The first annual Indy Hurling Blitz concluded with some outstanding play on all sides. Over 100 hurlers came out to Habig fields to challenge themselves and each other in the 9-on-9 tournament.
North Central topped both Cathedral teams to take the Junior trophy. All three teams played with great passion and the more experienced Panthers edged out the Fighting Irish of Cathedral.
In the Senior's bracket, Indy Hurling divided itself into 3 teams and invited teams from Bloomington and West Lafayette to join them. In the 3rd place match, Iglesia's Hombres led by Brian Church and Kyle Griffith outlasted the Quarrymen from Bloomington. The final matched the Indy Hurlers led by Mike Monaghan and Drew Calver against the CPs led by David Littlejohn and Jason Crace. In the end the Indy Hurlers pulled off the win thanks to a spectacular goal from Matt Glasheen.
A huge thanks goes out to the tournament organizers and the dozens of people who volunteered their time to referee, serve as side/end judges, or just chased the balls as the flew over the goal. Special thanks also goes out to Westfield Youth Soccer for their hospitality in letting us again use their fields. We hope the relationship continues in the future.
A contingent of IndyHurling is traveling to Akron to participate in their annual Al O'Leary Invitational. Akron has been outstanding for us in the past and we expect no different as we take part in this 7-on-7 tournament. Good luck guys!
This concludes our season for the year. The only scheduled events until the spring currently are the winter social/awards dinner and the annual general meeting. Both events are yet to be finalized but look for them to be in December and January respectively. Everyone is still free to email out a notice that they want to puck around, whenever the hurling itch gets too persistent.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Indy Hurling travels to Akron
Thanks to Jason for writing it up! And thanks to Akron for hosting!
We were the honored guests at the Akron Hibernians club on Saturday night. AQ few Akron players came out to greet us. We had good pints and free pizza. It was a very nice club and the host Paddy Taylor, was a great guy.
The match was awesome. We ended up losing 2-4 to 2-8, but we had a great showing. Kyle Griffiths played exceptional for a newbie, especially on defense. And our help from Bloomington , Robbie and Brianna played their asses off, running circles around their marks. Akron had some youth and some real speed up front, but both of their goals were cheap deflections made after great aggressive saves out of the box by me. Brian Mathes, Matt Davis and Eric Raderstorf picked it up in the second half and played very aggressive scoring some hard fought goals and points. Richard Connolly played strong all day and proved he could hit the long point hitting two just inside the half line in the second half.
We got a ton of compliments from the Akron players and fans. That was the toughest match they had been given at home all year. Although we did not win the Al O’Leary trophy, we took home some good consolations. According to an 8” X 10” photograph hanging in the Hibernian’s club room, the last Al O’Leary invitational ended up in an Akron manslaughter of Milwaukee , 43 to 17. So our 14 to 10 defeat was the best showing in tournament history. Something that the Indy Hurling Club should be proud of. They can’t wait to come to Indy next year and may just invite us back for another shot at the trophy.
We were the honored guests at the Akron Hibernians club on Saturday night. AQ few Akron players came out to greet us. We had good pints and free pizza. It was a very nice club and the host Paddy Taylor, was a great guy.
The match was awesome. We ended up losing 2-4 to 2-8, but we had a great showing. Kyle Griffiths played exceptional for a newbie, especially on defense. And our help from Bloomington , Robbie and Brianna played their asses off, running circles around their marks. Akron had some youth and some real speed up front, but both of their goals were cheap deflections made after great aggressive saves out of the box by me. Brian Mathes, Matt Davis and Eric Raderstorf picked it up in the second half and played very aggressive scoring some hard fought goals and points. Richard Connolly played strong all day and proved he could hit the long point hitting two just inside the half line in the second half.
We got a ton of compliments from the Akron players and fans. That was the toughest match they had been given at home all year. Although we did not win the Al O’Leary trophy, we took home some good consolations. According to an 8” X 10” photograph hanging in the Hibernian’s club room, the last Al O’Leary invitational ended up in an Akron manslaughter of Milwaukee , 43 to 17. So our 14 to 10 defeat was the best showing in tournament history. Something that the Indy Hurling Club should be proud of. They can’t wait to come to Indy next year and may just invite us back for another shot at the trophy.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Training with a champion
On October 14, Colm Egan from the NACB came down from Chicago to give us some training. Colm was on the Tipperary All-Ireland Championship team from 1989 and is currently giving clinics on training for hurling.Colm lead us on some warm up drills then on some possession drills. Indy Hurling came out in force with over 30 showing up for practice.
A couple of the major points that Colm made was even though we don't have the same skill level as the Seniors playing in the All-Irelands, we do the same drills as they do. Of course they do them a bit faster and more accurately, but they are the exact same drills. The other major point he made was getting as many touches as possible in a practice, even during the warm-up drills get a lot of touches in. The more touches you have the better you're going to get.
