The Ultimate G.A.A. Odyssey

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Brussels, Belgium
A journey of triumph and despair across the roads, railways and skies of Europe, sharing in the relentless mission to develop, sustain and grow a G.A.A. club in the backwaters of the Association.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Endeavour To Fore

It is a near mortal sin to say anything negative against our pitch in Parc50 for fear of cursing our luck at having it in the first place. Let me forget that for a moment though and reflect on what a sh1te surface it is for hurling. The surface is bare, stoney and uneven. It resembles one of those 'pitches' that fills the background when an African soccer player is interviewed in his home town. Well, maybe it's not that bad; the African pitch I mean. The Parc is not built for hurling; it is essentially a soccer pitch surrounding firstly by a running track and secondly by bushes meaning it is also a prime location to lose balls.

Control the controllables and all that so move on. Whilst never one to have an ultimate (or even very good) command of a sliotar I could at least be expected to gather it easily whilst standing still. Not so since we started back. Hurling can be a wonderfully enjoyable game or the most sickening of all and there were many times when we muddled around in the dust in recent weeks wondering why we bother! Finally on Tuesday there was a hint of a first touch and with it the renewed hunger for a bit of action. That will come, in The Hague this weekend, for Round 1 of the European Hurling Championship.

Our team is decimated to the point that we are in danger of not having one. It's slightly unbelievable when you think we were threatening to field a second team last year. Fellas have moved on, others have new priorities, more are injured and then theres alot who have plans for what is the May Bank Holiday in Ireland. I don't think Martin got to the required number when he was listing out the names on Tuesday. At one level, I couldn't care less. The greatest Belgian G.A.A. exhibition I've been part of was last year down in Luxembourg when we were short (even if not in comparison to our current plight) and it was a humdinger of a tournament in which ourselves and Den Haag played eachother to a standstill. Those are the days you can't hide and you must prove your worth.

We'll have a real mixed bag of standards on Saturday. Whilst more will be expected of certain lads from a pure hurling point of view, a serious amount of endeavour will be expected from all. Most have trained with the footballers all year and have pushed themselves to limits which they have not gone to in recent times. No-one ever gave up or backed down and the same will be expected of everyone this Saturday. Crusher will prove an able successor to Kevin Keary and will provide the benchmark for the rest to follow.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Field of Dreams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU3a1PDtTYk&feature=related

La Rasante Health Club is one of the more exclusive in Brussels with an annual Membership floating around the €1500 mark. On the last couple of Monday nights, Belgian G.A.A. has being going about its business there, flanked at either end by towering apartment blocks and at either side by a hockey pitch and tennis courts. It is essentially just a grassy field with no lines and no goalposts.

Last Monday there were 30 men’s footballers kicking, hand-passing, sprinting, skipping, straining to do more press-ups, tossing medicine balls and even throwing rugby balls out there. When people tag along for a night now, they more often than not want to stay. James Murphy is a Cork lad who trains with us sometimes during the week but returns home to play with Bishopstown at the weekend. We were in one of our local watering holes, The Old Oak, a couple of weeks ago with a lad who just arrived over. James commented that the club was great because it was inclusive and encouraging of all standard of player. Sometimes I’m not sure if we go to enough lengths but so it’s good to hear a neutral voice say so. It has been a delicate balance; building a competitive but inclusive club.

We had a great session on Monday and the willingness of everyone to put it in is great. Last year, lads would have been trying to stay under my radar and skip trainings or not put it in when they were there. To a man though, lads have upped it considerably, even if some still have a bit left in the tank.

Such numbers and application eases my dislike of the full pitch training game. If such games have certain conditions attached to them than I can see their benefit but a lot of lads just want to go out and play freely. Last year, I pretty much flatly refused to have the games because they should not be a carrot to get lads out. If lads do the hard work, than they can have there luxuries.

I bowed to their requests on Saturday and we had our best in-house game yet. Even at 10h30 in the morning, the temperature soared into the 20’s but we had three competitive 20 minute segments. With the first two split between the Reds and the Greens, it came down to the third ‘half’. Conor Mescall hit three points on the trot in the closing minutes to give the Greens a three point cushion but with the last act of the game, Johnny Phelan popped up to fist a high delivery to the net for a draw.

