GAA.ie Each team consists of 15 players, lining out as per the diagram. IMAGE Equipment The stick, or "hurley" (called camán in Irish) is curved outwards at the end, to provide the striking surface. The ball or "sliotar" is similar in size to a hockey ball but has raised ridges. Playing Rules You may strike the ball on the ground, or in the air. You may catch the ball or pick up the ball with your hurley into your hand and carry it for not more than four steps in the hand. After those steps you may bounce the ball on the hurley and back to the hand, but you are forbidden to catch the ball more than twice. You can run balancing or bouncing the ball (the solo) on the hurley indefinitely. Players may contest for the ball by playing it with the hurley or by shoulder charging an opponent side-to-side. Scoring To score, you strike the ball over the crossbar with the hurley or under the crossbar and into the net for a goal, the latter being the equivalent of three points. A goal is signalled by raising a green flag, placed to the left of the goal.

A point is signalled by raising a white flag, placed to the right of goal. Officiating Officials for a game comprise of a referee, two linesmen (to indicate when the ball leaves the field of play at the side and to mark '65’ free puck and four umpires (to signal scores, assist the referee in controlling the games, and to assist linesmen in positioning '65' frees). [Proposed link to video of Star Player articulating why he loves playing Hurling for his Club and County] Hurling Training | Gaatraining.com GAA pitch… Training session… After doing some skill work and ball drills, two teams are picked and a game commences. Trainer screams for more intensity and for players to empty the tanks as they would in a championship game. Both teams give it everything and finish the game fairly well spent with little energy for anything else. Then the speed/sprint/conditioning work begins. Players that are already tired engage in sprints of 20metres. Then 40m…60m…80m…100m. Players repeat and repeat shuttle runs until they are hardly able to stand.

Trainers and players encourage and each other to dig deep and to do a few more as this is what is needed when it comes to a game. Fatigued to the point of their legs feeling like jelly, they do a few more lengthy, intense and strenuous runs. Trainers and players leave the pitch happy in the knowledge that they have put in the hard yards and pushed themselves as will be needed in the upcoming championship game… This scenario will be familiar to most players and trainers. During championship season, there is probably not a team in the country that is not using some form of speed and agility training as part of their program. The problem in the GAA community however, is that the vast majority of teams misuse speed and agility work to the point that it is counterproductive to their actual goals. Players either run too far, for too long, too slowly or do too much. Most often they are guilty of all of these. There is a huge lack of understanding regarding the correct use of sprint, speed and agility work in the GAA community.

The following are the most common and reoccurring mistakes that GAA teams make: USING SPEED & AGILITY TRAINING AS CONDITIONING/FITNESS TRAINING: Speed and agility training is the practice of improving acceleration, speed, change of direction, and deceleration. It is not conditioning work!! A lot of trainers and players run into difficulties by not acknowledging this, or misunderstanding the difference between the two. The misinterpretation begins because when we think about what happens in a game. When players use agility in games they are making powerful movements that take place in periods of 2 to 5 seconds. These movements have a strenuous demand on the nervous system that must be repeated throughout the game, even when the player gets tired. Because of this, trainers tend to use sprints, agility ladders, plyometrics and other speed training techniques until players falter to a game-like state of fatigue. ‘That’s what will happen in a game’ is the usual line thrown at a player who is shattered after doing countless sprints, and asked to get up and do more. This style of training will not allow a player to develop speed and agility productively.

On the contrary, continuously overloading players with running drills will eventually lead to them over stressing the nervous system, and will result in a deadening of the myoctic reflex that is needed to produce powerful bursts. So instead of producing anything beneficial from speed and agility work, this type of training is actually counterproductive to the desired goal! Assisting players to become faster begins with a focus on producing fast accelerations, quick turns and dead stops. To allow this to take place, players need to be fresh. An overdose of sprints and other drills will weaken their ability to produce the force needed to perform them. Take the volume down a couple of notches and work on agility and speed early in the training session, after an appropriate warm up and before the player is tired. And with regards to conditioning for games…In the playing season players will get enough conditioning from games and drills in their training without having to partake in an overdose of counterproductive, sloppy speed work. OVERCOMPLICATING SPEED & AGILITY DRILLS: There is also a culture of overcomplicating training because trainers think they need to include sticks, cones, and agility ladders and create something that resembles a military style assault course.

Many trainers spend too much time drilling a drill for the sake of it. Speed and agility drills with a million cones, sticks and ladders all look good, but is the player really benefitting as much as they can? Coaches often ask about the best drills to use, but often what they want is not the best drills, but the flashiest looking because they feel they are somehow better. Take agility ladders for instance. The core concept of using agility ladders is to help a player develop fast feet. Now on the outside this seems like a trait that all Gaelic players would desire. But will having fast feet really do anything to develop speed or agility??? The problem with training for fast feet, is that fast feet don’t use the ground well to produce force. Fast feet might be good on hot coals, but not on hard ground!! It is not how fast the feet move, but rather how much force goes into the ground through our legs that is the crucial aspect of game speed. The emphasis of speed and agility training should be on powerful, driving leg mechanics in order to develop acceleration, deceleration, and changes in direction, resulting in flowing movements that transfer to Gaelic games.

MISUSING PLYOMETRICS: Plyometrics are an extremely beneficial method of recruiting power but the fact of the matter is that many GAA trainers misuse and even abuse them. They are often used as a group warm up, over used past the point of productivity, or introduced in the wrong phase of training before a solid base of strength has been built. Plyometric exercises like depth jumps are advanced methods of training. Too often players forget to look before they leap (pun intended), and rush into these types of training without building a solid base of strength. Easier progressions like simple hops, skipping, and jumps should be worked upon before ever attempting advanced movements. Another aspect of plyometric training that is overlooked is the fact that there is a good chance we will have it covered in our game based training. Like many other physical training methods, the basic principles of plyometrics have been forgotten about and left to one side.

The creator of plyometrics himself, Yuri Verkoshansky states in his classic work, Supertraining: “More often than not, plyometric enthusiasts do not consider the possibility that the athlete’s sport alone may offer all or most of the plyometric training that is necessary and that adding more of this type of loading may be excessive or unwarranted.” Realistically, most players’ plyometric training will be covered so don’t heighten the risk of injury just for the sake of including flashy training methods. If you insist, the simplest and most effective plyometric exercises are sprinting, bounding, vertical jumps and box jumps. NOT USING RUNNING AS IT IS USED IN GAMES: This is probably the most common mistake made by teams. In Gaelic games, players use acceleration speed much more frequently than top speed, as they reach where they want to get to on the field inside 20m, 75% of the time (Young on hurling 2006, Tobin on football, 2008). Training focuses should be on acceleration and should aim to improve speed as applied to all elements of the game. This is known as game speed.

