Niall Duffy enjoys showing people the Irish sport of hurling for the first time.
“Usually their reaction is, ‘You guys are crazy,’” he said with a laugh.
Along the way, though, he’s picked up a few converts — enough that Richmond now has its own men’s and women’s hurling teams, and has qualified for the national finals for the first time since the program was established in 2014.
Hurling consists of hitting a small ball with a stick while on the move — it has elements of rugby, baseball and track.
Most of the players on the Richmond team are not Irish.
“I had come across a YouTube video of weird sports,” said Phillip Andrews of Henrico County. “I told one of my buddies, and he said that he played. I said, ‘No, I don’t think you do. I’ve never heard of this.’”
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A year later, Andrews is one of the members of the men’s team.
“It’s a very technical game,” he said. “It’s really competitive and allows you to really exert yourself. Anybody who wants to try it should be ready for a really good challenge.”
The team is preparing for the national finals, which begin Friday in Leesburg, but took a break on Sunday morning to gather and watch the All Ireland Hurling finals — the biggest event in the sport.
Duffy said his group, Richmond Battery GAA, added a women’s team about 15 months ago, making it all the more impressive when the women also qualified for the national event.
He was hoping to have 20 women join the team for its weekly training sessions but ended up with 25.
The game isn’t for everyone — online videos are devoted to big hits, other collisions and injuries — but for Andrews, it’s a great way to stay fit.
He was a big runner before taking up hurling, and said the sport allows him the opportunity to stay active.
He’s also proof that anyone with the desire can do it.
“It’s fun to see what we can do with a bunch of guys we threw together that have the athletic ability, but not necessarily a lot of experience,” he said.
For Duffy, it’s an opportunity to spread a sport that’s big in his homeland.
“There’s no pay,” he said of being the coach. “Purely the joy of teaching and spreading the game you remember from growing up.”
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