The work and commitment to get to a county final is incredible. I know from my club Cloughbawn who reached the senior hurling county final in Wexford this year, they trained twice a week and when match day grew closer that increased to 3 times a week. I also know of teams which have over 120 training sessions in a given season. A club in Waterford train 3 times a week for 9 months and when they get into the championship they have one pitch session, one gym session and a match every week. Some clubs even train 5 nights a week. Nobody questions their managers or coaches as they will decide who will play the games.
Cloughbawn were also put on drinking bans throughout the year as are most senior teams. However in doing this, the players miss out on a number of social and family events. A few of the players could not drink at one of their best friend’s weddings this year which just shows their commitment, passion and hopes to bring the cup home. GAA has become more than just a game to these athletes, it’s a way of life. Holidays, work and other things are all planned around training session’s, matches and the drink bans. They effectively give up 10 months of their lives in order to play for their clubs; this shows how important winning that final would be.