Hurling
Joe Canning helps you to improve your hurling skills by sharing some top tips and tricks.
Joe Canning first picked up a hurl at the age of six. By the age of 15, he had earned himself a spot at county level. Since then, the Galway forward has won three All-Star awards and was top scorer in the Senior Hurling Championships 2015. Hard work, dedication and practice have played a large part in Joe’s success.
VIDEO: Joe Canning talks us through his sideline and free taking techniques.
We caught up with Joe to find out a little bit more about the factors that contribute to his success on the field.
You are such a big influence to so many young hurlers out there, how does that feel?
When I coach kids in my club they are always asking me how to take frees and sidelines. I just pass on what I do, they don’t necessarily have to copy it, everyone is different and everyone has a different routine so it is always nice to pass on my own experiences more than anything and if it help even one kid to improve a little bit that is all that matters to me.
You have been playing hurling since you were six. What do you think are the main contributors to your success?
I was encouraged to play a lot of different sports when I was younger. I played football, rugby, golf, anything that was on the TV – when Wimbledon was on, I would play tennis. I think I took different things from different sports, and learned different things from each of them. I think if you went to school and only studied one subject you wouldn’t be very well-rounded and I think it is the same with sport. I played as much sport as I could at a young age and I really think that stands to me now as I grow older.
Natural talent is obviously really important, but are good work rate and dedication even more important for those hoping to improve their game?
Talent only gets you so far. Of course you do need the talent, but if you don’t work on the basics you won’t improve. You have to work hard on the things you aren’t so good at. Working on weakness is the thing that separates the elite from the rest. If you can identify your weaknesses and work hard to try to improve those aspects of your game every day then you can improve your overall game.
Can you tell us about weaknesses in your own game and how you work on those on a day-to-day basis?
When I started, people saw me as a scorer – I was a forward who scored points. But over the last few years, I have changed my game which is largely unknown to the general public. I am more of a worker now, more so than a scorer. I looked at my own game and noticed that my tackle count was down for a few years. So I worked on my tackling and now my tackle count is a lot higher. I now contribute a lot more to the team.
Besides the time you spend of the pitch, how important is work in the gym and diet to your overall success on the pitch?
It is a lifestyle more so than anything else, you get used to it after a while. Gym work, diet, recovery – how you train is pretty set. You really need to learn what works for you, everybody is different and unique. You have to listen to your body to work out what it needs and that comes with experience.
The amount of work we do in the gym really depends on the time of the year. During the season we focus mainly on flexibility to try and avoid injury. We do a lot of stretching and recovery. Coming into Championship matches it is all about staying as fresh as possible and not over-doing the training side of things. In the winter months we would be training six or seven nights a week, but this time of year we would only do four or five nights a week.
What are the biggest challenges for elite players like yourself?
Playing sport at a high level and shutting yourself off from it can be tough. The media has added a lot of pressure to people’s performances. It is very easy to scrutinise people but you need to take any negative comments with a pinch of salt and be able to shut off from it.
Mentally I find it very hard to be engrossed in the sport 24/7, if I was, I would have gone a bit mad. I try and strike a balance and aim to be as relaxed as I can off the pitch.
Mental strength on the pitch is hugely important, what tips can you give younger players who struggle to keep a clear head when a game is not going their way?
The mental aspect is one of the toughest elements of the game. I even struggle with it myself sometimes. I find if I try too hard, it almost has the opposite effect. Just try to focus on getting that tackle, or doing something for the team to get your confidence up. Some days the ball will bi-pass you and that happens, but try not to worry, it is all about the next ball, you can’t do anything about the past.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
You are only as good as your last game.
What advice would you give other players out there?
Train to be a hurler, don’t train to be an athlete. The one thing that I see these days are teenagers of 14, 15 or 16 years of age who are training to be athletes as opposed to training to be hurlers or footballers. Train to be a hurler or a football player or a soccer player, don’t train to become an athlete – that will come naturally with the sport that you choose.
Try to play as many sports as you can when you’re young – I believe that this will help you further down the line as you will gain a diverse range of experience and skills.