Sian Whitney, former youth player and now a 2014 rookie, was hesitant about keeping up with the speed of the adult players. Sian joined the youth league in 2012, put in two years with Schley and Mystic Ireland, and this year is playing halfback for Slim McGinn’s.
Sian said, “My biggest worry was not being strong enough to keep the sliotar away from the adults, but I was shocked to find out that you don’t always have to keep it away…you just have to pass, pass, pass.”
When moving up to the adult league it can seem as if every single person is bigger, faster, stronger, and more skilled than you, but Sian said she’s ready for any opponent or position, “anything but midfield because [she doesn’t] enjoy a lot of running.” Playing with strong, grown men and women may have daunted Sian at first, but once she faced her fears, she turned into a terror on the pitch. “My advice is to not be scared. The adults may look scary, but it’s pretty much the same as the youth league. I wish I had known it wasn’t so scary. Everyone looks so professional, but when you get on the field, everything’s pretty much the same,” Sian said.
The MHC Youth League, in its 11th season, boasts a talented crowd of coaches that love hurling and want to pass that love onto the future leaders of our club and sport. Sian said, “The youth league prepared me very well for the adult league. I knew what I was doing most of the time. I only had to ask a few questions about positional specifics.” And while the youth league fosters friendship and camaraderie and focuses on fundamentals, Sian said, “In the adult league, we are able to focus on our skills as a team more and it builds team chemistry that we didn’t have in the youth league because we were all just friends more than teammates. There’s more time to be a team and it’s so much fun.”
So, to all of you U15s moving up to the adult league next season – HAVE NO FEAR. You are ready, you are prepared, and you’ll have a blast. Young or not so young, we’re all just hurlers – and we’re all the MHC!