Hurling Tips/Training Advice

inthepocket · 19-05-2019 7:29pm #1

I've started back playing hurling after a few years and my basic skills are shocking, striking catching etc. TBH I haven't really been going to training, just matches. I'm almost embarrassed to go training because of my basics. I've no confidence with the ball. Any advice on what to do to get the skills on? Just keep hitting the ball off the wall every day? Any tips on what I can do? My fitness is very good and I am training for that a few days a week. Thanks!

insecurebiped · 19-05-2019 7:59pm

Sorry to hijack this, but wanted to direct a question at the OP: what kind of stuff are you doing to keep fit, etc? I'm looking for it as context of what a hurling player should be aiming to do (looking to maybe start myself at the age of 18, for the first time ever...!) and also for a picture of what you'd need to work on, etc.

inthepocket · 19-05-2019 8:24pm

I do athletics competitively and keep a gym routine going. You could easily start at 18... Just do some running and work on the skills.

insecurebiped · 30-05-2019 10:10am

Since no one else answered, I said I'd come back with what I'm doing myself; I think if you're having trouble striking/catching, etc, the answer is to practice these skills. Break them down into smaller pieces and do it yourself, or with a friend who's got some ability if possible - you're dead on when you mention hitting it off the wall, that's a good way to practice the co-ordination by yourself, but if you've got a friend who can hit it to/catch it from you, that's even better. There are resources online for seeing examples of how to do stuff, like learning.gaa.ie , and videos showing proper form. If you're really dilligent, you could record yourself striking and compare it to these videos, but there's probably no need to go that far. Practice yourself to get confidence with the ball - go for 20 or 30 minutes a day at first, make yourself a few drills like running with the sliotar on the stick, soloing, striking, etc - and start going to training! The best way to improve at it, I'm sure, is to get actual feedback, and if you've already got a club you play with I'm sure they won't judge you or anything for going to the training.

v3ttel · 30-05-2019 10:37am

I'm no expert and I only started playing again recently, but I found the best way is to find a wall, and do 20-30 mins per day. Constant striking, left and right, catching each ball. You can do the same thing but rather than catch it, control it on the hurl with one touch and catch it. Make sure you work both sides, not just one. If you can't hit it, shorten the hurl by moving your grip down the hurl by 3-4 inches.

Focus on technique first. As you start to make less mistakes and get more confidence, try to increase the pace and do it with more intensity, maybe take a couple of steps closer to the wall too, so you've less reaction time.

When you get more comfortable, focus on striking on the run - again, both sides. If you've a wide wall, you could do 5 strikes moving across the wall on one side, then turn and do 5 strikes going across the other way.

On rising it, 2 hands on the hurl, make sure you are attacking it at the correct angle. If it doesn't come up, try to understand what went wrong. A simple drill is to throw the ball out in front of you, run and rise it, drop it, run on 5 yards, turn around and go rise the ball again. Loop that for 5 minutes if your fitness is good.

Honestly, in 10 mins of wall work, you get more strikes than you would in 2 matches. Imagine if you did that for a week, how many strikes, catches and lifts you'd get in. Then think of that if you did it for a month, 2 months etc. When you are doing something hundreds (or maybe thousands) of times, you will build skill through repetition. When you start to build some skills, you know that when you go to do whatever you are trying to do in a match, you will have confidence because you've literally done it hundreds of times before.

beggars_bush · 30-05-2019 3:37pm

v3ttel wrote: »

I'm no expert and I only started playing again recently, but I found the best way is to find a wall, and do 20-30 mins per day. Constant striking, left and right, catching each ball. You can do the same thing but rather than catch it, control it on the hurl with one touch and catch it. Make sure you work both sides, not just one. If you can't hit it, shorten the hurl by moving your grip down the hurl by 3-4 inches.

Focus on technique first. As you start to make less mistakes and get more confidence, try to increase the pace and do it with more intensity, maybe take a couple of steps closer to the wall too, so you've less reaction time.

When you get more comfortable, focus on striking on the run - again, both sides. If you've a wide wall, you could do 5 strikes moving across the wall on one side, then turn and do 5 strikes going across the other way.

On rising it, 2 hands on the hurl, make sure you are attacking it at the correct angle. If it doesn't come up, try to understand what went wrong. A simple drill is to throw the ball out in front of you, run and rise it, drop it, run on 5 yards, turn around and go rise the ball again. Loop that for 5 minutes if your fitness is good.

Honestly, in 10 mins of wall work, you get more strikes than you would in 2 matches. Imagine if you did that for a week, how many strikes, catches and lifts you'd get in. Then think of that if you did it for a month, 2 months etc. When you are doing something hundreds (or maybe thousands) of times, you will build skill through repetition. When you start to build some skills, you know that when you go to do whatever you are trying to do in a match, you will have confidence because you've literally done it hundreds of times before.

all that and bag of sliotars.
go down to a local pitch and practice longer striking into a goals with a ball rebounder
also, someone to hit the ball back to you makes it so much easier

inthepocket · 31-05-2019 8:47pm

Thanks lads there's some good advice there!

Hurling Tips/Training Advice

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