Over the past number of weeks our U7 hurlers have been training very well & the players have been burning the coaches ears for a few "matches".

Doc set about fulfilling the players needs & over a 12 day period the U7s group embarked on 3 separate blitz's to test there skills against there opposition counterparts.

First up was the return fixture of Doora Barefield

The boys had played Doora in their first blitz of the year and with the cobwebs & any rustiness blown off above in Gurteen, they set about an improved performance.

Format was 4 games of 10 minutes each with all teams playing against each other once. The lads played very well here & the reward of a treat bag was received very well. Credit here to both squads as this blitz took place in the middle of our Irish summer with temperatures described by the boys as "Boiling " and "I'm melting coach"!!

With this temperature spike of a few days during this period, the boys were treated to ice creams by the minor club. This was received very well & more ice creams were promised in the coming weeks if the high performance levels were kept up!

Next up in the blitz's was the test of our neighbors Newmarket.

Once this fixture was confirmed the coaches group lit up, there was even discussion of getting an extra early morning session in to ensure the lads were well primed for this visit of the blues.

No stone was left unturned in the build up and some people referenced the Friday evening session on the night before this Saturday blitz to the famous Kilkenny sessions that would be run by Cody.

On the morning of the blitz, you could see the steely eyed focus & an extra pep in the step of our lads.

Was this down to the fact they were playing the blues or the fact they were promised magnums for performing well!

For this blitz SMB fielded 5 teams and Newmarket fielded 4, this was run off over 5 games of 8 minutes each. Again some super skills on show throughout the mornings action & the boys were thrilled to get there first taste of a bridge v blues matchup

Lastly in our third blitz we took to the field v Ballyea who kindly invited us up. This was a challenge we were eagerly looking forward to with a strong Ballyea outfit

The format here was 6 teams of 5. This was a great test for our lads and again they showed off their skills all throughout these matches.

Overall the boys have been a credit to the club so far this year putting in huge efforts at training and the blitz's. They have adapted very well to the different formats and the visible skills and agression on show from them has been great to see.

As always though they are told to continually improve and the work they put in outside of the trainings is absolutely key.

Training continues every Monday and Friday with more "matches" for the boys to be lined up!.