The Camogie Association’s second annual Hurl Smart week took place in clubs across the country from the 17th to the 23rd of June. This initiative is a partnership between the Camogie Association and the Nutrition & Health Foundation. The programme was a resounding success with a range of activities for all ages, males and females organised to encourage people to Hurl Smart, increase their activity levels and get healthier. Activities were free and open to members and non-members of Camogie clubs. Congratulations to all clubs who took part but in particular to the 8 “leader clubs” who in conjunction with the Camogie development team participated in organised activities for the full week to celebrate Hurl Smart week.
Castleknock Camogie Club, Dublin
Hurl Smart Week in Dublin took place in Castleknock Camogie Club. The week kicked off with a strength and conditioning session for the U15s/16s and some older players with Owen McGrath from Fingal Sports Department. Players did various activities from core strength training to aerobic activity like skipping. During the week all go games teams in the club took part in mini blitzes. Dublin Camogie players visited the blitzes on different evenings with promotional material for the children and to sign autographs and answer questions from the players. Dublin players who attended were Alison Maguire, Helen Cosgrave, Mairi Moynihan and Aine Fanning.
Dublin Games Promotion Officer Mark McManus from McNutrition did a skills session on Wednesday evening with the U13s & U14s. The session was a mixture of skills, nutrition talk & advice. Both mentors and girls got a lot from this session and will hopefully put what they learnt into practice.The week finished off on Saturday with a Mum & Me event for the nursery children. Well done to all 30 mammies who tried their hand at Camogie with RDO Eve Talbot and taught their daughters a skill they had learned on the morning. With mammy’s help hopefully we will see these budding stars donning the Blue of Dublin in the future! All week long the Camogie Club provided some healthy snacks for the players at all the various activities that were happening. A big thank you to Chairperson Lorraine Hagerty for organising all the teams/mentors for their timetable of events. Special mention also to Jim O’Mahony who put the club forward to host Hurl Smart week in Dublin and to the whole GAA club for their support of this event.
Young Irelands Camogie Club, Kilkenny
On the first night of the Hurl Smart week Young Irelands launched their club nursery for 5 to 7 year olds. 49 girls took part and 3 new coaches came on board. The girls played fun games to warm up. They were then shown the basic skill of the correct grip and how to strike the ball. All girls thoroughly enjoyed the session as it was jam packed with FUN.
Tuesday night saw specialist training for the teenagers. 14 to 17 year olds were given 4 skills to work on. The group was then split into small sided teams and the 4 specialist skills which included the strike on the run, breaking the tackle, hooking and blocking. The small sided games were enjoyable as all girls got to play and it promoted teamwork. After the game there was a competition to see who could score a point on the run from the furthest distance.
Junior training was held on the Wednesday night and the adults are always up for a bit of Craic! At intervals of the session the squad were broken into groups of 4 and relay races took part. The relay races included soloing and also straight running. At the end of the training session all girls took part in a long puc competition. The club decided to dedicate a fun day in the local school to try and promote camogie to increase numbers in the club. A couple of teenagers visited the local school on the Thursday and coached the kids. All girls got to play games and learn new skills.All club mentors and club goal keepers took part in a workshop on how to coach a goal keeper. A specialist coach visited the club and took a session with the keepers and gave coaches ideas on coaching this specialist position.The club hosted an under 12 go games blitz on the Saturday. Clubs from all over joined in and a great day was hard. Food was provided for the girls on the day and 2 Young Irelands teams took part.
Na Brideoga Camogie Club, Mayo
Western Gaels Camogie club held a fun evening in Easky on Monday to mark the start of Hurl Smart week. Girls aged 7-14 turned out to enjoy the 1.5 hour session. They are currently busy preparing for their trip to Limerick for Feile On Tuesday evening thirty U12 girls from the Na Brideoga and Westport Camogie clubs took part in fun games and Camogie drills for one hour. This was followed by a game where the two clubs got to play against each other, keeping the girls active for over two hours.
Parents were invited to the club on Wednesday to take part in a Come Hurl with me session. The programme was run to give parents a better understanding of the rules of Camogie and also give them the opportunity to try out some skills of the game. We hope with their new skills and knowledge this may encourage more parents to become involved. A Specialised skills session was held for the U14 and U16 Camogie teams on Thursday evening in Na Brideoga with 24 teenagers participating. The Na Bridoega junior team continued the clubs Hurl Smart week on Friday evening with a wall ball session delivered by manager Fergal Delaney. Finally the club finished off Hurl Smart week in great style with their U12 team winning the County Final in McHale Park.Thank you and well done to everyone who took part in Na Brideoga Hurl Smart Week.
St.Thomas Camogie Club, Galway
St.Thomas club in Galway held a number of Hurl Smart events over the week. These included fun games and skill sessions with the under 8 and 10s on Monday evening. This group of players then took part in an indoor session on Friday evening with Regional Development Officer Caroline Murray and received some stickers and book marks for all their hard work! Caroline took the under 14 for a wall ball session on Tuesday and the under 16’s took part in a relay race for Hurl Smart week on Wednesday. The under 8s took part in a Go Games Blitz on Thursday evening and really enjoyed it. The adult team took part in specialist skills session on Thursday and put huge emphasis on practicing side line cuts as this skills warrants 2 points in a game. The championship will be very exciting this summer and if any of the players manage to convert a side line cut it will be all the more exciting! More practice may be needed for some though! All players in the club are looking forward to playing more camogie over the next few months with their friends and team mates and eating correctly so they maximize their performance on the pitch and help lead a healthier lifestyle as a result.
