Midfield in hurling.

DublinGAA96

Alright lads,

Has anybody any advice/tips to give on playing midfield in hurling?

Thanks in advance lads

Fentdog84

Havent played the position much myself so others could probably give you better advice. Catching and fielding is obviously important. Anticipating situations(such as breaking ball around the middle of the field) and spotting opportunities/players in space ahead of you etc,and ability to control the pace of the game.Midfield acts as a supporting buffer between the half back and half forward lines to if one of these players is in difficulty always try be available to take a pass or go in and help if needed. Man marking isnt quite as important as other positions on the field. After that your on your own!

johnayo

DublinGAA96 wrote: »

Alright lads,

Has anybody any advice/tips to give on playing midfield in hurling?

Thanks in advance lads

It's a simple game. Just catch and strike:D:D

Damokc

Depends what role your manager wants you to fill. Ask him. He might want you to sit in midfield, roam forward or sit infront of the half back line to pick up the breaks and move the ball forward from there.
midfield in hurling isn't as much as a big deal as it is in football. In football everything passes through midfield. In hurling, not so much. Unless your team play a running game which in hurling can tend to slow things down.....let the ball do the work lads!

Oh and there will be two of ye, so at all times one of ye should be in midfield. Don't be ball watching either. Always keep an eye on your man.

Henno30

Be fit.

Fentdog84

Damokc wrote: »

Depends what role your manager wants you to fill. Ask him. He might want you to sit in midfield, roam forward or sit infront of the half back line to pick up the breaks and move the ball forward from there.
midfield in hurling isn't as much as a big deal as it is in football. In football everything passes through midfield. In hurling, not so much. Unless your team play a running game which in hurling can tend to slow things down.....let the ball do the work lads!

Oh and there will be two of ye, so at all times one of ye should be in midfield. Don't be ball watching either. Always keep an eye on your man.

Ha! You sound exactly like my U14 coach from all those years ago. Class. Good Advice tho. I shud'v listened!

DublinGAA96

Thanks for the advice lads. How important would it be to be able to tackle?

Fentdog84

DublinGAA96 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice lads. How important would it be to be able to tackle?

Tackling in hurling is crucial no matter what position you play. You cant shy away from any 50/50 or 40/60 but the more pressure you put under a player the more you slow him down or prevent a possible attack and if you can win the ball great, then your team is on the offensive. Your shoulders are your best friend when it comes to tackling players under pressure I'm surprised I still have a pair of shoulders at this stage! Also use your arms and surround the player as much as you can it may prevent a clean pass to a player in space. In hurling hooking and blocking is a vital skill also

An Citeog

What happened to you being thrown in corner forward?

The truth is, you've no idea how good the advice you're getting on here is so I'd take it all with a pinch of salt. Find someone who you consider to be a good midfielder and ask them for tips. Do the same with your club manager, ex players around the club, any county players you come across etc.

Give 100% in training aswell. The harder you train, the better you'll become. Judging by your username, you're also at the age where strength training and nutrition will become increasingly important, so start with the stickies here and work your way through.

jive

DublinGAA96 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice lads. How important would it be to be able to tackle?

Ya don't have to be great at tackling but at the very LEAST put your man under pressure. If he's not under pressure then he can a) take a point or b) tear apart the full back line because he has any amount of time to pick out a run from the full forwards; if he is under pressure he won't be able to do either of these consistently or might have to play a short pass instead.

Fentdog84

Another thing that just occurred to me that would be useful to midfielders(and half forwards) is the double. Its not used much today(with the exception of the Waterford team of the 2000's or Offaly team of the 90's) is the double. If there is players ahead in space, instead of catching it just double on it in the air or the ground to allow the ball to go faster into the forwards. For the overhead double, aim for the highest point possible in the air and hit it at an angle, or if doubling on the ground take it with a 360 degrees spin as you hit it.

DublinGAA96

An Citeog wrote: »

What happened to you being thrown in corner forward?

The truth is, you've no idea how good the advice you're getting on here is so I'd take it all with a pinch of salt. Find someone who you consider to be a good midfielder and ask them for tips. Do the same with your club manager, ex players around the club, any county players you come across etc.

Give 100% in training aswell. The harder you train, the better you'll become. Judging by your username, you're also at the age where strength training and nutrition will become increasingly important, so start with the stickies here and work your way through.

I was playing corner forward in training at start of the year, but things have changed, I've played the first few challenge matches before championship in midfield, and the lads reckon thats where il be staying. I'm totally new to the position. I've enjoyed it so far. Yes, I play u16 hurling right now. We were introduced to strength training this year, and did that in the gym for the first few weeks. Wouldn't be into the weights as much, but the nutrition isn't a problem because I eat healthily. Thanks, will have a look at them stickies. Anybody know any website that gives advice on the position?

rebel girl 15

Get the ball in fast to the full forward line - 90% of all the scores in hurling comes from the full forward according to a hurling coach/course tutor that I spoke to

Palytoxin

rebel girl 15 wrote: »

Get the ball in fast to the full forward line - 90% of all the scores in hurling comes from the full forward according to a hurling coach/course tutor that I spoke to

There's no way 90% of the scores come from the full forward, but over 90% of the scores should be coming from the forwards. Don't try to run the ball yourself, just play the ball low and fast into the space in front of the forwards to run on to and an odd high one in for the full forward to break down. Marking won't be as big (but still fairly important) a part of your game as it is for the backs, I think it's more important to make yourself available for the clearances from the backs. You should hit the space and make eye contact with them as they look up coming out with the ball, try not to be standing as they play the ball out to you, as it'll give your man a chance to get there to win the ball. For the puckouts try to win as many as you can, but if you're on a taller man I'd try to break them down to the half backs/forwards and stop him taking clean, easy ball.

Peace

Its simple - just be amazing.

Win the breaks from the puck outs. Read the ball being cleared from the full back line on both sides - usually drops in the midfield. Oh and clean your man out of it. make yourself available for the HB/HF lines incase they get caught up in traffic and need to turn back.

BOOM

Palytoxin

One thing I forgot was to lay down a marker, ideally you would absolutely flake your man a shoulder when the ball is thrown in to let him know you're there, but you should be doing that anyway no matter what position you're in. No need for anything dirty, just a fair shoulder, man to man.

DublinGAA96

Thanks for all the advice lads its been really helpful. Has anyone any advice on getting the better of your man in a match if he is winning the midfield battle?