Orange stick Championships - Antwerp 2013 and London 2018

[anon78624367]

that’s laurel hill. I’m thinking of the one further up.

[backinatracksuit]

That’s the only one mate

[anon78624367]

there is or was a gaa pitch on one of the avenues coming off the dock road. Maybe up around Catherine McAuleys. I know cos we used to jump the wall.

[backinatracksuit]

That’s Mary I field, a grand pitch, just sanded in the past few days

[anon61956325]

Dont Mary I soccer train in there 3 nights a week?

[anon78624367]

we used to train there with Limerick u-18 cos Noel O’Conner was involved in Mary I

[anon78624367]

In fact we trained in probably every school and university pitch in the county because we couldn’t get rathbane

[anon61956325]

That’s it … Noel would have 2/3 teams in there alright… Would have Mary I in there 3 nights a week.

[backinatracksuit]

What pitch are ye talking about now?

[gilgamboa]

@backinatracksuit

Hockey pitches have been used for all weather soccer training etc since long before I was a boy

They had to supplement the woeful soccer facilities

[anon61956325]

It seems every sport has to prop up soccerball… a farce of a sport.

[backinatracksuit]

It just made sense, our GAA club used to do early season training on a local hockey (sand) pitch as well,
Why would you be making shit of your own grass pitch in the depths of winter

[anon78624367]

I remember training on the UL astro with a Kennedy Cup team when it was a hockey pitch. A youngfella from fairview broke his leg. You literally couldn’t stand up on it

[anon61956325]

Awful surface to play on… grand for a bit of running I suppose.

[anon78624367]

ah it wasn’t. It was like carpet on top of concrete. a cunt of a thing.

[anon61956325]

That’s why most top clubs stayed away from hockey clubs I presume…

[anon78624367]

I’ll tell you how bad the soccer is. When I dropped down the levels in Cork our pitch was out of service for the winter so we trained in a sand based equestrian event centre. Horse shit and all.

[anon61956325]

[anon78624367]

I went back coaching then after I finished with two clubs that had their own full astro pitches - the proper 4g shit and you couldn’t get lads to turn up for training. Hot showers on a Tuesday and Thursday, heated dressing rooms . You’d get 6 lads turning up.

[backinatracksuit]

Down in Rochestown??
I trained there for a few years with the GAA club, odd facility to rent out for that purpose.

Has the debate moved on from when some posters were surprised that Hockey pitches are sometimes used for soccer?