Hurling year two.

And we go again.

You might think that I had learned my lesson from last year getting back into competitive sports at 37 but it just goes to prove that age doesn't bring sense.

Ref: Clare champion

Instead I've doubled down and gone even harder to get ready for the upcoming summer championship.

I took up Hurling for the every first time last July with no experience and no fitness into the fastest and most technically challenging sport in the world, albeit at a very low level.

We had a great season, I learned a lot and we reached the county final for our grade. It was almost a huge success but we fell just short on the last day. Just short by the smallest margin which hurt.

This year I'm getting a head start on the game. The plan is to come into the summer, fitter, faster and actually able to play the game.

With that in mind I've been training along with a few others as part of the senior panel. The top team in our area.

Madness really but you cant imagine how fast you improve when your chasing behind a group of lads that are all miles better than yourself.

If you have the motivation to do it. They have a proper strength and conditioning coach on Tuesdays, skill sessions at the weekends and two other session during the week but I don't have the time or capacity to train that often.

But I did what I could so far and have been chasing the pack every week with gradual improvement.

Now the league starts today. Not the main event for our team but it will keep us all buy for the next few months.

Now the team that I am actually part of doesn't enter a league as the playing panel is small and the players mostly old and decrepit but we have a club team right in the middle of the two that plays three divisions higher than ours.

So naturally I am now part of that panel and going to struggle more at a higher level for those few months.

Sometimes, I don't know why I do it to myself but if i can stick it out and keep up the training then I will be in a much better place when the summer comes around.

I don't actually expect to be playing today or much at all for the league but just being part of the panel, getting more experience for match days and the more intensive training will do more for me over a short period of time than anything else could.

We are also playing my actual hometown in the match today which should make it a little bit more interesting and a few familiar faces even though I moved away from there a good while ago now.

More to follow for the year.