Muck and Sh1t

Winter training. I love it. The first week of January, or at latest the second, sees nearly every GAA team in Ireland return to the local field to start the hard slog. They arrive filled with hope, eager to atone for the previous year's underperformance or build on its successes. In modern Ireland (apologies, had to get it in somewhere) where the town centre pitch was sold off to a property developer for millions of euros, many a player will pull into a plush new complex kitted out with floodlit pitches, maybe even an artificial one if they come from a particularily affluent town. Alongside that will be a cosy bar, a hall and corridors full of dressing rooms.

Not in Kinsale though and thats the way I always liked it. We have a pitch in the town, some small dressing rooms and a couple of dim lights. As you pull into the car park its difficult to make out the new faces in the dark. Everyone shuffles into the changing room quickly to stay out of the bitter cold and whirling wind. You can hear the jovial banter from a long way off and no doubt you will be the victim of some of it when you pass through the door.

The dressing room is heaving with anxious bodies, all waiting for the inevitable pain they are about to be put through. The core is familiar to you but there are others sprinkled into the mix. The young fellas, its their first winter and they are bursting with energy and enthusiasim. There are the heroes who have returned from the sabbatical and exile of the previous year, but a few other heroes are marked absent. The auld lads huddle together to try gee eachother up for another year and then the holler comes from the pitch.

GAA players don't do tracksuits so well and so the men march into the night's claws with just shorts and a battered jersey to protect them. The pitch is laden with long grass but it only masks the muck and sh1t which meets your studs upon its landing. The next hour and a half is pain. Running, running and more running. Long, hard, unforgiving runs. Silence accompanies the darkness and the far off cones or flags can just about be seen. Some lads burst out of the traps like men possessed. Others are minding themselves, hiding in the pack. Its these lads annoyed me most. You'd burst a gut all night and then on the last run they would pop the cork and unleash the energy reserve.

At every break in the action, there are men sprawled everywhere. Steam rises from their bodies as they gasp for air. Follow the roar into the darkest corner and you will see fellas disposing of their dinners. Its character building, team building. For me this is where you do the work and build up the stamina that you will need four or five months later, even longer if you are successful. Remembering the pain and sacrifice in the winter always drove me on.

Tonight, the group of 2009 trained for the first time in the British School's indoor hall. The shortage and cost of outdoor facilities mean its not possible so this is what we have to play with. The session was open to both hurlers and footballers and lasted one hour. Ladders, core work and sprints is all we can manage in the space alotted to us but thats fine.

The scene differs greatly from the one set at the beginning of this piece. Its difficult to mirror it outside of your own club for many reasons which I will explain in a future installment. The hall is bright and warm but far more uncertainty exists. You're never sure of what you'll have when you're dealing with expats. Some will have moved on from the previous year, others will have arrived. The transition can never be smooth but its the same with all the clubs in Europe. You play the hand you're dealt. Its makes it hard to set goals. Still, we must put the European Championships on our radar in both codes. Its the only way we can improve on last year. It is a massive ask but we have taken the first steps on the journey and will proceed with hope and determination.

We'll keep the atmosphere calm for the first couple of weeks to ease lads back in. Some are not used to/are not here for the hardship of true winter training. But as the weeks go by we'll move up the gears and we will be ready for our first tournament at the end of March.