So, it is now 2011 and a new hurling season is right around the corner. However, that knowledge does not help during the long winter nights as we dream of our sport - a passion we dearly miss during the winters here in the frozen tundra. With the anticipation of the coming season coupled with the longing to play, it strikes me as entirely appropriate to consider my goals for the new year. Most of my goals center deal, as they so often do for many of us, around personal growth - both mentally and physically.
The physical are much easier to describe. I'd like to lose some weight and better my play on the field by improving my skills. I know my weak-side hitting is nothing short of pathetic. And, as always I need to work on my hands and hitting on the run.
Speaking of running, I would like to get faster or at least improve my endurance. The MHC is continually growing, and we are attracting younger and faster players every year. Dealing with the rookies used to be a little bit easier. Their lack of experience often neutralized their ambition, speed and enthusiasm. But, members of our youth league are "graduating" up to the adult co-ed league. They are experienced where the rookies are not; truly a threat to the aging hurlers in the club. Most of these kids can run too. Not just fast, but all day. If those of us pushing or past 40 want to keep up, we need to work a little harder than the rest.
The mental goals tend to be more abstract with less tangible means of measurement. How do you measure understanding strategies, effective motivation, or flexibility in game management? It's a constant state of second guessing yourself, and all you can do to stay sane is have a short memory - let things go. Yet there is the crux of the issue, you need to improve on these skills that can debilitate you mentally, but must keep them fresh enough to learn from them.
In the end, I suppose achieving goals in hurling really comes down to just one simple thing - by hurling. That realization makes me yearn for the season to start that much sooner. See you all on the field soon.
