In a season like no other, our Bridge Bucks had a very enjoyable season finale on Friday October 23rd in O’Garney Park, almost three months to the day since their first session on July 24th.

Since that July throw in, there have been 14 training sessions and it has been hugely encouraging to see the progress made by these young hurlers. We started with 40 players and finished with 51 !

Final Night

Our final get together of the year consisted of a fun aspect with players completing a number of activities , followed by the arrival of senior stars Caimin Morey, Derek Fahy and Shane Golden accompanied by the Canon Hamilton Cup ! Each of the players were then presented with a training T-shirt and a hat to reward their efforts and enthusiasm in 2020.

Friday nights activities comprised of

Tug of War in which the young, and not so young, displayed their competitive streak to outclass the opposition !

The Tyre Sprint proved very popular with the young men

The Dumbbell Relay relied on a combination of speed, strength and teamwork

The Tackle Bags introduced an element of physicality

After the arrival of the Canon Hamilton Cup, Doc put the Bucks through their paces under the watchful eye of the senior stars. The players showed how they can do the Ready Position, Lock Position, The Big C , amongst many other skills. The senior players said a few words afterwards and were very impressed by the young boys skills, with Derek Fahy strongly encouraging the players to consider following in his footsteps and manning the goals !

On completion of the demonstration of skills to the senior players, it was time for the Bucks to be presented with their T-shirt and Hats, and a photo opportunity with the Canon Hamilton.

Season Summary

As mentioned above, we commenced on July 24th. Those early sessions eased the players into the basics of the game, with local legend David ‘Doc’ O’Connor commencing training with a demo, and recap, of

· Gripping the hurley correctly, with the dominant hand on top

· Becoming accustomed with the ready position

· Understanding the lock position

· The Big C – striking on the ground using both sides, ensuring the feet are correctly aligned.

Those basics were followed in the initial sessions by drills such as

· Ropes with sliotars on them. Pulling left and Right ensuring that the grip is correct.

· Soloing with bean bags

· Striking and Blocking – Pairing players off and having them strike the ball on the ground to each other

· Dribbling around cones

As the training progressed and the hurlers confidence and skill set developed, more challenging drills were added

· Jab lifting and Roll lifting

· Striking a moving ball on the ground

· Striking in the air

There was also a focus on agility and movement with drills involving tackle bags, cones, ladders always proving to be a big hit each night.

All of the players have improved massively . They are a credit to their parents and we wish them well as they enter the off-season and get a well-deserved break. No doubt we will see them all back in 2021 refreshed , revigorated and ready for a new year of hurling.

Final Note

As we become accustomed to the ‘new normal’ , some things remain the same – and in the context of underage hurling that means that each age group requires somebody to take the reigns and oversee the management of that group. This year John Reddin stepped up and took responsibility for the U6 hurlers. Huge credit must go to John and the fantastic way he organised each training session. A lot of unseen work goes on in the background to make these things happen and a massive Thank You to John for all he has done for the Bridge Bucks in 2020.

Until next year - Take care and Stay Safe !