I refereed the game and it was good to be a bit detached and try and grasp things we need to work on at training. We’ll have one last physical training tomorrow and then attention will switch fully to this weekend’s hurling tournament in Den Hague before we have a week to prepare for our home football tournament on May 8.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Johnny K'O



Johnny arrived down to training one night last year on a night when only the girls were training. He joined in and was obviously impressed by the talent (in a football sense) on show and stayed. For the rest of the year he was ever present and ‘mad-eyes’ Johnny O soon became a recognisable presence on the G.A.A. scene. He also went against what had become the come consensus that all people from Cuala were a pain in the arse.

This year we haven’t seen so much of him because he has been moonlighting as a Jui Jitsui warrior with a club in Brussels. Still he makes training when he can and is again available for tournaments. Last week he sent out a mail to see he was competing on Saturday in downtown Brussels.

Not many fellas would be so brave to invite lads to something where they could be on the wrong end of a beating. A combination of curiosity and sense of club spirit brought myself, Conan and his girlfriend down to Palais Justice in the rough part of town! David Collins tagged along, openly hoping to see Johnny O take a hiding. I was backing our man all the way though!!

In the introduction of the player pack we made last year, I talked about how most of us are here separated from our families and that if fellas had a problem they should be able to fall back on their teammates without question. It’s a grand statement but it’s true. The group is the closest thing to family most lad’s have here and they should be able to fall back on that when required. Whilst Johnny’s cause wasn’t a problem, it was still an opportunity to support a teammate.

The location of Palais Justice is best described by telling someone to come out the door of Nua (late night Irish bar), turn right and walk ten minutes. I was never even tempted to turn right in 4.5 years year and with good reason. Our concerns were justified within moments of entering the venue as a skirmish broke out in the crowd. We were down the other end and watched as the kids fled and the adults flocked.

Back on the mat, Johnny was progressing through the opening rounds and our knowledge of the rules was getting so good that we even felt within our capability to question decisions. Johnny made it all the way to the final where he faced a member of his own club. He’d already told us earlier how yer man beats him up at training so he can’t have been too optimistic about his chances.

Still, he gave it a good lash in a low scoring contest, drawing nearly as many fouls as his man’s scores. It was a good effort, especially considering it was Johnny’s first competition in Belgium. From a novice spectator point of view it was a bit technical so we’ll be encouraging Johnny into something a bit more violent to keep his new following entertained.

Monday, April 12, 2010

The Second Coming


The most controversial stories of 2009 remain untold in this blog and rightly so. It’s fair to say there were more heated exchanges and fallings out than were ever reported though. Interest waned and my own enthusiasm started to look for other stimulants. When the tide turns against you, all the energy and will you exert to beat it seems in vain.

The trauma of last year seemed to be wiped out when Pearce scrambled home his goal in the final minute of extra-time last Saturday. When referee Tony Bass blew his whistle for the final time, it was more a case of relief than euphoria that gripped me. Seventeen months is a long time to spend in the wilderness, especially when the last tournament you one was to seal the European Championship.

The day started with our derby duel with Belgium B. Our squad was seriously strengthened from the last day but the B’s have progressed as well. They need to come up with different tactics to counter the opposition and Johnny is putting a lot of effort into that. It’s definitely the way forward and once they nail their kick-out plan, it will be a big help. One improvement which Johnny lays no claim to was around the breaking ball. We had a serious height advantage but they countered it by swarming on the man when he or the ball landed. It’s a learning the A’s need to take from the game. In the end, the A team had too much firepower and took their first win of the day.

Next up were The Hague. A tempestuous affair was expected but it never really materialised and the game was more like a bout of shadow boxing. Alec’s two points early in the second half put us five points up but we failed to raise a flag thereafter. In the end we were lucky to draw but in many ways, it was not such a bad result. We hadn’t played to form and knew there was more in the tank. We had gone with myself, Eoin and David Collins in attack but we never ignited and it was a sufficient kick up the ass.

