The HERB - High Explosive Reaction Wall
High Explosive Reaction Wall
For years hurling clubs have been trying to come up with new and innovative drills as they seek to gain a vital advantage over their opponents, now a new Cork-developed portable hurling wall may be the answer.
Developed by Corkman David Twomey, the 'HERB' Highly Explosive Reaction Wall has been used by the Cork senior hurlers, the Galway minor hurlers and many club teams throughout the country.
The idea came about as Dave struggled with his kids breaking windows and ruining walls by constantly hitting sliothars off them. "When I was a kid I used to be on the street hitting the sliothar off walls and I remember the grief I got from my parents when a window was broken. Now I have three kids of my own and I am going through what my parents experienced," he said. Dave first thought of putting a device on the wall but with the rise in popularity of dedicated hurling walls, he began to think along those lines. "Not all clubs can afford the money to build hurling walls so I thought a portable one that could be used indoors and outdoors may work." He enlisted the help of an engineer in Little Island, who the wall is called after, and UCC sports department that tested the wall extensively.
Benefits
"The final design was eventually decided upon about 20 months ago," said David. "There are many different benefits to the wall. You can play off it while running, you can tilt it at one end and have it low at the other, the tension of the net can also be regulated so underage and adult teams can use it. When the sliothar comes back at speed you have to have a good first touch and there are many drills that can be done to help with shortening the grip and striking faster."
For any new invention, the proof is in the use and the HERB has quite an illustrious list of supporters. Former Cork senior hurling manager Donal O'Grady, current Kilkenny manager Brian Cody and Galway minor hurling manager Mattie Murphy all use it. Inter-county hurlers John Gardiner and James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick have also used the HERB.
National Hurling Co-ordinator Paudie Butler has designed drills to "improve the technical skills of striking and catching in groups and develop team play", said David.
New Cork minor hurling selector Jim O'Sullivan said there are many practical used for the HERB. "We use it for shooting drills. It's adaptable, we use it near the goals, it keeps the keepers occupied and out the field for point scoring," he said. "By bringing HERB to the left of the goals we can work on players weaker sides as they strike. This is all done at speed and HERB allows us see how a players first touch is, if he needs a second or third touch he has work to do."
The various drills and uses of the HERB can be seen on-line at www.irishsportsproducts.com or www.youtube.com/irishsportsproducts. For more information and prices contact 021-4355055