The back pitches of Sean Eiffe park in ratoath was the destination of 30 U8 boys of Donaghmore Ashbourne this morning. With the evergreen trees protecting us form the incoming winds of Storm Alex, we produced our own hurling storm.

Health checks done, coffee perfectly timed, green and white jerseys pulled on, full team warm up to shake the cobwebs off, stories of extra breakfast excitedly repeated and then, calm descends amongst the team. 10 out of 10 asked for, 100% effort wanted, teamwork and most importantly fun and show us the skills that this team possesses. An exceptional hurls in roar which shook the evergreen trees surrounding us.

Brave, tireless, tenacious, disciplined, and showcasing all 153 skills, every player was playing their best and made us so proud of their efforts this morning. With kneecap wobbling tackles, jerseys covered in muck, sweat and tears, face guards dented, news filtered in from each pitch Don/Ash on top with goals and points galore.

After 50 minutes of play we regrouped back to our team circle, and after such a performance it was only fitting to reward this superb team with a match sliotar to bring home and keep as theirs with a message of practice, practice, practice. All 9 mentors left extremely happy and proud today of this team’s performance and each and every player stepped up to the plate today.

The boisterous sidelines were on song again today and it is a fantastic boost to both players and mentors. Training resumes on Thursday with the bigger ball to continue our ever expanding journey.

We are

Team Mates Together

Stronger Together

Donaghmore Ashbourne Together