It meant the final group game against Amsterdam became a must win. They always prove stiff opposition but we were fairly determined to get at them early. We changed the team around with me moving to wing back and James to midfield. It gave us a better balance and the football improved. Still, we conceded three goals; two of them were awful. It meant that the 2-08 to 3-01 win was a lot closer than it should have been. We made some mistakes too; leaving Crusher at the edge of the square on a man with a serious height advantage was a slip up. However, we had lost Hudson to a hand injury and our backs are seriously lacking in height. Still, job done and another shot at The Hague awaited.

With Hudson out, we needed to look at the defence again. Collins was coming into the things in the Amsterdam game but we decided he would be better launching things from the half back line. The game was tight from the off as Den Hague went all out to win on their home pitch. It was a far more intense affair than the group game and tensions came to boiling point when Jim was flattened with a punch which was remarkably missed by the officials. Queue the now traditional Hague/Belgium melee. When play restarted, points from James and Alec were matched one for one until we crept ahead just before half time. Turning to face into the strong breeze, it was surely advantage Belgium.

The European Champions came again though and outscored us 1-2 to 0-1 in the opening exchanges to reclaim the lead. Now it was the Belgians who were at sea. You hear people ramble on about how the supporters drive them on and you never really believe it. I saw it first hand on Saturday. When the bodies and minds were fading, the raucous Belgian support, nearly 30 supporters from the B squad and the girls squad, really lifted us. Two points down with two minutes to go, Captain Eoin Sheanon galloped down the wing and along the end line before being hauled down for a penalty. Debutant O’Dowd looked to have won it when he rippled the net. Champions don’t die easy though and the Hague sealed a draw with the last kick of the game.

The crowd erupted again as we went out to resume battle in extra time. Olof Gill and Colin Byrne led the forward charge but still we couldn’t shake the challenge of the hosts until that forgettable scuffed shot by Pearce. Game over and a first win in Den Hague for Belgium’s men.

The rivalry is well and truly back to its optimal level. We’ve played out four uncompromising matches so far this year and split them down the middle. If you want to see fireworks, I’d tune into the Belgium tournament on May 8 because there won’t be a shortage of scores to settle.

I mentioned the support on the day and its impact. Seeing so many people travel from the club is immense and the buzz followed us back through the Antwerp traffic and into de Valera’s and even onto the Joyce in the early hours of Sunday morning. Our girls were also celebrating their challenge game win against Holland.

For the B’s they can reflect on a number of positives also. I mentioned the kick-outs and the breaking ball but more importantly they put more scores on the board. It’s an area which both teams need to focus on and we will do so in the coming weeks.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Into The Lions Den

Crowded areas often produce an uneasy noise and sense of tension in people as their personal space is encroached upon. Parc 50 was a bit like that last night. At best, it is a tight soccer pitch and it was bursting at the seams for training yesterday evening. There was an army of girls on one half and 25+ lads on another.

It wasn't long before tensions started to boil over as Olof and Colin started to remonstrate with me over changing the rules mid-game! I'm certain I didn't change them but maybe they didn't grasp them or I didn't explain them properly at the beginning. Anyway, without intention the game got a little tetchy to say the least, which does no harm. We have genuine competition for places at the moment so it's good for fellas to be on edge a little.

We travel in strength to Den Hague tomorrow with a party of around 32. Picking the panels becomes more difficult as the likes of James, Olof and David Collins return and more like Emmett are banging down the door to see some action. Ideally we'd see one or two come up to the A's from the B's but most fellas performed well last time out so deserve a second chance.

One significant bit of news is that Luxembourg won't travel this weekend. This is a huge surprise as they have been a mainstay on the European scene for longer than any of us can remember. I haven't heard what the issue is this weekend but I am sure they will be very disappointed not to be able to travel. This shows the importance of us being able to field two teams as it contributes to making the day more fulfilling from a game point of view.

The A team needs to take the extra step tomorrow and believe they can beat everyone. In Amsterdam, we put an end to the Hague jinx but there probably wasn't enough belief that we could beat them again in the final. We have strengthened our hand this time out but you can be sure on homesoil that Den Hague will be at full strength so the challenge will be greater. Our additions will need to find the some gusto that their teammates displayed two weeks ago. Those performances were borne out of the rediscovery of our spirit and fight. The lads' instant recognition of that and buy-in to it will be important.

