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In the 1990s, Clare toiled on the infamous “Shannon Hill” for extended sessions of winter endurance. Then they headed to Ennis and the Sherwood Inn for ice cream and cans of Fanta.
By 2000, Ger Loughnane had them doing a total of 30 training sessions in the six weeks leading up to their first Munster championship game against Tipperary. A fun but damaging idea. They were running empty in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and lost by nine points.
A worthwhile effort marred by misinformation. The struggle continues to find balance.
As the decade progressed, teams began to move toward a smarter approach. It started, as is often the case, with Dublin.
When Pillar Caffrey took over as manager of his footballers in November 2004, he quickly led the entire panel to the sport science department at Dublin City University, where Professor Niall Moyna and Dr. Kieran Moran built a plan; Game-specific workouts, ad-hoc weightlifting days replaced by strategic strength and conditioning.
One man who has received widespread praise of late is strength and conditioning coach Lukasz Kirszenstein. She has worked with the Irish women’s rugby team and the Munster rugby academy, as well as with a host of champions from across Ireland. Tipperary in ’16, Galway in ’17, two hugely physical teams with the Polish coach’s fingerprints all over it.
It will come as no surprise that prior to both jobs, he has worked with the Limerick U21s.
It was a striking aspect of his 2018 Liam McCarthy glory, Limerick’s delicate balance of steel and skill. That style was the fruit of work started in 2010 with the Limerick development program. Ten of the fifteen headlines who surpassed Galway that day in August advanced down that path.
So they are way ahead of the majority in terms of strength and conditioning development, as Michael Fennelly stated last year. But it is their union of physical and technical training that has resulted in such success.
In 2012, Seán Finn, Cian Lynch and Aaron Gillane won an All-Ireland U16 with said program. Over the next six years, they would develop as players and as athletes, thanks to a sophisticated scheme designed to create the archetype of inter-county pitcher.
Seanie Tobin watched this progression closely. The former Limerick pitcher won a Munster title in 2013 and played alongside most of this current vintage until 2016.
A remarkable transformation took place before his eyes.
“Take Aaron Gillane, for example,” Tobin tells Balls.ie. “When Aaron was younger, he was always a good pitcher, but not as good as he is now.”
When he was 18, 19 he flourished and got big and strong. Skill came with it. What happens is this; He’s already a tall man, 6’2 more or less. When he gained some volume from all that, he got a foot more stride. So now your touch seems easier because you have an extra second to get there. They are both aspects together.
Obviously in training it is very physical, but there is also skill work in that. They all also do their own throwing exercises. In games and in training, everything comes together. Physical, creating space, getting a good ball that they obviously work on as well. Once the ball is in, they have an extra yard of space due to their physique. It is often a tap, twist, on the bar.
They are a great group and the main thing is that they enjoy it. Love is always there. The training is hard and very physical, everything related to the game to keep it going. The last thing you want is to go train and be told to turn down the hurley. The boys are playing throwing, wearing seat belts and short of breath. It is a positive atmosphere.
The current S&C Limerick coordinator is Joe O’Connor and he forms a formidable partnership with coach Paul Kinnerk. Kinnerk was an integral part of Clare’s teams that won three straight games in the All-Ireland U21, as well as their senior success in 2013. Joining him was O’Connor, professor of exercise physiology and performance nutrition at the Institute of Technology, Tralee.
Kinnerk the innovator, O’Connor the guru. A huge blow to John Kiely when he stole them from Clare.
Tobin sees a perfect marriage in the back room team and on the field.
“Limerick has a plan and stick with it. Look at how they play, sheer work and tenacity is number one. Everything else falls after that, but the work rate is on top.”
The sports science tidal wave came pouring over GAA to totally revolutionize county readiness. The speed of all this surprised Tobin. He’s quick to credit a county for causing it.
If the 2004 Dublin plan instigated the copycat reaction, Clare’s success in the 2013 championship propelled it.
“My brother went to Limerick before I did. They had tough gym sessions two or three nights a week, but definitely, from when I started in 2011 until 2016 when I left, everything changed. We had Jerry Wallace and Donal O’Grady. They both won All-Irelands with Cork as physical trainer and manager.
“They gave us a bit of professionalism, they ushered us into a new era. It was slowly evolving at that stage.
“Then everything changed with Clare in 2013.”
They were very, very physical. Wild. They brought him in with a lot of training and physique, they had Joe O’Connor and Paul Kinnerk with them. That was the turning point. Those Clare boys were seriously trained in 2013.
They were a hugely physical team and they weren’t that different from Limerick last year. Look at their work rate, their movement. Possibly I think Limerick is a bit more elegant with possession, but 2013 set the tone.
For Clare, that fire finally got too bright and they struggled to light it. However, Tobin is not afraid to burn out on this team because his roots are well established now: “They went through an academy system with good pitches and hard training.”
“They grew up with this process. Once Paul and Joe are there, they make sure they aren’t overtrained either. They’ve gotten rest periods from working too hard.
“That’s their attitude, do it right and don’t do more. When you’re at work, you’re 100%.”
The hard training and ice cream remain, according to recently retired Shane Dowling, who last year explained that from time to time John Kiely would organize an ice cream van to go to the Gaelic Grounds after Limerick training.
But the division of labor of strength, skills and intelligence has this crop in a good place heading into the Munster final. Limerick’s success has been based on key combinations in its approach and execution, both the understanding of what is required and the ability to execute it.
In a word, balance.
SEE ALSO: ‘If Limerick is to be stopped this year, Gillane will have to be stopped’
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