Colm promised to stop by again in the Spring. We REALLY appreciate him taking the time out of his schedule to drive down and we look forward to continuing to work with him.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Kicking back, Irish Style
Indianapolis Star profiled the club as part of the Irish Festival a few weeks back... here's an excerpt...
Kicking Back, Irish Style
Kicking Back, Irish Style
"Irish culture is based on song, dance and enjoyment. That's why we invented beer and whiskey," Conlon said with a smile.
Conlon, who moved here from Ireland 12 years ago, stood in a booth and shared his love of a sport developed as a way to train young men how to fight: hurling.
At North Central High School, a hurling club has been formed. There, Max Haberstadt and Alex Chesterfield, both 17, were intrigued by an invitation to play hurling, they said.
It's a great sport where you can go out there and make some contact, they said.
And how did they get invited?
"Someone said one day, 'Do you want to hurl?' " Haberstadt said.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Quigley featured in Irish Times
Our own hurley-maker-extraordinaire Steve Quigley was featured in the Irish Times, Ireland's national daily newspaper. Columnist Tom Humphries caught up with Quigs while he was travelling about Ireland learning more about hurley-making and wrote up a nice piece of Quigs and IndyHurling.
Best line of the article... "And by the way. If you want the coolest GAA accessory money can buy this summer click onto indyhurling.com and order one of the T-shirts. Indianapolis Hurling Club on the front and the legend We Hurl, Then We Drink in Celtic lettering on the back. All proceeds to the club."
Unfortunately you can't read the article online without a subscription, but here's a copy of it.
Best line of the article... "And by the way. If you want the coolest GAA accessory money can buy this summer click onto indyhurling.com and order one of the T-shirts. Indianapolis Hurling Club on the front and the legend We Hurl, Then We Drink in Celtic lettering on the back. All proceeds to the club."
Unfortunately you can't read the article online without a subscription, but here's a copy of it.
Monday, August 27, 2007
World's Fastest Field Game A Success At Habig Fields
A large turnout of supporters, family & friends were treated to a feast of hurling at Habig Fields on Saturday, Aug 18th. First up were the U-18's of Indy and Chicago. The early exchanges saw the boys from Chicago utilize a little more craft & guile in front of goals. At half-time, Chicago led by 10 points. After the break, a re-energised and re-focused Indy team began to gain a foothold in the game. As time wore on, Indy clawed their way back to within 3 points, but unfortunately before the come-back could be completed the final whistle blew, and Chicago took the victory. It was a good, sporting game between two teams who have developed a friendly rivalry over the last number of months, and while victory eluded the Indy boys this time, they can be very proud of their display, particularly in that second-half.
The crowd was well & truly warmed up following the exciting finish to the U-18 game, and it was now the turn of the Indy adult team to take the field against the travelling team from St Louis. Indy got off to a fast start with 2 quick goals and settled into the game well. However, St Louis, the 2005 National champions, finished the half strongly and went in at the break only 4 points down. The second-half saw Indy tighten their grip on the game and they pushed on to the finish, winning eventually on a score-line of 3-13 to 1-8.
All the Indy Hurling Club members, both young & not so young, can be justifiably proud of their contribution to the weekend's success. Well done to everyone from referees, umpires, sideline judges, pitch-markers, pizza-sellers, photographers, goal-movers, bleacher-movers, and, of course, the players.
Special thanks to both the Chicago & St Louis teams & management who made the journey to Indy for these games. Indy Hurling appreciates the time and effort taken by both teams to travel and play in these matches. Both games were played in good spirit, and provided great entertainment for the large crowd in attendance.
A particular word of gratitude goes to the Westfield Youth Soccer Association. Their excellent pitches and facilities made the weekend possible, and contributed in no small way to the success of the weekend.
Finally, sincere thanks to everyone who came to watch the world's fastest field game - we hope you enjoyed it, that the experience sparked an interest in the game and that we will see you back again in the near future, both for further games and at our booth at the Indy Irishfest. Come up and talk hurling with us - we can do that all day…!!
The crowd was well & truly warmed up following the exciting finish to the U-18 game, and it was now the turn of the Indy adult team to take the field against the travelling team from St Louis. Indy got off to a fast start with 2 quick goals and settled into the game well. However, St Louis, the 2005 National champions, finished the half strongly and went in at the break only 4 points down. The second-half saw Indy tighten their grip on the game and they pushed on to the finish, winning eventually on a score-line of 3-13 to 1-8.
All the Indy Hurling Club members, both young & not so young, can be justifiably proud of their contribution to the weekend's success. Well done to everyone from referees, umpires, sideline judges, pitch-markers, pizza-sellers, photographers, goal-movers, bleacher-movers, and, of course, the players.
Special thanks to both the Chicago & St Louis teams & management who made the journey to Indy for these games. Indy Hurling appreciates the time and effort taken by both teams to travel and play in these matches. Both games were played in good spirit, and provided great entertainment for the large crowd in attendance.
A particular word of gratitude goes to the Westfield Youth Soccer Association. Their excellent pitches and facilities made the weekend possible, and contributed in no small way to the success of the weekend.
