Ramping Back Up

Normally we would train throughout the summer and battle the weariness brought on by the massive gap (two months) in the fixture list. We went against that habit this summer and after the last regional up in The Hague, we decided to take a two week break. It allowed the hurlers just hurl and the rest have a few weeks to do whatever else they do.

Returning last week gives us a six week run-in to the first round of the Pan-Euros which is a nice manageable amount of time to build up your fitness and maintain your focus. The break also draws a line under the Benelux phase and creates a new starting point for the season. That’s especially necessary this year as we have lost so many lads.

We didn’t manage to win Benelux but that was more down to the fact that we were mixing up the teams a bit. We won two of the four tournaments, the ‘A team’ winning one and the ‘B team’ winning another. We weren’t too concerned about this point as the purpose was to unearth a few new lads.

The likes of Paddy Cassidy, Ross Church, Darragh Cotter and Colm MacEoin were those to shine most often and should bolster our panel going into the Pan-Euros. There’s a few more knocking on the door but they were the ones who performed most consistently.

Benelux was at its most competitive in years. Den Hague and Lux both won a tournament whilst Amsterdam proved the nearly men. They appear to be a coming team and their ambitions lie in the Championship this year which signals their intent.

Personally I was happy enough with the four tournaments. When we went to Lux back in April I was still struggling badly with the back and played in goal. In the following two tournaments I played outfield and some good ‘game time’ management by Conan and Eoin allowed me get through both tournaments. I was still in second or third gear though, focussing on my defending rather than contributing going forward. I’d been thinking prior to the last tournament in The Hague that I’d made maybe four or five breaks up field in those tournaments. That was purely down to trying to make sure I’d get through the day.

I started in similar fashion up in The Hague and was letting ball in early. Then I heard Giller - who falls into the Sunday Game category of analysis at times - roar at me to start carrying the ball more. Considering it to be such a rare, specific comment, I felt obliged to take note and started to get forward. It cost me in the end though as all the games were tight, meaning I had no rest time and the tank was running on empty in the last game. I wasn’t unduly concerned as the goal all year was to be fit enough for the Pan-Euros.

The back is as good as it’s going to get now so it’s full steam ahead. The first two sessions back weren’t excessively hard but the legs were still hurting a bit so there will be no layoff for the next five weeks. Myself, Crusher, Johnny O and Colin are heading for Slovenia next week but I’m not sure they know what they’ve signed up for. I’ve a handsome new pair of blue Puma V1.10’s courtesy of Johnny’s new employers and will be eager to try them out down there.

July and August are terrible months in terms of attendance at training here. Most of the EU institutions shut up shop and that means from around mid-July until the last week of August, guys are scattered all over the place. I can’t imagine many of them will put training high on their agenda of holiday activities so they will be in for a serious dose of catch-up upon their return.

One can only look after your own house in this regard. There are ten team sessions between now and the first round and those combined with a bit of gym work and the odd running session should ensure I have no excuses come Championship.