The multidirectional, stop-start nature of the game results in different mechanical demands compared to those required in events on the running track. There is no point in a footballer or hurler practicing sprinting only in a straight line when they are constantly required to start and stop, move sideways and backwards and turn and pivot while at the same time reading the play, executing ball skills and making decisions. A player will benefit little from running anything over 40 meters, even though they are often asked to race the length of the pitch or further. The focus should be on acceleration, deceleration and quick, hard turns. CORRECT USE OF SPEED AND AGILITY TRAINING?? Speed and Agility work consists of short sprints from 10 – 40 meters. Several studies on Gaelic games have found that players only cover distances of up to 30-40 meters in games. When we discuss speed we usually mean straight ahead speed, whereas agility represents changes of direction. So agility work would consist of running straight, sideways and backwards, and changing direction and dead stops. Remember we use agility in games for no more than 10 seconds at a time so ensure that the drills are less than ten seconds.

Speed and agility training should only be used 2-3 times a week. Twice is probably best! The easiest way to control the volume is simply through performance. When you are doing sprints or change of direction drills you should always use complete rest intervals of at least 2 minutes and keep well hydrated. When your performance starts to decline, you’re done. When training a large group of players, using performance to dictate volume isn’t always practical. In that case 3-6 sets of 1-5 reps is a good range to work within. If you are working on the higher end in terms of volume, ensure the sprints are of shorter distances, like 5 – 10 meters. If you are doing 10 meter sprints you can do more sets than if you are doing 30 meter sprints. Remember speed and agility work should be seen as practice and so, needs to be done early in a session before players show any signs of fatigue. Also, la ot of speed, agility and plyometric work will be covered in game based scenarios, so if players have played a match in training, the bases are probably covered.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> To learn more about the correct use of speed and agility in Gaelic games, and access a collection of speed, agility and plyometric drills, check out The Three Tiers: A fresh Approach to Physical Preparation in Gaelic Games. admin Leave a comment In the pre-season phase of training countless players and teams are in gyms and training fields all over the country with the goal of improving their strength. A major problem with a lot of the programmes, is that these players are often not concentrating on the most beneficial exercises. In all scenarios in Gaelic games, players use their legs. These are the prime movers in hurling and football and are where players should be trying to build their strength. So a programme that puts an emphasis on lower-body strength will be most beneficial to building the type of strength that a player really needs. This is not to say that upper-body strength is not important, but many GAA players embark on training programmes that are more akin to a body-building routine, with too many unimportant exercises like bicep-curls, tricep-extensions and shoulder shrugs. Squats and deadlifts are two of the most beneficial moves for a GAA player.

The force that is excreted and the manner in which it is exerted underpins exactly how we use strength on-field. But of all the leg strengthening exercises that a GAA player can use, there is one that stands alone in its effectiveness to athletic performance. Amazingly, it is used by only the vast minority. This is one exercise that every GAA player really should be doing: The single-leg squat For GAA players, this is without doubt, the King of Exercises. Single-leg strength training is something that is largely overlooked by a lot of people in GAA circles, and sadly so. If you think about what our bodies do in a game you will find that the majority of things we do are all on one leg. Running, jumping and turning all involve a series of single-leg impacts and bounds. In Functional Training for Sports, Michael Boyle states that single-leg squats are the king of lower body exercises: “The pelvic muscles must function as stabilizers without the benefit of the opposite leg touching the ground… The importance of this cannot be overstated as pelvic muscle stabilization is needed in all sprinting actions. One of the major benefits of the single-leg squat is the balance they develop.” Balance here has two meanings.

Single-leg training helps to promote balance in our bodies (right, left), which goes a long way in helping to avoid injury, but also the balance through the feet, ankle, knee and hips needed to perform a single-leg squat. Not only does single-leg training offer massive strength and balance benefits, but the flexibility, agility, and coordination needed to execute a single-leg squat, simply can’t be achieved by using traditional barbell methods. Funnily enough, the single-leg squat actually works both legs. The pressing leg uses virtually every muscle in the lower body, while there is also a serious amount of strength needed in the quad and hip muscles of the free leg, to keep it up off the ground. Add this to the fact that it also strengthens tendons and ligaments as well as muscles, developing a type of supple and durable strength, it is easy to see why this move is arguably the most important exercise a GAA player can do. The single-leg squat will take time to perfect, but there are several safe progressions that allow us to work towards our goal while still gaining strength in a safe and productive manner.

Single-Leg Box Squat: Using a table, chair, bench, or whatever you can find to assist the squat is first progression you can use if you are having difficulty. Gently lower yourself toward the object, and lightly touch the surface and come straight back up. This will keep tension in your leg for the entire range of motion. Avoid simply dropping back onto, or sitting on the object. Assisted One-Legged Squat: Use a table, chair, wall or goal post to help you keep balance while you work on correcting form and getting used how to movement feels. This is an excellent way of getting past sticking points, helping to correct issues with balance and coordination, and using the object to assist in pulling you back up. Deck Squats: When you are at the point where you can get down without losing balance, but can’t get back up, it’s time to start using deck squats. When you get to the bottom, roll back on your backside and forward again using the momentum to help push yourself back up to a standing position. This allows you to use the full range of motion. Gradually use less and less momentum. Full Pistol Squat: The pistol squat is the holy grail of single-leg training.

It requires, balance, coordination, strength, and flexibility. It is a great movement for helping to prevent injury as it also strengthens the joints and makes the legs more ‘durable.’ Weight may be added when the move becomes easier by holding kettlebells or dumbbells in the rack position or placing light sand bags on the shoulders. Tips to Achieve a Full Pistol Squat: Think about pushing the knee forward in order to initiate the squat. This will help to keep your weight over your foot. When you drop your hips back without making sure your knee goes forward, your weight tends to be too far back and you’ll fall backwards. Keep everything tight! Losing tension will cause you to lose balance. Stay in control of the movement. By dropping into the bottom too fast there isn’t enough muscular tension in the leg, which makes it much more difficult to press back up. Not only that but you are also risking injury. For the free leg, push your heel forward as you are lowering yourself. This helps you to maintain tension in the free leg and facilitates a more controlled, fluid movement. Flex the quad as hard as you can to keep it off the ground, and resist the temptation to put it on the ground.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> To learn more about beneficial movements and exercises for GAA players, visit , and download The Three Tiers: A Fresh Approach to Physical Preparation in Gaelic Games. admin 1 Comment This is the third and final piece in Mike McGurn’s series on strength and conditioning for GAA. In this episode Mike explains the importance of training for movement (the most over-looked aspect of physical training) and on-field performance. Enter Mike: Any athlete who I have worked with who has been successful, have all mastered the ability to control body movement whilst on the move, and changing direction at a high velocity. With this constantly at the forefront of my prescription of training programmes, I always emphasise training for movement, rather than training certain body parts. Training for movement allows the athlete to improve functionally and more importantly, will transfer any improvements from my strength prescription to the competitive environment. Most of my exercise prescription for performance training will be ground based exercises, that involve the athlete standing on their feet producing force against the ground (squats, deadlifts, lunges, snatch, clean, power shrugs). The higher the force the athlete can apply to the ground means the higher they can jump, the faster they can run and change direction.

