Championship is on the way.

It came up faster than expected but we have our first championship match next Monday evening.
Training has been fast and furious for the past couple of weeks and it's showing.
I was at training last night and we had a proper session. We joined up with the other Junior group in the and had a full blooded game.

Literally, full blooded.
There was nothing held back between the teams which is a great way to have it.
The great county teams always said that their training matches were tougher than their real matches and last night was the same.
Frees were called but they were few and far between. We were pretty much left to our own devices and it showed with hurleys and bodies flying all over the place.

[Ref: Wikimedia](Defence Forces Vs BOI Hurling (86) (5117195809).jpg)

It's a tough game at the best of times but great fun when played well. We got so close to winning the championship last year that there is definitely a hunger in the group to finish what we started.

We have pretty much everybody from last year back again despite the declining age profile and picked up a few new bodies along the way which is no harm with the list of injuries we picked up last year when the matches started.

Personally I'm in a much better place than I was last time around with a year of hurling and a year of fitness behind me. I'm still not where I would really like to be but it's a hell of a lot better than a year ago when i got shin splints every time that i went to training.

Now I have a bit of training in the bank I can keep up with the rest of the players if not pass them out on the pitch quiet yet. The skills have improved too and even in training I'm holding up against the guys that have been in the game for thirty years plus.

The Championship

The Clare Premier Junior C Hurling Championship does feature 10 teams split into two groups of five.

The structure mirrors the 10-team setup implemented for the Junior A championship.

Group Stage Format
Two Groups of Five:
The 10 teams are drawn into Group 1 and Group 2.
Four Matches Guaranteed: Because it is a 5-team group, each club plays 4 group-stage matches and receives one "bye" week.
Knockout Stage
Semi-Final Structure: The top two teams from each group advance directly to the semi-finals.
The Cross-Over: The winner of Group 1 plays the runner-up of Group 2, and the winner of Group 2 plays the runner-up of Group 1.

So we will need to win three of the four matches to guarantee progression to the next round. That's the goal on us for the next few months to train and to get those wins starting on Monday.

We have another training tomorrow night but I'll be doing my own bit over the weekend to keep building up the my fitness for Monday and for the games after in case I need to play.