The B's will target ourselves and Amsterdam as their two priority scalps. They should benefit from the stability in their squad. Reaction after Amsterdam was position and the lads understand they are building towards certain goals later in the summer. Injured Kevin Keary will slip from his usual defensive duties on the A team to man the line for the day. Expect himself and Johnny to have some dirty tricks up their sleeves for the derby against the A's.

Our girls will also travel to play a friendly against the Holland girls so it will be nice to have their vocal suppport for the games. They will be using it as valuable preparation for their tournament in Valencia in a weeks time. So another big travellin delegation, lets hope there is some silverware to take home.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Road to Redemption

With the European Institutions on an extended Easter break, the temptation would have been to call a halt to last Thursday night’s training plans and resume this week. However, with a packed schedule coming up, everyone was eager to train.
I mentioned that we had returned to the Parc but we had kept the BSB booking in case the light wasn’t yet good enough to train. So with two venues at our disposal, we exploited the opportunity.

Our hurlers trained in town whilst the footballers headed for a session in the BSB. I’m very much anti asking lads to train for two teams on one night. It makes no sense to me for fellas to get up to a peak activity level in one session and then finish that and move into a warm-up for the next session, before moving towards peak again. I’m no sports scientist but I’m pretty sure that’s not advisable. It used to piss me off when I had to do it so I will do it as little as possible this year.

That’s why we split the group between two venues. It was a designated hurling priority night so any dual player was obliged to hurl, which included me. Obviously that meant we needed a trainer for the football so I called on Rochey, who is already deputising on the lad’s ‘coaching team’.

You may remember I slated the same individual on occassion last year for many reasons. The first was his inability to manage his personal life which meant on one occassion we were playing a tournament in Den Haag and he was half an hour down the road with his girlfriend. On the same day Micheal’s Italian girlfriend was visiting and she spent the entire day watching him play football.

The second irritant was his dip in interest. He danced around different excuses the entire year and was very poor on communicating to me directly. It was the girls who used to relay his moods back to me and my frustartion came to a head when Colin Byrne spotted him in the window of some of our friends' appartment eating Tiramasu when he should have been on his way to training with Colin.

Still, he remained a committed player once he crossed the line but his season would end unfortunately when he tore his cruciate in the final tournament of the year. Based on last year’s committment, there was a danger he may drift off the scene as he recovers from injury this year, but I had other plans.

Rochey has good pedigree and when he trains, he trains hard be it in football, hurling or his preferred sport of cycling. The lads respect him and he has a serious enough head on him, when the hair is cut at least. In that sense it was a no brainer to get him involved with training. I was surprised at his willingness initially. There was no need for a declaration of committment just an indication that he was willing to help out.

There is no big hint of a revolt in our camp at the moment but the benefit of having a new voice on the scene was instantly evident. The year started well with lads rekindling the enthusiasim they had before and more lads arriving and buying into it. Last Saturday in Amsterdam it was especially useful as he rotated the squad and offered a different point of view on team selection. On Thursday night at training he took my plan and improvised on it, bringing different skills into it. We all learn from eachother so I find it great he does that.

His girlfriend Ciara arrived in for the weekend the same night and was understanding enough to get the ‘ 21’ in from the airport so Phil could fulfill his training duties. If only he had realised how understanding she was last year!! His reformation is well and truly underway and his impact will hopefully soon be reflected with some silverware.

Who would have thought this time last year that Rochey would be assisting training and Eoin Sheanon would be captain. God bless the open mind!!

Toy Show

Opinions differ on all the latest training gimmicks but I still retain some faith in them. Mike McGurn rolled out the ‘cones are for policemen and ladders are for firemen line’ to us in February and the lads got a great kick out of it. I don’t think everyone quite grasped what he meant as we saw he is not adverse to using cones in his sessions. I think what he meant was not to let them govern your every move and rob you of the freedom to think.

Another point we didn’t consider is that he deals with elite sportsmen whose athleticism and mobility is a given. One of his points was when will ever run through a ladder in a match or turn because there is a cone there to make you turn. It is true but the technique must be developed also. I think a reasonable example would be if you put two ladders on the ground and put Brian O’Driscoll and say, Olof Gill in front of them.