It goes without saying that all these exercises involve barbells or dumbbells, as this will allow multiple planes of movement. This can involve left/right, up/down, forwards/backwards rotational or angular movements. Most sporting actions require multi-joint movements as well as major joints – the ankle, knee and hip. These three joints when moved from the flexed to the extended position create the explosiveness needed to blast out of the starting blocks. This is what is needed to blast after an opponent, or leap up for a ball. Training multiple joint movements is far more effective for elite performance than training single joint-isolation movements. It is also worth noting that single leg movements need to be implemented in programming prescription, as it is very rare in any sport that the athlete is on both legs at the same time. I have been quoted figures that during competition 70-80% of the athlete’s bodyweight are supported by a single leg during a running action. This would make exercises likes single leg squats, lunges, single leg deadlifts, and speed step ups vital in lower body development. Training on one leg would also promote and allow a higher degree of balance and stabilization to occur.

The subject of stabilization is a very important factor when training the upper body. It is imperative that dumbbells are used to develop strength in this area, as they force the body to recruit more muscle fibres than a standard barbell. Unlike the dreaded resistance machines, dumbbells will cause the tendons and ligaments to strengthen at the same rate as the muscles being trained. An added bonus of using dumbbells is that you will get a certain amount of improvement in body proprioception, core strength and overall body balance which you will find hard to do on a exercise machine such as a leg press. A leg press only requires the athlete to lie on their back looking up at the ceiling! The explosive power and strength element plays a large role in any training programme. It not only develops absolute strength, but it also can help in improving the cardiovascular abilities of the athlete. Using plyometric style training can develop explosive strength and power. Almost every sport imaginable involves jumping of some sort. This skill is developed with contrast or reactive type training. Some examples of reactive or contrast training include box jumps, band squats, depth jumps, single/double leg bounds, altitude jumps, ravers and load release jumps.

These, among many other contrast or reactive exercises, can be selected to closely mimic what action the player does in a game. Box jumps are one of the simplest, cheapest and easiest of all the contrast methods of training to implement to any training programme. Box jumps are exactly what their name suggests. The athlete literally jumps up onto a box from the ground using both feet. If it is decided to introduce box jumps into a programme, here are a couple of general tips; Start by doing basic jumps onto a normal bench/box. Don’t do too many jumps per session/per week as this can lead to overuse injury. (A figure of 12 – 15 jumps per session is a general safe rule of thumb.) I have found another simple exercise that can be implemented into most programmes is knee jumps. Again knee jumps are fairly self-explanatory. To execute the exercise quite simply kneel down on the floor with the hips relaxed. Swing back the arms to help create some momentum in assisting an explosion up off the floor. The hips should be pushed through as the athlete leaves the ground, to help go from a kneeling to a standing position.

When the basic knee jump has been mastered, the athlete can progress to repeating the exercise with a bar placed on the back of the shoulders. Not only does the extra weight add to the difficulty, but the elimination of the arm drive means the more power and momentum must be produced by the lower body. The two exercises mentioned above, and in fact all jumping exercises, produce the fastest rate of explosive strength. I have always found that explosive strength is best developed by using moderate resistance (a rough figure of around 40% of 1 rep max) with maximum speed. This dynamic method of training is often misunderstood, as athletes and coaches feel unless the athlete is shifting big weights they are not improving for performance. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Learn more about training for movement and performance in the new eBook, THE THREE TIERS: A FRESH APPROACH TO PHYSICAL PREPARATION IN GAELIC GAMES. Click here to download the first two chapters for free: admin Leave a comment This is a guest post by Jim Kilty.

Jim is a renowned sprint coach who has worked with the Tipperary All-Ireland hurling winning side in 2001, the Wexford Leinster hurling winning side in 2004, the Wexford All-Ireland Camogie winning side in 2007, as well the Mayo senior football team and World Champion Sprints Hurdler Derval O’Rourke. In this piece Jim explains the intricacies of speed and agility training and highlights aspects of training which are beneficial for GAA teams to incorporate. Enter Jim: In 2001, I was training the Tipperary Senior Hurling team. About a month into the training, Dr. Liam Hennessy asked me how training was going. I explained that I was using SAQ ladders, working on core and power, as well as building on the number of multi-sprint stamina runs each week. I felt things were going great. He asked me one question….What was I doing to make the players faster by developing their speed? I explained that I was waiting until they were fitter. He said something very simple and very profound.

Hurling is a game of skill and speed, and that Nicky English would soon need the guys to be hurling at training and it would be wise if I had some speed work done so that the speed of leg, hand, and eye movement would match the skill needed in the hurling for training, challenge and league games. This is an aspect of speed training that a lot of trainers overlook. It is more than just developing the ability of the players to move from A to B quickly. It innervates the nervous system and enhances the movement of the hands, feet and even activates how quickly the brain and body reacts in sporting situations. If players practice their sport specific skills in training and they are not doing speed work, the skill work will be executed at a slower pace than what is needed. The players will become good at kicking, striking or catching the ball at slow deliberate speeds. But when it comes to games, the pressure from opponents will demand taking control of the ball quicker and delivering it faster to a team mate. Without speed work, the speed of the skill training will suffer. Speed in hurling and Gaelic football Gaelic games are characterised by frequent high-speed and sudden changes in speed and direction.

Players perform short-bursts of acceleration, rapid deceleration, and multiple changes in direction. The efforts vary in intensity and duration but rarely exceed 20 to 30 meters (Douge, 1988). All Gaelic games have been termed as multi-sprint and multi-directional sport. Speed is essential in Gaelic games. Many coaches in the past have adopted track and field methods in the pursuit of speed, copying the training methods of the 100m sprinters and worse still, the training methods of the middle-distance runner. The speed training required in Gaelic games, however, varies from that of the sprinter and varies very much from that of the 800m runner. For example, elite male sprinters do not achieve maximum speed until after approximately 40 to 50 meters; elite female sprinters do not reach it until after approximately 25 to 40 meters. In Gaelic games, players use acceleration speed much more frequently than top speed, as they reach where they want to get to on the field inside 20m, 75% of the time (Young on hurling 2006, Tobin on football, 2008).