Tullamore Camogie Club, Offaly
As part of Hurl Smart week Regional Development Officer, Lizzie Flynn, visited Tullamore Camogie Club who are celebrating their 40th Anniversary. A specialised camogie coaching session was delivered with the U-16 camogie team. The session specifically focused on a number of areas including striking on the move, attacking the ball, movement including agility and in particular coaching the sidestep. The coaches were able to take a back seat for the session and take notes on new ideas and drills. After the session all players and coaches went on to support the U-14 team who beat Kilcormac Killoughey in the B semi final The U-14 team have since gone on to win the B final. Well done to all involved. Keep up the great work.
Edendork Camogie Club, Tyrone
On Tuesday night the last night of a Come Hurl With Me took place with mums while Tyrone Senior Shauna Jordan and Julie Lagan took the U6, U8, U10 & U12s for a fun games session. There was 14 parents involved in the “Come Hurl With Me” session throughout the 6 weeks and it was great to see them getting involved in the fun games session once their own session had finished. There was over 40 girls took part in the fun games session with the group split in to three with one group at a time going over to Shauna and Julie for a half hour session which included Clear The Circle, Cross the River, Prisoner Boxes and Camogie Golf. On Wednesday there was Come & Try It Days held in 3 different schools in the Edendork area. The sessions covered an introduction to basic skills and fun games. The sessions took place in Edendork P.S., Carland P.S. and Laghey P.S.
Newmarket on Fergus Camogie Club, Clare
The club held activities over the course of the week – the highlights being the Hurl Smart Fun Evening and Come Hurl With Me. The fun evening included Long Puck, Target Shooting, Penaly Shootout, ‘Run the Gauntlet’ obstacle course and Tug Of War. County stars Carol O’Leary, Roisin & Laura McMahon, Joanne Walsh and Jenny Kelly and the Nemarket Senior camogie team helped out on the night and great fun was had by young and old! The Come Hurl with Me was tutored by Fergus Kennedy and Roisin McMahon and parents and players alike showed off their skills and enjoyed some fun games on a lovely summers evening. Club PRO Amy McInerney enjoyed the buzz Hurl Smart Week brought to the club: 'It was great to see the number of primary school aged children take part in the Hurl Smart fun evening with the obstacle course and tug-a-war proving to be most entertaining. The variety of activities available gave all children the opportunity to excel and encourage further participation. In addition, well done to the parents in attendance as they weren’t too long getting stuck into the action lending a hand at the welly throwing, long puck and matching up the teams at the tug-a-war station. Events such as Hurl Smart Week encourage children and adults of all ages to participate in physical activity. It allows participants and supporters to enjoy the ‘fun factor’ of being involved in a team and promotes a family-focused exciting hobby.
Newmarket On Fergus Club Chairperson Marie Louise Kaiser felt that bringing the Hurl Smart Weeks' activities to the club was very beneficial.
'The Hurl Smart FUN Evening which was the highlight of the weeks activities. The field was sounding from laughter and cheers from young and old and days later the kids were talking about it. Events like this bring parents and kids together and together down to the hurling field.Thanks to Deirdre for her help and to the organising committee, mentors, parents and children for their enthusiasm and participation.'
St.Annes Camogie Club, Louth
St. Anne’s Camogie Club Co. Louth took part in their first ever Hurl Smart Week, this week beginning with Monday night training for the senior squad as they started their preparation for the upcoming 9-a-side final on Saturday. They had a challenge match against a team made up of past and present coaches, boyfriends & fiancés. The game and cuppa tea went on well into the evening as the sun began to set. On Tuesday evening the club hosted St. Brides in an u-12 league match, St. Brides ran out winners that night. On Wednesday evening the club took a break from the green grass and headed to the sandy Port beach for a training session with Ger Gribben Louth Development officer. This was the club's first under age session on the beach and got a huge turnout of players, coaches, parents and siblings all joining in the fun. The tide coming in was the only thing that called a halt to the session. All enjoyed cupcakes & a chat afterwards. Also on Wednesday the Give respect, Get Respect arts competition was launched, encouraging all children in the parish to get creative.The enthusiasm from Wednesday continued on into Thursday when St. Anne’s hosted Clontribet in an u-14 game. Clontribet ran up a big score line in the first half, but St. Anne’s kicked into gear in the second half holding them to just one goal, but the big score line from the first half was just too much for St. Anne’s to contend with. Both teams showed great skills and determination during the game. Friday night the seniors continued their preparation for the final on Saturday with a tactics training session. Saturday was a great day for the club as the senior team won their 9-a-side final against Cooley in Dowdallshill. It was a closely fought out match by both teams. At half time in this game the next generation of at least 20 young players from St. Anne’s, Cooley & St. Kevin’s academy teams played a mini game. This was a great way to finish off the first ever Hurl Smart Week! Sunday was a well earned day of rest!
