volleyball?

Orizio

GA361 wrote: »

Thanks,I have a hurl and plenty of fields around me to practise.
No sliotar.I only have a tennis ball.Is it much harder to use a sliotar

You have to use sliotars, you can hit them further, they just feel better on a hurley. There is no reason to use something that you won't be using at training or in a match. I 'train' my 5 and 7 year old nieces to play hurling and they both use sliotars. They don't hit them very far of course...

Its like anything, like learning an instrument, practice for 15-30 minutes daily and over weeks and months you'll improve immeasurably and then join a club.

run_Forrest_run

I'd be inclined to join a club straight away, you can spend ages hitting a ball off the wall etc but it takes a mentor/coach to watch you as you strike to tell you how well you are hitting the ball and where to make adjustments.

Yep, drop the tennis ball and get an O'Neills sliotar. Fair play to you for having a go when most people in their late teens drop the sport (due to meeting the demon drink :eek:)

Yavvy

Just give it a go, no one in the GAA would discourage anyone from giving it a go. Just find a club that play at a fairly low level, the the manager the story and he will ease you into it. If you like it, stick at it if you dont ...stick at it

one peice of advice, get in close to the guy your tackeling. your less likley to get a sore hand/ankel if you do.

run_Forrest_run

Alany wrote: »

one peice of advice, get in close to the guy your tackeling. your less likley to get a sore hand/ankel if you do.

very true...the lads that stand back are the ones that end up getting split. Tuck in nice and close and no hurl can hurt you.

thirdmantackle

get a good hurley from someone who plays - make sure its not too long or too heavy

get someone to show you basics - way to hold hurley. proper jab lift and roll lift

then lots of striking practice - against a wall and with a partner

CyberDave

GA361 wrote: »

I'm in my late teens.I play rugby,but I've always wanted to play hurling.Nobody in my my family has ever played hurling(just Gaelic football and Rugby).So hurling was never really encouraged.I'm also from carlow(not the best hurling county).

So,could I pick up hurling now,or is it too late?

Any advice appreciated

If you have a ball alley nearby, I would advise you to get in there. It's great for improving your touch. You could start out using a sliothar until you get used of the feel of it. I often use a handball, although it is much smaller than a sliothar I find it greatly increases your reaction and speed because of how fast it returns from the wall. The only downside would be if the ball alley has no roof, you will be prepared to loose a few of them.

Lex Luthor

I was in Aldi the other day and they were doing packs of 2 sliotars for a tenner....size 4 and 5. Not a bad place to start. You should be able to pick up a hurley for about €15-€20. I think the ones in Lifestyle sports have a good weight and bas size to it. It should just about come to the bottom of your hip when you stand it upright. I'm 5'10 and find a 34" hurl the perfect size for me. You can practice banging balls off a wall till the cows come home but you will get bored very quickly. Get yourself into a club and play with others. You'll probably be years behind them in terms of everything but you'll love it. Or if you know someone who you can hit balls to then get into a field and hit them back & forth. At your age you would want to be out every day for at least 1.5hrs hitting and picking up a ball.

I stopped playing when I was about 14, but because I got all the basics from about the age of 8, I can still pick up the ball and strike it both sides no problem. Its like riding a bike, you never forget the basics

Rowley Birkin QC

My advice would be definitely get a proper sliothar and a decent hurley. Personally I just have a phobia of a hurley from a shop with bright lights and people in uniforms, I trust a hurley more from a guys shed at the back of his house!

Maybe ask someone involved in the local setup to advise you on a few drills you could practise at home, pulling left and right, both styles of picking up the ball, soloing the ball and hitting the ball on the run. I seem to remember the first drill I took part in as an U10 in North Cork was based on whipping a line of sliothars from my left and right side. After practising and becoming competent at these skills head for a training session with the relevant age group and work from there. Also as has been said, the closer you stick to your marker in a contest the less chance you have of being broken up.

It's a religion here and seen as something that takes years to master, not like football which can be taught 10 mins before the throw-in A few weeks off from Hurling training means a substantial degradation in "first touch" skills so it does take time and dedication.

Best of luck OP. It's something thats highly enjoyable, uniquely Irish and a real challenge to master.

Joeface

To get you going I will donate one Proper sliothar
since we make them.

pm for more details, Aldi ones are sh*te as are most of the others you buy in lifestyle and the like.

Rowley Birkin QC

Joeface wrote: »

To get you going I will donate one Proper sliothar
since we make them.

pm for more details, Aldi ones are sh*te as are most of the others you buy in lifestyle and the like.

Fair play.

How about one for a lapsed hurler considering going back?!:p


*shakes fist at women and drink*

Joeface

am no and def not to some lapsed hurler from "Location: Cork"
been a limerick man Its hard to help those from other counties in munster that my GAA blood cant bare.

And you can tell also from that I have nothing to do with the sales of our sliothars .

back to the Training in hurling , Once u start you cant stop, Hurley and Ball in hand every evening even if is just off a wall . And mind the windows

Myxomatosis

I'd advise getting one of these really dense and heavy rubber balls for hitting against a wall, available in some pund shops. They might not have the exact same feel as a sliothar, but it's close enough.

I find sliothars loose thier integrity very quickly if your regularly smashing it against a wall.

After each session of hitting the rubber ball against the wall, you could take a few pucks of a real sliothar to "normalise" your touch again.

Rowley Birkin QC

Joeface wrote: »

am no and def not to some lapsed hurler from "Location: Cork"
been a limerick man Its hard to help those from other counties in munster that my GAA blood cant bare.

And you can tell also from that I have nothing to do with the sales of our sliothars .

back to the Training in hurling , Once u start you cant stop, Hurley and Ball in hand every evening even if is just off a wall . And mind the windows

Ah was only messing Joe. I might try and catch a Cork one in Croker on Sunday. Who knows maybe even a Cork football :pac::pac:

Joeface

Aye BigKev u will be able catch plenty from behind yer own goals with the Cats coming at ye (bunch of no good strikers)

GA361 pm me with ur address and I will sort that out.

Rowley Birkin QC

Joeface wrote: »

(bunch of no good strikers)

:rolleyes:

Lex Luthor

Joeface wrote: »

To get you going I will donate one Proper sliothar
since we make them.

pm for more details, Aldi ones are sh*te as are most of the others you buy in lifestyle and the like.

they might be sh1te but if he's going to be just lashing them off walls and such then they're cheap for that

thirdmantackle

hope they are official sliotars

not those Cummins yokes

Joeface

Are u asking me that

Yes they are offical Sliotars

O'Neills arent the only approved brand

and no they are not the Cummins or Newry

Big Ears

bigkev49 wrote: »

My advice would be definitely get a proper sliothar and a decent hurley. Personally I just have a phobia of a hurley from a shop with bright lights and people in uniforms, I trust a hurley more from a guys shed at the back of his house

Too true, don't get yourself a hurl out of a sports shop, it's not a real hurl and won't be worth ****. A proper individual made hurl is a completely different entity to what passes for a hurl in a sports shop.