Training focuses should be on acceleration and should aim to improve speed as applied to all elements of the game. This is known as game speed. The multidirectional, stop-start nature of the game results in different mechanical demands compared to those required in events on the running track. There is no point in a footballer practicing sprinting only in a straight line when they are constantly required to start and stop, move sideways and backwards and turn and pivot while at the same time reading the play, executing ball skills and making decisions. SPEED ENDURANCE While hurling and football are not games of endurance, there is a specific endurance component needed in the training. This endurance should concentrate on developing the ability of the player to repeat efforts of skill, speed, tackling, changing direction, stopping and starting. There is no need for continuous endurance development. The endurance training needs to be intermittent, and short-term intermittent at that, because players are involved in the play for up to 5 seconds and even shorter at a time. Many managers and coaches may not truly appreciate the practicality of this type of training, but they probably have never examined a time-motion analysis carried out on hurling or football.

Damien Young has produced some excellent work examining the breakdown of what really happens in a hurling match. In 2010 All-Ireland hurling final, for example Lar Corbett touched or played the ball 6 times. He scored 3 goals, a point, gave a pass and sent one ball astray and he was awarded man of the match. In a study of an All-Ireland club semi-final, Young discovered that players mostly covered distances of less than 20m in accelerations and decelerations with an average over 300 changes of direction made by each player during a game. This type of activity is going to make great demands on the ankle, knee and hip joints and consequently coaches must condition these joints and the supporting muscles to withstand this range of twists and turns in a game. Running in a straight line will not achieve that result. In fact it is going to take more than running alone to achieve the strengthening and preparation of the joints and muscles for the Gaelic game situation. Various forms of functional competency development will be necessary as well as a solid grounding in various forms of strength training and core development. This type of development and conditioning work is needed in both the pre-season and in the main season.

Approach to speed training Speed is the product of the force generated against the ground with each stride, and the time it takes to generate that force. The greater the force with which a player pushes against the ground, the more they propel them self forward. As a player becomes faster he or she spends less time in contact with the ground. In order to run fast the player must maximise the rate of contraction of the leg muscles. The rate at which the muscles contract is determined by the type of the nervous system each individual player has. Therefore, to decrease the time spent in contact with the ground, a player must improve his or her rate of contraction, which is achieved by training the nervous system. Coaches should use information to guide their development of a training programme to improve speed. The formula opens up a whole new world for the sports coach because he or she now is faced with two distinct aspects of training to enhance the player’s speed; Improving force Improving the rate of developing force To improve force we need to look at strength training in general and at power training in particular.

The end aim of this type of training is to ensure that the player is more powerful and can exert more force on the ground when he wants to sprint, turn, tackle or jump to catch the ball. Improving the rate of force development is about improving how quickly one can exert that newly found force on the ground to produce fast actions like accelerations, jumps, turns, tackles or decelerations. “The fastest team is the team that can slow down the quickest!!!” THE PRINCIPLES OF SPEED Most coaches have studied the Principles of Training and how they are used to develop fitness in general. However speed training has its own special values and guidelines and we call these the Principles of Speed. They are as follows; Use short distances Be well rested before speed training Ensure a good sleep as part of recovery from speed training session To introduce agility speed training it is important for the coach to have the players perform movement mechanics or movement pattern drills at slow speeds and eventually increase the speed of movement as the mechanics are developed. At this stage no speed recruitment will take place. That is why these types of drills are to be added at the end of the warm-up and prior to the straight line sprinting in each session.

When players become efficient at changing direction, speed can be introduced and actual agility speed runs introduced. The Biggest Probelms to Performance in Gaelic Games One of the main reasons players don’t become fast is the fact that many teams train too hard. In fact participating in sprints, speed activities and practicing the basic skills of the games as well as practice matches are very useful. However many coaches overdo the prescription of countless speed endurance runs which leads to killing the speed of the players and their ability to execute the wonderful skills of all our Gaelic games. Here are a few items that you should all consider carefully to help you make the players on the team faster and more skillful. Twice-a-day training is not conducive to players becoming faster if it is not planned and balanced correctly. Early morning training should never involve speed training or skill work especially for hurlers. In fact my own belief is that morning training has as much effect on team fitness, discipline and morale as watching TV in the pub for the day – not drinking of course Training camps tend to flog players by over-training with little or no recovery and this erodes the nervous system adaptation process.

It is important to allow a few days rest after all serious competitive games – some experts suggest a full 48 hours before having the next training session while other experts suggest as much as 72 hours break. All I will add here is that those players who are gifted from a speed perspective should be allowed more time to recover from tough championship games. Fast twitch individuals need rest. Speed endurance running is of little importance of the Gaelic pitch. The stamina required to play our games is the ability to repeat efforts of skill, speed, movement and tackling inconsistently and irregularly for the duration of the game. Many team trains very hard and some too hard. Players are asked to run 10 (and more) x 100m with short recovery. Everyone feels they are fit. In a game you will find that they are slow to start as a consequence. If players do not do speed work, the opposition could be home and dry before half time. Some teams finish poorly in a game. They are with the winners until the final 10 or 15 minutes and then appear to die a death on the field. Unfortunately the management will immediately feel that the players are not fit. So the training becomes harder for the qualifiers. What rubbish!

The actual explanation can be completely the opposite. The team may have done loads of training at 90% or 95% effort all year. But as games are placed at full pace and in the first 20 minutes they are running about at a pace above which they are accustomed and naturally enough they tire in the second half because all the training at 90% is of little value when a player is asked to make 20 to 40 short sprints at full pace in the first half alone. It happens all the time. And coaches just revert to flogging the players once again. Summary After skill, speed must be seen as the most vital component of fitness needed by Gaelic players. There is only one way to make players run fast and that is to train at full speed using short distances, allowing good recoveries between the runs and ensuring a controlled number of efforts are used. The endurance component can be catered for by having players run 60 to 90 30m sprints at 90 to 95% in groups of 5 or 6 sprints with 10 to 20 second recovery between runs and 60 seconds between sets.

This type of endurance training is called multi-sprint stamina and best reflects the movement demands of Gaelic games. However close to championship time training must be mainly skill work with the ball. The stamina required should in fact be called speed repeatability training which involves perhaps 4 sets of 4 runs over 25m at full pace with 20 seconds rest between runs and 2 minutes between the sets. This reflects the fast stamina required in Gaelic games. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Learn more about Speed and Agility Training in The Three Tiers, a must have resource for all GAA teams. Click below to read the first two chapters….. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Jim has written the SAQ International Diploma in Strength and Conditioning for Gaelic Games. And that I will be launching a new book: Speed for Field Sports Contact Jim at jim@saqireland.com admin Leave a comment This is the second in a series of posts by Mike McGurn. Here, the strength expert will elaborate on the misconceptions and mistakes a lot of GAA players make when they start strength training, introduce us to his bullseye theory, and explain how exactly a player can implement an effective strength training programme. Enter Mike: Are we really getting stronger?

