I don’t think there are too many one sided inter-county hurlers at this stage.
I’m not sure if i am correct in this but i have generally waited for a kid to be reasonably competent at hitting the ball on the ground on their strong side before starting them on their weak side.
Interesting point re ground striking. I think the air strike is a natural progression from the ground strike. Teaches kids how to kove yheir feet correctly top as well as the swing. It is a bit mad though.
Ya I can see how it would help with the hand eye co-ordination as well.
Most intercounty hurlers can hurl off their bad side. But in a it’ll do in a pinch way. Most would have a very heavy preference for one side. Very few fully two sided.
I just wonder if it’s a little horse before cart.
Being able to throw the ball now, you’d hardly need a bad side anyway
A comparable sport in terms of the skill of striking would be baseball and they have the kids hit the ball off a giant tee thing, so at least practicing the swing they’ll actually need to use.
Thats a good idea. I’ll be keeping an eye out on @caoimhaoin X account for news of an ingenius new coaching aid.
no
Most mortal need to be adequate off their weak side. you’d need to be an exceptional athlete to get away with being one sided.
On kids and ground hurling- you aren’t really just teaching them the ground stoke - its also the mechanics of the swing
I think the obsession with the air strike is the strange thing. Obviously at top inter county or club level you’ll use ground hurling very little but it’s a hugely effective skill in around goal or to move the ball quickly out the field and avoid rucks etc especially in weaker county underage club hurling or most levels of camogie. The vast majority of these players will never be expertly pinging the ball around like cian lynch yet are completely discouraged from striking the ball on the ground.
I looked at buying one of those T ball yokes for u8s. Most of them are just swinging the hurl like you’d rock a baby or swat a fly and making a connection with the sliotar that way. Bares no relation to an actual hurling strike.
I think it boils down to striking the ball in the air is better craic and feels nicer. Once u get kids to the stage where they are able to give the ball a good smack out of their hands every time then you generally have them hooked.(pardon the pun)
Yeah that’s definitely true. It completely puts off the ones who can’t get it at 7 or 8 though. I’ve seen a few of them packing in hurling because of it when they’d be grand underage club hurlers at worst if they could just stick at it and play ground hurling until they’re ready.
After 4 years of coaching 6 & 8s and i can definitely see the benefits of getting the strike right on the ground first. Really it’s just about ensuring they are holding the hurley correctly before you look at all the other moving parts. Then working on the swing, then getting it from the hands. There’s definitely a logical progression to it and at more achievable targets for the kids. You keep a lot more children involved for those first few years the more ground hurling you can do. It’s just all about getting them comfortable with the concept of the hurley hand and ball hand.
We have the hurling poles as well which would be the equivalent of your baseball tee.
I think you’re completely wrong here. Most inter county players are very comfortable on both sides at hurling.
It’s fucking easy for one thing. Much harder to be good off both feet in football.
Coaching the weak side at that age is better in my opinion because they don’t really know any better. And it’s like riding a bike. You never forget.
Fuck me. Sure ye cannae be serious.
Are these the ones with the handle on them?
I more saying for the lad who is useless. Would their time not be better spent being someway good with one side. Rather than shite with both.
Most Intercounty players can play off both sides. There are very few who can hurl equally off both sides, or even nearly. Very few who won’t go out of their way to get back on their good side if possible and they are the cream of the crop.
Weak side is important obviously. But is it important for the shit lad who is just about hitting it with the strong side and then has to turn to his weak side and miss it altogether. Must be very disheartening and no one wants to keep doing something you are shit at
You’ll struggle even play well at junior B level in top tier counties these days if you have to do a full 180 to get onto your strong side barring you have much much stronger physical traits than your opponent.
The most important thing for young lads up to that age of 6/7 is they are hurling preferably with their strong hand on top, they are attempting to rise the ball with the bas pointed out and finally they are showing no signs of cack handness. A small Hurley with a big bas will help with all of the above…
ground hurling is very useful to get kids in the habit of a full back swing and follow through. If they can hit a forehand ground shot with that nice full arc then it’s a great start. Once they begin to hit the ball out of hand with that swing, it will go a long way immediately.
I was very one sided playing football. Haven’t played a game in years but since I started coaching kids at it I can kick pass equally well off either foot…shooting ok but not as well…only difference now is I understand (have thought about) the kicking mechanic …which is something that was never ever mentioned to me as a kid
Kicking off both feet is difficult but I’m always baffled my the amount of top players who can’t bounce or hand pass off their weak hand or solo off weak foot.
It is fairly straightforward to improve your weak side, just takes time and a conscious effort. No reason even the most limited hurler can’t get a 40 yard strike off their weak side under pressure unless they don’t have an interest in developing it - which is typically the case.
Ground Hurling is all about the wrists.
The more of it you play as a young lad the wristier you’ll be.
Not until you play lower levels that you see the way the weaker players strike the ball. Might as well be swinging a surfboard. Pushing the thing.
You could be just shit off both feet now.