Kiladangan 14 Day Hurling & Camogie Skills Challenge

Who wants to win a signed Tipperary jersey?

With the Corona Virus putting a halt to GAA & Camogie activities for the next two weeks, Kiladangan have come up with a 14 Day Skill Challenge which will hopefully keep your child active, healthy and happy over the next 14 days, getting them out in the fresh air whilst practicing their Hurling and Camogie skills. Each day, your child will be given a skill to practice, with the skill changing day on day. At the end of the 14 day period, we will have a fun competition where you may submit a 60 second ‘free style skills’ video of your child, incorporating each skill that they practiced throughout the challenge. The Kiladangan players that submit the best video in each age group (5 to 11 and 12 to 16) will both receive the fabulous prize of a signed Tipperary jersey. Each video entrant will also receive an Easter Egg. Video’s are to be sent to Kevin Connolly (087 688 5214) or Michael Quinn (087 254 8583) through WhatsApp on Monday 30th/ Tuesday 31st March with the winners announced thereafter. Video’s will only be accepted from parents/guardian’s and consent will be given upon entry. You can send your pictures to both Kevin and Michael throughout the challenge and these will be posted on the club’s social media pages.

If you have any queries on the skill challenges then please contact Kevin Connolly (087 688 5214), Darragh Egan (087 242 9545) or Michael Quinn (087 254 8583).

Skill Explanations

5 – 11 year olds

1. Ground Strikes

Ground strikes on both left and right side for 20 minutes with Hurley and tennis ball. Keep moving your feet throughout.

2. Throw & Catch

Throw up and catch a sliotar for 20 minutes with Hurley in your dominant hand. Break up the drill into 2-minute periods.

3. Roll & Jab Lift

Roll and Jab lift for 10 minutes each.

4. Target Practice

Use an object like:

a. Ladder against a wall and pick a rung

b. A tyre

c. A bucket etc

Try hitting the target using alternating sides for a total of 20 minutes – break these 20 minutes down to 2 minute periods and keep trying to beat your best result in each 2 minute period.

5. Freestyle Pucks

Puck against a wall for 20 minutes using both left and right sides, alternating striking styles. Keep moving your feet throughout.

6. Dribbling

Use your imagination and outline various courses and obstacles and dribble through as quickly as possible for 20 minutes taking breaks throughout.

7. Ball to Hand

Strike a tennis ball (if available) against a wall for 30 second periods – alternating sides and striking styles and catch the ball as it comes back to you. Keep trying to bear your best result in each 30 second period. Total of 20 minutes on this drill. Keep moving your feet throughout.

8. Throw & Catch & Protect

Throw up and catch a sliotar for 20 minutes with Hurley protecting your catching hand. Break up the drill into 2 minute periods.

9. Batting the High Ball

Get a partner to throw up a ball and bat it back – do this in 2 minute intervals for 12 minutes in total.

10. Fundamental Movements

Balancing and Jumping as per the following YouTube videos: learning.gaa.ie/ABC

11. Solo Running

Create an obstacle course whereby you solo run using bean bags (or bag of rice) or a tennis ball. Do this in 2 minute periods over a total time of 12 minutes.

12. ‘The Floor is Lava’

Using a tennis ball or sliotar, bounce the ball up and down on your Hurley ensuring that the ball doesn’t hit the ground. See how long you can keep the ball up for. Total of 20 minutes on this drill.

13. Target Practice

Use an object like:

a. Ladder against a wall and pick a rung

b. A tyre

c. A bucket etc

Try hitting the target using alternating sides for a total of 20 minutes – break these 20 minutes down to 2 minute periods and keep trying to beat your best result in each 2 minute period. Keep moving your feet throughout.

14. Throw & Catch & Protect Hand

Throw up and catch a sliotar for 20 minutes with Hurley protecting your catching hand. Break up the drill into 2 minute periods.

12 – 16 year olds

All skills 20 minutes per day in total

1. The Minute Challenge

Procedure - Stand 3 metres from the wall. Strike the ball off the wall as many times as possible in 60 seconds, and then control on the way back. Do it first on your left side and then repeat on right.

Progress can be made by alternating every second strike between the left and the right side.

2. Three Strike Challenge.

Procedure - Stand 20 metres back from the wall. Run forward and strike to wall. Catch the ball on its return, and then strike it towards wall as quickly as possible again, all the while running towards wall. Then do third strike and catch before you run out of space.

3. One strike, One Touch.

Procedure - Stand ten metres back from the wall. Strike the ball, and from the moment it's struck, attack the ball at pace, with your aim being to get as close as possible to the wall by the time you have the ball under your control.

4. Two Walls, Two Players.

Procedure - Set up two cones three yards apart, equal distance from both walls that are opposite each other.

One of the players starts the drill off by striking towards one wall - He must ensure that the ball rebounds back within the three yard space set out by the cones.

Their partner attacks the ball from behind them and aims to control it, before turning to strike off the other wall, where the same principals apply.

5. Two Player Freestyle

Procedure - You're not allowed to put your hands on the ball in this game. Stand as far back from the wall as you want. Both players begin the game with three lives.

The game begins when one of the partners strikes the ball off the wall. The ball is only allowed to bounce twice when it comes back to you, before you strike it back again. i.e once off the ground, once off the hurl and then strike. OR twice off the hurl and then strike. If you let the ball bounce more than three times before striking, you lose a life.

If your strike misses the wall, or hits the ground before hitting the wall, you lose a life.

6. 30 Second Challenge Ball to Hand

Procedure – Strike the ball against the wall – try beat your last score - right then left and mix and match your stike.

7. Donkey in Pairs

Procedure – In pairs, strike and catch the ball back and forth to each other, alternating sides and striking styles. Each time you drop the ball you get a letter in the word ‘DONKEY’. If playing on your own, then use a wall and time yourself until you reach the full word ‘DONKEY’. Try beat this time.

8. High Catch & Protect

Procedure – Strike the ball up against a wall and get there for high catch with the hurley behind your catching hand.

9. Target Practice

Procedure- Use an object like:

a. Ladder against a wall and pick a rung

b. A tyre

c. A bucket etc

Try hitting the target using alternating sides for a total of 20 minutes – break these 20 minutes down to 2 minute periods and keep trying to beat your best result in each 2 minute period.

10. Dead Ball Practice

Procedure – practice both sidelines and frees using alternating sides. Pick a target (eg tyre bucket) etc to aim for.

11. Knock Down

Procedure – Line up a number of cones or empty bottles etc on a wall and attempt to knock them down with hurley and ball using alternating sides.

12. Hurling Golf

Procedure - Design your course( through cones, targets etc and have a hula hoop or bucket as the hole and try get it in in with the least amount of ground shots possible)

13. Gym Ball Tug of War

Procedure – With a partner, strike a ball against a gym ball/beach ball/light ball from either side of garden and try move the ball over to their side by only using your strike of the ball.

14. Precision Training

Procedure - Using goals with net/target rebounder or something similar - try and hit the target without the ball hitting the ground - practice using different styles of strike (from the hip, dropshot, left and right, top spin etc )