Any sport I can think of, all require basic strength levels. Having greater strength levels than your opponent normally will indicate a higher chance of victory. It will allow the athlete to execute the skills of the sport for a longer period of time, and with a lot more accuracy. This in itself is a major plus. Couple this with the proven reduction in injuries that a solid strength programme provides. Kinesiologists, physiologists, athletic trainers, experienced professional strength coaches all tell us that if all you did was increase muscular strength by 35-40% in an athlete, without changing any of the other attributes needed for the sport, there will be a definite improvement in performance levels. The doubters may disagree but let’s face it, strength training is a much sought after attribute in the GAA community. I have always found that there is a massive transference from doing a proper strength programme into improving all the other physical components that our games require. Various journals and abstracts on Muscle Activity tell us ‘without sufficient strength, factors such as skill, flexibility, and endurance cannot be used effectively.’ Therefore, common sense tells us that when an athlete improves their power and strength they can then jump higher, get faster, and have better repeatability.

This can all be done in a more controlled accurate manner with far less fatigue. This is not ground breaking information, nor will it allow me to claim that I have discovered some amazing new angle in the fitness industry that I can exploit to become a millionaire overnight. BUT, the reality is hundreds, possibly thousands of players and coaches in every GAA club, in every corner of the country, are undertaking so called ‘strength’ programmes. I do question however, if these programmes are actually improving strength? Or are they one of the plethora of sexed up fitness programmes masquerading as the next must have conditioning programme, promising to make you X % stronger and more powerful? My philosophy on strength training is that it is done in the gym with a barbell, heavy plates, and heavy dumbbells. If you have a squat rack and a bench, even better (if you stack 2 sets of 9 breeze blocks on their flat, you have a poor mans squat rack to lift the barbell off). Some so-called strength programmes I witness these days resemble a gadget assault course, with all sorts of swiss balls, rubber tubing, vibration platforms (world’s most expensive coat hangers), dyna jumpers and indoor ladders!

Incidentally swiss balls are banned from my gyms. When I see a player using a swiss ball in the middle of Croke Park during a game, only then will I allow them in my gym. Another aspect of these diluted strength programmes that winds me up are exercise machines. I won’t mention the company names for fear of libel proceedings, but they know how they are! They saw a niche in the fitness market with their highly engineered exercise machines and boy did they have an impact. All of a sudden gyms, health clubs and sports clubs embraced this concept and were covered in rows of fancy, sexy looking technological machines, which had the sole purpose of allowing you to do one exercise!!! After these clubs had shelled out thousands, their members soon got bored of sitting on a chest press machine, and a leg press which had you lying on your back looking at the ceiling!! Lo and behold medical experts have discovered that these machines are detrimental to the joints. They make the joints work in a fixed position and therefore only exercise the skeletal muscle. The machine does not permit involvement of tendons and ligaments. This can hypertrophy the muscle and if a strong muscle is pulling on weak ligaments or tendons, injury is more likely to occur.

It is also important to remember that there is a neurological element to muscle improvement, movement and co-ordination. Our brains control our muscles. For it to control muscle movement in an effective an efficient way, it must be trained to do so. For example to strengthen the quad muscle, it is of little benefit doing hundreds of reps on a leg extension machine. The muscle must be strengthened in the way it is going to be used, so a much better alternative would be for example to use body weight with resistance i.e. squats. I coined a phrase ‘Bullseye Theory’ to explain my approach to gaining real functional strength. The theory is that I believe in throwing 3 ‘good darts’ to try and hit the bullseye. This is much more favourable than throwing 15 mediocre ones! In other words it is better to concentrate on a few movements and do them well, instead of trying to cover a multitude of areas. Trying to do too many different things only leads to the athlete spreading themselves too thin, and diluting what they are doing. This means that despite busting themselves in the gym, they don’t really improve at anything in particular. This is where I feel a lot strength programmes are seriously flawed.

Too many strength programmes have too many exercises, resulting in players and coaches throwing those fifteen darts to hit their target. What will actually happen in that situation is that any energy that was available, will become so depleted that no one muscle group will enough to allow any significant improvement. In reality they only need three. I firmly believe if all you ever did in the gym was squat heavy, power clean, and deadlift (three darts), and do these well all the time, you will get much better performance results. It really is that simple!! A strength programme does not need to be complicated to be effective. Equally there doesn’t need to be 15 exercises in a programme to make sure all the bases are covered, as this will lead to diminished returns. I work in blocks of strength, power, and explosive power. Each phase lasting four weeks.

The rep, rest, and set prescription will be determined by the phase the player is in: STRENGTH PHASE: 4 Sets x 8 Reps with 1 minute recovery, working down to 4 x 2 and 4 x1 max strength POWER PHASE: 3 –4 Sets x 3 Reps with 2 minutes recovery EXPLOSIVE POWER PHASE: 5 x 4 – 5 Reps with 2-4 minutes recovery The final aspect to making an athlete stronger is application. No strength programme in the world is worth the paper it is printed on if it is not done with intensity, attitude and pushing to the limit. For me, a gym has to be a place of severe intensity. You walk in focused. You get stuck in for 35-40 minutes. Rip the place apart, and get out. Anything less and you have wasted a piece of your life that you will never get back. We are here to improve athletic, not aesthetic performance. I personally love the quote “the more you sweat in training the less you bleed in competition.” The strength work is done so the athletes are prepared for hand-to-hand combat and full metal jacket when championship time has arrived.

To finish up, don’t lose sight of the fact that the reason for going to the gym is to get stronger. In order to get stronger lift heavy, heavy weights. If you make your athletes stronger in the correct fashion, I can guarantee that development in other areas will naturally follow. Just get stronger!! admin Leave a comment Conor Mcgregor is one of the world’s most exciting MMA fighters, the UFC’s biggest star and Ireland’s most talked about athlete. Everyone knows about his skills and flamboyance in the cage and his showmanship and bravado outside of it. But a side to The Notorious that you don’t hear a lot about, is the intelligent and almost philosophical approach he takes to training. If he played GAA you could bet that he would be the kind of player that wears white boots, needs another gear bag for his suit, and never stops talking in the dressing room. But you can guarantee that his approach to training would be nothing short of flawless. It would probably look something like this: The emphasis would be on playing the games: “I’d say 90% of fighters are addicted to strength and conditioning and I think they put too much of an emphasis on it.

It’s vital but you shouldn’t be doing it at the expense of sparring and rolling.” This will always a topic up for discussion within the GAA community. In recent years especially strength and conditioning has become hugely popular and there is probably not a team in the country that does not implement it to some degree. Sadly however, many players and trainers lose sight of why they started going to the GAA field in the first place, to play football and hurling. As McGregor points out, of course physical preparation is hugely important and needs to be a part of any training plan, but the emphasis and the overall goal of training is to excel at our games. He would train in the field the same way as he plays in championship games: “The more you experience it training and the more you compete, you just become more comfortable in doing it. If you can recognise that, you can develop it.” This is an age old sentiment not only held by McGregor, but by both hard core GAA traditionalist and innovative coaching philosophers. When you are faced with the pressure moments in competitive games your body will instinctively revert back to your training. Train like you play and play like you train.

