Preseason Prep

In just over a week, the Milwaukee Hurling Club will be having its sign up at Trinity Three Irish Pubs in downtown Milwaukee. For the returning members of the club, this is as much of a social event as it is administrative. Its a chance to see old friends and meet new ones. It is also the point in time where we can no longer hide the fact that the season is about to begin, and some of us may have been slacking during the winter freeze.

Getting ready for the hurling season can be difficult, especially those that may not have anyone to practice with. However, there are several ways to knock the rust off before the preseason training begins. After all, who wants to show up looking like a chump?!

Dan McAuliffe, the first American to be invited to the annual Poc Fada, says that after time away from the game, your hands are the first thing to go. So, lets start with that - getting our hands back. Here are a few simple things you can do around the house to get yourself ready to start catching the sliotar more.

• Get More Touches
• Play Catch with Yourself
• Learn to Juggle

Getting More Touches
This is simple enough, carry the sliotar around with you. When ever possible, keep it in your hand. This builds muscle memory which will allow your hand to automatically conform to the shape of the sliotar without you thinking about it. The less you have to think about while playing, the better you will do.

This is particularly important for clubs in America where we have not grown up with the game. One of the reasons the Irish-born players dominate is that so much of what they do they do not have to think about - they just do it. being brought up with hurling has given them the muscle memory that allows them to concentrate on other aspects of the game.

Play Catch with Yourself
When you find yourself sitting still, watching television or some other activity that does not require much attention, throw the sliotar up and catch it in the same hand. This should be done absentmindedly. Most experts believe that the typical American watches 4 hours of television a week. Imagine how many catches you would have if during only a quarter of that time you spent tossing and catching the sliotar!

Learn to Juggle
This may seem like an odd skill, however juggling is all about hand to eye coordination. In hurling this is incredibly important. Hand to eye coordination allows us to do everything from striking the sliotar, to judging if a shot is wide, to making a block down or double. And again, because this is done with the hands and sliotar, you gain more touches and get a better understanding of how the ball moves.

In the end, its all about Repetition. 
More touches means less thinking in the end. For those of us in the Milwaukee Hurling club, it also means we can get up to speed quicker. The loose translation to that is that the sooner the rust is knocked off, the sooner we do not have our trainers yelling in our ears about messing up basic skills!

And lets face it, who wants to spend time with friends messing up the basics. You want to go out there and have fun! So, put in a little work before the season starts. It will pay off in the end.

2011 MHC General Meeting

This past Saturday, February 5th, the Milwaukee Hurling Club held our Annual Meeting/Board Elections. During this meeting, we discuss all manner of topics regarding the club - specifically, the growth of the club. That may seem like a small thing, but to those of us that attended, we left with an empowered feeling that was somewhat unexpected.

The MHC seems to be at a turning point. Our growth has exceeded what most of the club members ever expected. For the last 3 years we have recruited over 150 adult players and close to 100 youth players that had previously never heard of hurling. This brings some challenges to the club we are eager to tackle!

Dave Olson is continuing as the Operations Coordinator; a post he has held for a long time and with good reason. Dave brings an unparalleled level of passion to the club, infecting us all with a deep love of all things hurling. This passion is not merely play on the field but the intangibles that hurling teaches us all. From physical fitness, to team spirit, to discipline and perseverance, Dave helps us all be become better hurlers and people as a natural byproduct of being exposed to hurling. I am certain he will continue to be an amazingly positive force guiding the club.

Cory Johnson, Dave's wife, has transferred her position of Special Events/Fund-raising Coordinator to Club Registrar. Cory's attention to detail and excellent communications skills make this a good fit for her. Registrar is normally one of those positions that do not get a lot of attention - it's behind the scenes work. But, Cory is a wonderful person who always concentrates on doing what ever the club needs - selflessly. We are certainly lucky to have her!

Cory's previous position of Special Events/Fund-raising Coordinator is now being handled by Hurling Mom Kit Slawski. Kit has organized many of the fund-raising events of the past few years, including the "Party-at-the-Pitch" which was a rousing success. She brings loads of experience in community out-reach that is just staggering. I do not feel I can give her just credit here, so please feel free to talk with her about her experience... the little bit i have heard is mind boggling. The MHC is truly lucky to have her!

In 2010, Aimee Morgan picked up the position of Club Accountant after our previous Accountant David McHenry announced his intention to move to California. McHenry helped set-up the MHC as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Losing him was truly a blow to many of us in the club. Aimee, however, stepped up and has done a wonderful job filling the large shoes that McHenry has left. Thankfully, she is continuing in her position as Club Accountant.

Another position that is often quite thankless, Administrative Coordinator has been fulled by Andy McKee. Andy has headed up the marketing committee the last couple of years. He has been instrumental in promoting the 15th year anniversary last year with a plethora of new t-shirt, bumper stickers and other hurling swag. Additionally, Andy also has done an excellent job with the pictures he has taken for the club and the web-site. He's a creative individual that will help bring the MHC to a new level.

But, how does the announcement of the board members make the rest of the club feel empowered? Simply put, communication. The board is eager to have us move to the next level, whatever that maybe. The fully understand that they alone cannot do everything the club needs, and is already actively reaching out to club members to help us all build the club of the future.

As Dave Olson often says, "There is no I, me or mine, in this club; it's us, we and ours."