U6 Hurling Coaching

[AZOffaly]

Hi Lads,

Just wondering if anyone has ingenious solutions for a small problem I have. Every session in the field with the U6s, I make sure we re-iterate the proper grip, ready position, lock position etc before we start into the little drills and games for them.

The problem I have is that I only get them once, maybe twice a week, and I have over 20 kids, which means I have 3-4 'helpers' with me. The issue is that the helpers don't necessarily see when a lad is reversing his grip, as some of them are wont to do.

Now, I have a couple of tricks I'm going to use, but I was wondering if anyone else had any good ones.

1 - A Newport (club) wrist band on the 'hurley' hand. This serves two purposes. Reminds the child that the wristband hand should be on top, and also, and just as important for me, indicates to the mentors if the child is reversing his grip.

2 - This is a remedial action for persistant offenders. I take a hurley and glue a small glove to the hurley (like a marigold washing up glove) where the hurl should be held in the hurley hand. Give that hurl to the persistant offender for a full session. This helps them to fight their bad habit impulse.

Any other ideas (simple preferably) that ye'd recommend?

[Milltown Row2]

Just glue their hand to the hurl!!!

I don't too many lads holding the hurl with the wrong grip nowadays. Back in my day lots of hurlers did it, myself included. It was so strange trying to break that habit. Eventually after putting a few lads in hospital I got to 'grips' with it.

Those ideas seem really good AZ, wristband one being the best

[AZOffaly]

At this level MR, I do find that kids want to switch. Their natural inclination is to want to catch the ball with their dominant hand. So when we have little games for chest catch etc, they always swap the hurley to their other hand unless you watch them. I call their two hands the hurley hand and the catching hand, and for most of them this is fine, but there are always a few who do this. Then we have the lads who hold the ready position grand, but swap hands when they are moving to lock position. It's gas watching them, but is pure habit.

[Milltown Row2]

Kids love rewards nowadays, at school they get rewarded for standing in line straight, helping other kids and being nice. A wee certificate and bonus time.

If you can afford small treats, be they healthy treats, or even make a certificate up, or a wee trophy to the ones that manage to do a whole session with gripping the hurl correctly they all soon cop on and want to win that treat!!

[AZOffaly]

Yeah, good point.

[johnneycool]

I've been helping out a friend who's taken on the U8's and he's similar issues, I think the wristband would be the best, but I'd get their parents to put it on them as half the ones I've been dealing with aren't too sure which hand they are.

I had one lad tell me he wrote with this hand, holding up his left hand, but draws with this hand, holding up his bloody right hand. His dad already left at this stage but got talking to him when he came to pick the lad up and turns out he was right handed!

Kids love stickers and the likes, I can still remember the 'Is maith liom Iomáint' we got back in the day.

[ormondeboy]

I've been helping out a friend who's taken on the U8's and he's similar issues, I think the wristband would be the best, but I'd get their parents to put it on them as half the ones I've been dealing with aren't too sure which hand they are.

I had one lad tell me he wrote with this hand, holding up his left hand, but draws with this hand, holding up his bloody right hand. His dad already left at this stage but got talking to him when he came to pick the lad up and turns out he was right handed!

Kids love stickers and the likes, I can still remember the 'Is maith liom Iomáint' we got back in the day.

Funny enough I was at a coaching course last night for this age group. Our tutor showed us a little trick to determine what hand the kids should use as their "hurley hand":

Line them up facing a wall (hurling wall, smooth plastered gable end of the club house etc).

Give them all a soft ball (a light ball like a stress ball you'd get in an office etc).

Get them to throw the ball against the wall and catch it. Let them carry on at this for 5/6 throws.

Observer where the ball is landing. Place a cone/marker between each child and the wall at approximately where the soft ball is hitting the ground. These balls generally only travel 'so far' as they are so spongey, so the cone doesn't have to be individual to each child and can be laid out in a line  (unless there is a particularly slight child that should be assisted).

Tell them to move back away from the wall and throw the ball as hard as they can against the wall. Tell them before they catch the ball it should bounce after the marker/cone. This ensures they are putting everything into the throw!

The hand they throw with is the dominant hurl on top hand.

PS AZ were you teaching young lads to hurl in Tipp last night? Cos our man had the glued glove and wrist band trick as well....I thought you'd be sabotaging hurling in the Evil Empire....

[AZOffaly]

Interesting ormonde boy, not me Where was the course. I have been floating these ideas though, so maybe someone has picked it up off me somewhere, or else great minds think alike (I know the rest of that saying too!!)

[Lecale2]

I take a hurley and glue a small glove to the hurley (like a marigold washing up glove) where the hurl should be held in the hurley hand.

Paudie Butler was doing this long ago.

[AZOffaly]

Class lecale. I didn't know that. I'm more confident I'm not a lunatic now Obviously that's where ormondeboys lad picked it up too.

[ormondeboy]

Interesting ormonde boy, not me Where was the course. I have been floating these ideas though, so maybe someone has picked it up off me somewhere, or else great minds think alike (I know the rest of that saying too!!)

Only coddin'. Course was in Nenagh. Damien Young of Drom and Inch was giving it. He could have picked it up off Paudie Butler (same club). Are you Paudie Butler with a secret Biffo fetish?

[Fairhead]

At this level MR, I do find that kids want to switch. Their natural inclination is to want to catch the ball with their dominant hand. So when we have little games for chest catch etc, they always swap the hurley to their other hand unless you watch them. I call their two hands the hurley hand and the catching hand, and for most of them this is fine, but there are always a few who do this. Then we have the lads who hold the ready position grand, but swap hands when they are moving to lock position. It's gas watching them, but is pure habit.

A good wee drill to also illustrate what your saying AZ is get a small group of them in a square walking around with a ball on the stick i.e. a solo run. Of course the object isnt to teach them solo running but to make sure they pick the ball up with their free hand when it falls off the stick and it will fall off the stick lots of times! First time i watched it i was amazed at how many of them stopped, bent down, lifted the dominant hand off the hurl and picked up the ball with that hand. Is only worthwhile in a small group of 3 - 5 but a good exercise to get them using the catching hand.

[johnneycool]

yeah, If you don't get the youngsters to hold the hurl in their dominant hand their natural instinct is to catch/lift a ball with it which you're trying to coach out of them.

Ormondes catching the ball off the wall would be ok to figure out their dominant hand but after that we always do catching drills with a hurl in their hands.