Injury Prevention would be prioritised: “Since the injury I’ve become much more aware of injury prevention and maintaining your body while you are training really hard. I feel like a better athlete since I’ve come back.” Like many GAA players, McGregor suffered a ruptured ACL injury that saw him out of action for almost a year. He has since seen the importance of prioritising injury prevention in his training plan. The rate of injuries among GAA players is unacceptably high but for some reason, most clubs do not even consider making injury prevention an aspect of their training. Injury prevention is crucial and needs to be made a primacy aspect of training by every team, player, manager, trainer, coach and club. Check out our post oon Injury Prevention in 5 Easy Exercise to get started. There would be a huge focus on efficient movement: “I’m looking for all the ways a human body can move. I’m not even a martial artist. I feel like I’m a master of movement.” Movement is probably one of the most overlooked or neglected aspects of physical preparation, not only in Gaelic games, but in all sports. We are all born with innate, fundamental and developmental movements like crawling, squatting and rolling.

Players always look to improve traits like strength, power and speed but without good movement we cannot become athletic and so cannot become good athletes. McGregor strives for excellence in this area and so should every GAA player. Learning would be embraced and encouraged: “Always look to learn. Learning something new is a great feeling. The feeling of progress.” McGregor has continuously stated that being open to learning new things is a healthy and progressive training approach. Be it under-10’s, trainers, coaches or adult players, we can always learn something new that will improve us or our training, our outlook, or our approach to it. Be it new skills, new techniques, new drills, new coaching structures, whatever. Embrace learning and you will always improve. He would adapt to any problem that he faced: “You must improvise, adapt and overcome.” McGregor believes that adapting to the struggles you are faced with is the key element in overcoming them. He has adapted to different fighting styles, career threatening injury and huge changes in his life when he hit the big time. For the GAA, this could mean adapting to playing in a new position, adjusting training techniques to suit your needs, or improvising a training session when only six players turn up.

You will also need to adapt to obstacles like injuries, time constraints, work and study commitments, sporadic match fixtures and negative backlash. Don’t let these things overwhelm you, instead adapt and overcome them. >>>>>>>>>> What other elements of McGregor’s philosophy do you think we can learn from in our approach to GAA training?? admin 13 Comments Chances are you will get injured this season!! That is the sad truth according to a number of studies that have taken place in recent years. One such study carried out at University College Dublin highlights the fact that two out of three players are injured at least once a year, with one out of three receiving injuries on more than one occasion in the same year. The study also found that the vast majority of these injuries are to the lower limbs: 76.3% in football and 69% in hurling. You can probably guess that the areas most commonly affected week in, week out, year after year are: Knees Ankles To help prevent injuries you need to start prioritizing prehab now!! The following exercises target those areas at risk and are an excellent way of not only assessing your risk of injury, but also working on preventing it.

If you are poor at or can’t do any of these exercises, youyou are probably at a higher risk of injury. The good news is that practicing these exercises regularly will help to reduce that risk significantly. Sacrifice 10-15 minutes of your day two or three days a week and work on these exercises, instead of sacrificing your time on the field due to injury: THE GLUTE BRIDGE: Why? In their Selective Functional Movement Assessment of GAA players , Sport Injury Specialists, Shane and Karen Lawlor found that well over 90% of players are weak or restricted in their hips and glutes. The Glute Bridge is one of the best ways to strengthen the area. How? Bend your knees and put your feet flat on the ground just close enough that you can graze your heels with your finger tips. Feet in line with hips Bend your elbows to 90 degrees so that only your upper arm is on the ground Drive your hips up as high as possible, squeezing the glutes hard. Contract your abdominals so you don’t hyper extend your back Do not push backward off your heels.

Make sure you are driving straight up and that your knees aren’t caving in Squeeze your glutes for second or two at the top and lower all the way back down to the ground before repeating Try 5 sets of 5 repetitions with one minute break between sets THE FIGURE FOUR HIP FLEXOR STRETCH: Why? Tight hip flexors are a sign that something bad is waiting down the line. Poor hip mobility can lead to hamstring, groin, and knee problems and cause huge limitations to a players speed and power. Regular hip flexor stretches help you alleviate poor hip mobility and reduce the risk of any nasty side effects that come along with it. The figure four hip flexor stretch is one of the most effective ways of achieving this. How? Lying on your back lift one knee towards the chest Take one heel with your opposite hand and gently pull your foot inwards while slowly pushing the knee outwards Lift the opposite knee to meet the ankle and gently push to feel the stretch Hold this position from 1-2 minutes before gently straightening both legs THE ACTIVE STRAIGHT LEG RAISE: Why?

In a Player Profiling Programme conducted by the GAA and the Sports Surgery Clinic, it was found that the lowest assessment score among 660 players was in the active straight leg raise. ACL tears are one of the most common and career threatening injuries among GAA players, and active straight leg raises are an excellent way of assessing quadriceps strength and hamstring, flexibility, the key muscle groups that effect knee stability. How? Lay flat on your back, legs straight, arms by your side Slightly tilt your foot out Engage your abdominals and glutes to protect your back Tense your hands by your hips for added support Lift your leg as high as you can keeping it straight at all times Hold at the top for 2 second your quad and glutes hard Slowly lower returning to start Try 5 sets of 5 repetitions DEEP BODYWEIGHT SQUAT: Why? The squat is one of the human body’s fundamental movements. If you can’t perform a full deep bodyweight squat there is something fundamentally wrong. The glutes, hips, quads, hamstrings, calves, ankles and feet are all engaged in this move and lower body strength and flexibility are required to complete this move. Correct technique is vitally important. How?

Stand with feet shoulder width apart and toes pointing slightly outwards Look straight ahead and pick a spot on the wall. Keep looking at this spot throughout the entire move Engage the glutes, hamstrings and quads and start by sitting back, not by bending the knees Keep sending the backside back as the knees bend while keeping the back straight Focus on keeping the knees in line with the feet and sit back as low as you can Push back through the heels ensuring that the foot remains flat on the floor and that the knees are still in line Try 5 sets of 5 repetitions The following technical issues are the most common issues people with bad squatting technique have. Use these to asses and address any problem areas you may have: Sticking the backside out and hinging at the hips due to an overall lack of stability. Ensure you are squatting back by using a chair to sit back onto Lifting the heels off the ground when pushing up due to a lack of ankle mobility. Stand on and roll your foot over a sliothar to help free up tightness in the ankle Knees caving inwards due to weak hips.