Finally, sincere thanks to everyone who came to watch the world's fastest field game - we hope you enjoyed it, that the experience sparked an interest in the game and that we will see you back again in the near future, both for further games and at our booth at the Indy Irishfest. Come up and talk hurling with us - we can do that all day…!!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Indy Hurling wins Dublin IrishFest Tournament
Indy Hurling are Champions of the Dublin Irishfest Tournament 2007 are some great displays over this past weekend. Indy took on several teams from the mid-west and emerged victorious with the trophy and the title tucked safely under their arm. Indy began their winning ways on Saturday by defeating old rivals Purdue in a hard-fought game, where Kyle LaPrees and others scored a couple of vital goals to ensure victory. Peter Mackey and Neal Mulrooney marshaled the defense superbly throughout the game and limited the opportunities for Purdue to stage any form of comeback.
As Indy traveled in force to Dublin, Ohio, a second team - the All-Stars - was entered in the tournament. The All-Stars took to the field against Akron's Celtic Guards, trying to emulate their club-mates' victory over Purdue. After a great first half, the highlight of which was a fantastic goal by Tim Fick, the All-Stars were sucker punched with a couple of goals right at the final whistle (a whistle that may have come a little early..!!). It was tough loss for the All-Stars, especially as so many like Brian Mathes, Matt Glasheen and Nate Risteen had played so well.
So to Sunday and the Shield Final pitted Indy All-Stars against Purdue. Despite dreadful weather, again, Indy started brightly and found themselves with a good lead at half-time following good scores from Tim Fick, Richard Connolly and Nate Risteen. However, Purdue came back strongly in the second half and really tested the All-Stars. However after a brief delay for lightning, the All-Star players really stepped up to the challenge and defended stoutly. In mid-field, Richard Connolly raised his game and made several relieving clearances and chipped in a couple of scores as well. At the final whistle, the All-Stars had held on for a well-deserved victory and third place in the tournament.
The championship final saw Indy take on Akron in what promised to be a very competitive game. The game began fairly evenly with some well-taken scores by both sides, however, Indy managed to push into a 6 points lead at half-time. Indy expected a strong challenge from Akron in the second half, but they never gave Akron the chance to get going in that second period as they drove hard for the finish line with a barrage of scores. Their were some great passages of inter-play resulting in excellent scores from Brian Church, Ian Heraty and Mike Monaghan. When Akron did get into the Indy defensive third, they found Stephen Quigley, Jim Kelly and David Littlejohn in no mood to permit scores, and Bob Finley in good form in the Indy goals. At the end, Indy were very worthy winners and claimed the inaugural title of Dublin Irishfest Tournament Champions.
Congratulations to everyone from both teams who represented Indy Hurling so well in the tournament games. All should be very proud of the manner, the standard and the quality of their play over the tournament weekend.
Special thanks goes to the Dublin Irishfest Committee and the Akron Celtic Guards for putting on a spectacular weekend.
As Indy traveled in force to Dublin, Ohio, a second team - the All-Stars - was entered in the tournament. The All-Stars took to the field against Akron's Celtic Guards, trying to emulate their club-mates' victory over Purdue. After a great first half, the highlight of which was a fantastic goal by Tim Fick, the All-Stars were sucker punched with a couple of goals right at the final whistle (a whistle that may have come a little early..!!). It was tough loss for the All-Stars, especially as so many like Brian Mathes, Matt Glasheen and Nate Risteen had played so well.
So to Sunday and the Shield Final pitted Indy All-Stars against Purdue. Despite dreadful weather, again, Indy started brightly and found themselves with a good lead at half-time following good scores from Tim Fick, Richard Connolly and Nate Risteen. However, Purdue came back strongly in the second half and really tested the All-Stars. However after a brief delay for lightning, the All-Star players really stepped up to the challenge and defended stoutly. In mid-field, Richard Connolly raised his game and made several relieving clearances and chipped in a couple of scores as well. At the final whistle, the All-Stars had held on for a well-deserved victory and third place in the tournament.
The championship final saw Indy take on Akron in what promised to be a very competitive game. The game began fairly evenly with some well-taken scores by both sides, however, Indy managed to push into a 6 points lead at half-time. Indy expected a strong challenge from Akron in the second half, but they never gave Akron the chance to get going in that second period as they drove hard for the finish line with a barrage of scores. Their were some great passages of inter-play resulting in excellent scores from Brian Church, Ian Heraty and Mike Monaghan. When Akron did get into the Indy defensive third, they found Stephen Quigley, Jim Kelly and David Littlejohn in no mood to permit scores, and Bob Finley in good form in the Indy goals. At the end, Indy were very worthy winners and claimed the inaugural title of Dublin Irishfest Tournament Champions.
Congratulations to everyone from both teams who represented Indy Hurling so well in the tournament games. All should be very proud of the manner, the standard and the quality of their play over the tournament weekend.
Special thanks goes to the Dublin Irishfest Committee and the Akron Celtic Guards for putting on a spectacular weekend.
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