O’Driscoll would float through it without flaw, no matter what the combination of footwork was required. Olof on the other hand, would look like some giraffe in distress because he hasn’t developed those basic techniques over the years. Give him a few weeks and there would be noticeable improvement and i’ve no doubt he would see the benefit when he is on the pitch.

So whilst I take on board McGurn’s point, I don’t want to dispense of my little toys yet. In fact I want more. The club has been very supportive to any request I’ve made to get gear over the last two years. I’ve always tried to be cautious spending money though, for example, last year we mostly trained with those cheap training balls which are fairly crap.

My latest craving is for medicine balls. Rather than go to the committee with hat in hand, i decided it was time for some player contributions.We plan to raise €320 through a World Cup draw. Basically, we need 32 lads to give me a tenner. They will be put in a draw and be randomly allocated a team from the Soccer World Cup in June. If their team wins the competition, they win €50. If their team ends with the worst record, they win €20. That leaves us €250 to spend on medicine balls and a few tackle bags. I think it’s good for lads to take some ownership of raising money for equipment and doing things yourselves also helps further foster the all important team spirit.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

More Than A Pastime

Hurling is a great game when played on a warm day on a grassy pitch. However, there is always the unwelcome inevitability that you must start the year in the muck on some torn up field. The sliotar is heavy and lacks the balmy zip that summer supports as it moves through the air. I had my first outing on Tuesday night and despite the very real threat of spring breaking out in Brussels, it was as if the Gods felt it only right to open the heavens.

It was nothing short of horrid. We never got warm, puddles quickly formed on the pitch and we struggled en masse with the wayward touch. It can be fairly soul destroying playing hurling when the ball is hopping everywhere except where it should be. Despite all this and the understandable dampened enthusiasm of the 8 hurlers on show, Martin persisted, running through some decent drills in the process.

We go into our defence of the Euro Championship this year unsure of what we have and what we don't have in terms of players. The 8 who showed on Tuesday are all hurlers at least so that’s a good start. Big Jim is firmly in situ this year too and with a few months of training behind him he will be an asset. Shane Ryan is another addition, fresh off the boat from Patrickswell. These two lads are regular hurlers and have good pedigree. Add to that Whitehall native Fergal Mythen and you see some new additions blending in and replacing the outgoings. We can't forget Crusher either who gives appropriate opportunity to insert the 'he's like a new signing' cliche.

We walked the Championship last year and I don't mean to say that with even the slightest hint of arrogance. We had a strong squad of hurlers whereas our opponents struggled badly with recruitment. The result was major calls for reform in the Championship, moving to home and away based games and that kind of thing. For me the format suits just fine but teams need to suck up the bad times and be committed to keeping the competition alive. One of the problems is that all the teams except Paris (who are only getting going) have won the Championship in recent years. When you go from that high to struggling to field teams, enthusiasm drains out of the thing. From our point of view it is the other way around. We endured some awful days up until last year but to the credit of those involved, we never failed to field at any tournament, anywhere.

There are lads after returning to The Hague this year that will strengthen their team but such is the focus on football up there at the minute, it's hard to know how they will shape up. The Paris lads are persisting in getting the game off the ground there and the Zurich boys are continuously fighting against the tide and have turned to developing local talent to sustain their club. Luxembourg will be an unknown quantity until their student cards are revealed. It's hard to say at this stage how we will shape up but I'm sure we will be in a position to compete.

One of the outcomes of the debate on the hurling structure was to shorten the season. It now runs from May to mid-July which is ridiculously short in my opinion. How can you develop guy’s skills with just three months of competition? Football is on a high on the continent at the moment with improving standards and expanding teams. As always, Hurling faces massive challenges to fight for it's slice of recognition and player commitment.

In Belgium, we have unprecedented numbers turning out for football and so there is a danger that one may overtake the other. We managed the situation well last year and my expectation is that we can do the same this year. Playing hurling anywhere is never going to be easy. There will be days like Tuesday when it can seem the most frustrating game in the world but there will also be days like those in Luxembourg last year when it is the greatest game in the world. We must remember it is more a journey and a cause than a pastime and so the drive to keep things going must always come through.