Combining the previous three exercises with the bodyweight squat will allow you to continuously asses and address this issue Leaning to one side due to an imbalance in leg strength. Use single leg variations of the squat like split squats and lunges while continuing to work on proper squatting technique THE LANDING SQUARE: Why? A reason why ankle and knee injuries are so common in Gaelic games is because many players cannot land efficiently. Stability, strength, and balance in the ankles, knees and hips are all key components to a safe landing. By using the landing square you will be able to determine if you are landing sufficiently, and using this exercise along with the previous four will allow you to improve your landings and reduce your risk of injury. How? Standing on one leg imagine you are standing on the corner of a square Jump high and to about a distance of two – three feet to the next corner of your square Concentrate on a smooth, controlled but solid landing Regain balance and proceed to jump to all four corners Change legs and repeat and/or change direction of the jumps Try three rounds in a clockwise direction on the right leg and then then left. Then three rounds anti-clockwise on each leg. Using these exercises is a self assessment and corrective routine.

If you feel pain in your joints in any of the exercises contact a physiotherapist pronto. If you continue to struggle with these moves it could also be worth paying the physio a visit as there may be an underlying problem waiting to rear its ugly head. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Did you find this helpful? Share your experiences with injury or the benefits you’ve had using these movements in the past!! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> For more information on injury prevention and training techniques check out The Three Tiers: A Fresh Approach to Physical Preparation in Gaelic Games admin 1 Comment Mike McGurn is a world-class strength & conditioning coach who has had success with Armagh, Crossmaglen Rangers, the Ireland, Ospreys and St. Helen’s rugby teams, Ireland Compromise Rules team, and a long list of clients such as Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell and boxer Bernard Dunne. This is the first in a series of guest posts by Mike, where he will explore the training demands of Gaelic games and tell us exactly where we are going wrong, and advise us on the steps we can take to make things right!!

Enter Mike: As a lot of teams will soon be returning to the dreaded pre-season (preparation) phase, one of the questions frequently asked by coaches and trainers is, are we training to suit the demands of the game? The buzz words doing the rounds in sport at the minute are ‘sport specific’, and even more intricate the term ‘position specific’. If we are to adhere to these ideas, and train according to these theories, then we need to analyse what happens in our game. Gaelic football is a contact/collision sport (measured by G forces), with high intermittent bouts of speed (measured in km/h), skill, strength and stamina (measured in metres by distance covered per game). Reciprocally there are also spells during the game where a player may be inactive and do no more than talk nicely to his opposite number. So basically we run hard, we tackle hard, we catch and pass and ultimately we shoot. Simple…. but is it really? Or is it a sport made complicated by coaches and trainers!!!!!!!!!!!! With the introduction of GPS into Gaelic games over the last few seasons we are finding out more and more about the physical needs required of players, to perform at the highest level.

Teams who play a high octane, fast paced, intense brand of football, such as Donegal, Kildare, Tyrone, Cork cover the greatest distance over the course of a game. On average, the following distances are covered in a senior county championship game; Full Backs – 7,000- 7,500 metres Half Backs- 8,500-9,500 metres Half Forwards- 8,000-9,000 metres Full Forwards – 6,000-7,000 metres Admittedly these figures are at the higher end of the scale, and a lot will depend on your coach/managers philosophy and game plan. We must now beggar the question – does our training mimic these distances ( are we sport and position specific), and secondly does it need to? I’ll answer the second question for you. No we don’t need to cover the above distances, because at a closer inspection, a lot of the ground covered in the course of a game is at low intensity, ie: walking and slow jogging (the Americans refer to this as garbage yardage!).

If we attempted to cover up to 10,000 metres at every training session we would have more players in the physio room with overuse, and hence long term injuries (LTI’s), and no players able to play. A study by Macintyre et al (2005) indicates that Gaelic footballers are required to have very high speed endurance levels. He found that 43% of match play in Gaelic football was spent in high intensity activity, adding further support to the importance of a high anaerobic capacity for these athletes. Strudwick et al (2002 ) felt that more emphasis should be placed on explosive strength and speed development when physically preparing Gaelic footballers. This is reinforced when we re-visit the distances covered in a senior inter county championship match. Although figures of 7,000 – 10,000 metres covered per game may seem impressive, in reality only 2,500 – 4,500 metres are of any real quality. This should automatically indicate that this is a more appropriate training volume to cover in our preparation.

This is supported by Strudwick et al (2002), who stated that Gaelic football “places varying demands on the aerobic system with intermittent emphasis on anaerobic metabolism”. As I mentioned earlier Gaelic football is also a contact/collision sport. During the 2000/2001 season when I first started using GPS with St Helens Rugby League Club, we were fortunate enough to win the Challenge Cup Final, Super League Grand Final, and The World Club Championship. I discovered that the amount of G force in a tackle for most of our players would amount to 12.5-13.5 G’s. It is only when we started replicating that intensity and amount of force in our training schedule, that we increased our success whilst playing. In Gaelic football the G force in most of our tackles can amount from anything from 7 right up to 11.5 G’s, which is very impressive for amateur athletes. It would therefore make sense to incorporate short small bouts of this intensity into our training plan. It is an excellent idea for a team to play high intensity matches as part of their training, as demonstrated by Donegal.

By doing this they have covered this important aspect of the training plan-job done! The final aspect of training I will address is speed in Gaelic football. Some of our top Gaelic Footballers can reach top speeds of 28-33 km/h. This again is a very impressive figure when you consider that the world’s top sprinters are recording 36-38 km/h. If you breakdown the speed component during an actual game, it predominantly consists of short 0-5 – 0-10 metre sprints. Roughly around 60-70% of top end speed during the game will encompass these distances. The other 30-40% of top end speed covers the 10- 25, and 25+ metre distances. Again common sense should indicate that we should be working on short, sharp, explosive sprints. A lot of footballers speed requirements may take place in training matches. When I worked with the Irish Rugby Team, I analysed our backs set play session. I discovered they covered 10-12 sprints in the course of their session at full speed.

Through liaising with the coach and requesting they received full recovery in between their reps, hey bingo, my speed session was covered within a sport specific rugby session (ball in hand, full pace with evasion and acceleration). Added to that, it was position specific. So rather risk overloading your players with too much speed and hence injury, it may be advisable to see what the players actually do in practice matches and small sided games. If you feel their speed requirements are covered in these sessions, then it’s two for the price of one. Have you been guilty of overloading in training trying to meet the demands of the game?? Comment below if you feel this post will help you in your future training sessions… Hurling Hurling Managers and Coaches Hurling – The Fastest Game on Grass A uniquely Irish game, Hurling is one of the world’s oldest field sports and has been played in some form in Ireland for more than 800 years. Contact us for more information about getting involved! Hurling Often called the fastest game on grass, hurling is the national sport of Ireland. Fifteen players comprise a team for this stick-and-ball field sport that showcases endurance, creativity and athleticism.

