Kilmacud Crokes 2004 (u9) hurling panel plays Roanmore Charity Blitz 2013
The U9 (2004) panel made the annual trip, on Saturday 14th September 2013, to the Roanmore Charity Blitz in Waterford, the excellent tournament organised to raise funds for the Jack and Jill Foundation.
The blitz involved three 20-minute matches against Clonea, Ardmore and Carrick Swans, one after the other. All matches were ground hurling only, and played at a hectic pace! In the first match against the Clonea, the lads had a slow start in the first half, falling four goals behind. They made a valiant effort thereafter to reel in the deficit, scoring two goals and a lovely clipped point from play, and created a number of other chances, but Clonea stayed in front to the final whistle. The Crokes boys continued their progress from the second half of the first match against Ardmore in the second match, providing them with their first win. The final match against Carrick Swans saw the team produce its best performance of the day, winning an excellent match against very strong opposition, one that had beaten our teams well during a summer blitz in Piltown. That’s real progress!
With 11 players and only 7-a-side, we organised the team along the lines of the All-Ireland 7s, with players rotating on and off (and in different positions) regularly. While such an approach can be disruptive, to their credit the boys quickly got used to the system and thrived in their various roles. Scoring was well spread across the 11-man panel and everyone worked hard for the team! Not forgetting also that they had all played a Go Game match that morning, they gave their all to the cause!
So mentors, parents and boys alike left Waterford pleased overall with the performances but clear in the knowledge that when playing such tournaments, performances have to be ‘spot on’ from the first whistle and this is something that we will continue to work on for the rest of the season and into the future.
Panel: Thomas Doran, Scott Galvin, James Hamill, Eoin Kenny, Conan MacSweeney, Keelan Murphy, Tomás Noone, Luke O’Gorman, Sean O’Hurley, Niall O’Mahony, David Ryan.
