Time to get on with it

I never got around to writing my planned entry the week before Easter. It was going to be upbeat, based on a ten day period where I managed to take part in all of the hurling and football sessions with just minor reaction. Ah yes, I was back.

Then I went to Ireland for the weekend and continued to feel good until I got the driver out and hit a few golf balls in the driving range. I was in John Daly mode for the bucket of fifty balls. However, nearly before I even had the club back in the bag, I realised that it was a half hour which could have been spent more wisely. That point was emphasised after about ten minutes of training last Thursday when I had to drop out. The sense of frustration is only imaginable by those who suffer repeatedly from the same injury.

What makes this worse is that we have a busy month ahead starting with hurling this Saturday in The Hague, football in Amsterdam the week after and then a two week break before we head to Budapest for round 2 of the hurling. It is not an option to miss the hurling at the weekend so one must just get on with it.

We've lost some good lads from last year, most notably Jim McGrath and Eoin Sheanon. Word on the street is that the opposition has been bolstered over the winter so we can expect a serious assault on the Championship from a number of clubs.

Our dominance has stretched back to September 2008 which must be one of the longest, if not the longest tournament winning streak in any code in Europe. However, we danced dangerously with complacency towards the end of last year and Zurich especially started to get us in their range. We'll be caught at some stage either because we are not tuned in or we come up against a better team. You could be forced to accept the latter but not the former.

Still, our team is formidable. Crusher, Shane, Hough and Daire Cott provide a solid core whilst much will be expected of our two newcomers Darragh Cotter and Colm MacEoin.

We've been seeing more of Daire Cott this year and his presence at training is a big boost. He is by far the best hurler I have seen since I came here and the way he approaches the ball in training is a lesson for us all. He's a powerful operator and training with quality players raises all of our level.

Success in The Hague and our home tournament in Belgium will be key this year. Budapest and Zurich will be tough trips to motivate the group for. I certainly can feel the strain from the time and cost of travelling to tournaments and I think a lot of guys will be thinking hard about whether to travel or not to those two. A good start at the weekend would sway the doubters though.