From the tournament-oriented Division B and C squads to the more relaxed City League, there are many ways to become a Gaels hurler. The team has enjoyed much success at the national level in the past; most recently capturing the Division B Shield at the 2010 National Tournament in Chicago. For more information about Seattle Gaels Hurling, contact the hurling manager. What is Hurling? Hurling is a game similar to hockey, in that it is played with a small ball and a curved wooden stick. It is Europe’s oldest field game. When the Celts came to Ireland as the last ice age was receding, they brought with them a unique culture, their own language, music, script and unique pastimes. One of these pastimes was a game now called hurling. It features in Irish folklore to illustrate the deeds of heroic mystical figures and it is chronicled as a distinct Irish pastime for at least 2,000 years. The stick, or “hurley” (called camán in Irish – pronounced “kay-maan”) is curved outwards at the end, to provide the striking surface.

The ball or “sliothar” (pronounced “slit-er”) is similar in size to a hockey ball but has raised ridges. Rules Playing field Hurling is played on a pitch 137 – 145 m long and 80 – 90 m wide. The goals at each end of the field are formed by two posts, which are usually 6 m high, set 6.4 m apart, and connected 2.44 m above the ground by a crossbar. A net extending in back of the goal is attached to the crossbar and lower goal posts. The same pitch is used for Gaelic football; the GAA, which organises both sports, decided this to facilitate dual usage. Lines are marked at 13 m, 20 m and 65 m and 45 m in gaelic football from each end-line. Shorter pitches and smaller goals are used by under-13s and younger. A standard hurling pitch Teams Teams consist of fifteen players and they line out as below: The panel is made up of 24-30 players and 5 substitutions are allowed per game. No exceptions are ever made.

Timekeeping Senior inter-county matches last 70 minutes (35 minutes per half). All other matches last 60 minutes (30 minutes per half). For age groups of under-13 or lower, games may be shortened to 50 minutes. Timekeeping is at the discretion of the referee who adds on stoppage time at the end of each half. If a knockout game finishes in a draw, a replay is played. If a replay finishes in a draw, 20 minutes extra time is played (10 minutes per half). If the game is still tied, another replay is played. In club competitions, replays are increasingly not used due to the fixture backlogs caused. Instead, extra time is played after a draw, and if the game is still level after that it will go to a replay.

Technical fouls The following are considered technical fouls (“fouling the ball”): Picking the ball directly off the ground (instead it must be flicked up with the hurley or the foot) Throwing the ball (instead it must be “hand-passed”: slapped with the open hand) Going more than 4 steps with the ball in the hand (it may be carried indefinitely on the hurley though) Catching the ball three times in a row without it touching the ground (touching the hurley does not count) Putting the ball from one hand to the other Hand-passing a goal Throwing the hurley Square ball: If, at the moment the ball enters “the square” (the small rectangle surrounding the goal), there is already an attacking player inside, a free out is awarded Scoring Scoring is achieved by sending the sliotar (ball) between the opposition’s goal posts. The posts, which are at each end of the field, are “H” posts as in rugby football but with a net under the crossbar as in soccer. The posts are 6.4 m apart and the crossbar is 2.44 m above the ground.

If the ball goes over the crossbar, a point is scored and a white flag is raised by an umpire. If the ball goes below the crossbar, a goal, worth three points, is scored, and a green flag is raised by an umpire. The goal is guarded by a goalkeeper. Scores are recorded in the format {goal total} – {point total}. For example, the 1997 All-Ireland final finished: Clare 0-20 Tipperary 2-13. Thus Clare won by “twenty points to two thirteen” (20 to 19). 2-0 would be referred to as “two goals”, never “two zero”. 0-0 is said “no score”. Tackling Players may be tackled but not struck by a one handed slash of the stick; exceptions are two handed jabs and strikes. Jersey-pulling, wrestling, pushing and tripping are all forbidden.

There are several forms of acceptable tackling, the most popular being: the block, where one player attempts to smother an opposing player’s strike by trapping the ball between his hurley and the opponent’s swinging hurl; the hook, where a player approaches another player from a rear angle and attempts to catch the opponent’s hurley with his own at the top of the swing; and the side pull, where two players running together for the sliotar will collide at the shoulders and swing together to win the tackle and “pull” (name given to swing the hurley) with extreme force. Restarting play The match begins with the referee throwing the sliotar in between the four midfielders on the halfway line. After an attacker has scored or put the ball wide of the goals, the goalkeeper may take a puckout from the hand at the edge of the small square. All players must be beyond the 20 m line. After a defender has put the ball wide of the goals, an attacker may take a “65” from the 65 m line level with where the ball went wide. It must be taken by lifting and striking. However, the ball must not be taken into the hand but struck whilst the ball is lifted.

After a player has put the ball over the sideline, the other team may take a sideline cut at the point where the ball left the pitch. It must be taken from the ground. After a player has committed a foul, the other team may take a free at the point where the foul was committed. It must be taken by lifting and striking in the same style as the “65″. After a defender has committed a foul inside the Square (large rectangle), the other team may take a penalty from the ground from the centre of the 20 m line. Only the goalkeeper and two defenders may guard the goals. It must be taken by lifting and striking. If many players are struggling for the ball and no side is able to capitalize or gain control of the sliotar the referee may choose to throw the ball in between two opposing players. This is also known as a Clash. Officials A hurling match is watched over by eight officials: The referee Sideline Official/Standby Linesman (inter-county games only) Four umpires (two at each end) The referee is responsible for starting and stopping play, recording the score, awarding frees and issuing penalty cards to players after offences.

Linesmen are responsible for indicating the direction of line balls to the referee and also for conferring with the referee. The fourth official is responsible for overseeing substitutions, and also indicating the amount of stoppage time (signalled to him by the referee) and the players substituted using an electronic board. The umpires are responsible for judging the scoring. They indicate to the referee whether a shot was: wide (spread both arms), a 65 m puck (raise one arm), a point (wave white flag), or a goal (wave green flag). Contrary to popular belief within the association, all officials are not obliged to indicate “any misdemeanours” to the referee, but are in fact only permitted to inform the referee of violent conduct they have witnessed which has occurred without the referees knowledge. A linesman/umpire is not permitted to inform the referee of technical fouls such as a “Third time in the hand”, where a player catches the ball for a third time in succession after soloing or an illegal pick up of the ball. Such decisions can only be made at the discretion of the referee. Helmets From 1 January 2010 the wearing of helmets with faceguards became compulsory for hurlers at all levels.

This saw senior players follow the regulations already introduced in 2009 at minor and under 21 grades. The GAA hope to significantly reduce the number of injuries by introducing the compulsory wearing of helmets with full faceguards, both in training and matches. Hurlers of all ages, including those at nursery clubs when holding a hurley in their hand, must wear a helmet and faceguard at all times. Match officials will be obliged to stop play if any player at any level appears on the field of play without the necessary standard of equipment. The rules of Hurling are available in PDF format at the GAA website .

Question: How many players are there per side in a GAA hurling team?
Answer: Fifteen