Saturday 31 March 2012

IS SHINTY GETTING SOFT?

HOW seriously do you take the risk of injury in shinty?


When I was growing up, the mantra was 'if you get hit, it's your own fault'.

 Go in hard, go in close and let your man know you're there. Hang back and you will get clobbered.

The art of blocking - and by that I mean good, effective blocking, is a dying one.

Even at premier level, players are jumping into the air in front of opponents striking the ball - in the hope the ball might deflect off them - rather than going in and blocking the swing.

I often think that the team that learns to block properly in the premiership will steal a march on the opposition.

There is a school of thought that shinty has changed since the summer season was initiated; that the faster nature of the game means that the tackle is no longer so necessary as close-quarter combat becomes less common.

But there will be occasions when a challenge needs to be won.

Going back to blocking - it was a good means of avoiding injury; to eyes, knuckles and faces.

And does the old-fashioned attitude of shrugging off any injury still prevail?

Spectators note an unpleasant tendency among a few a few premier players to (in football parlance) 'go down easily' when there doesn't seem a need to. In the past, play would have carried on around them until they decided to get up and carry on.

Injuries are part and parcel of any contact sport, but there is, quite rightly, a growing awareness of the dangers of head injuries in sport - as witnessed in rugby union's six nations championship.

But in the end, is shinty a 'softer' sport than it used to be, and is this simply a reflection of society?

2 comments:

  1. I don't think that the game has got softer but players have became more aware of the serious injuries you can suffer and might be a bit reluctant to get in close with their opponent.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, but surely the risk of serious injury within the game in general is no more or less serious than it ever has been? Knowing some of the 'uncompromising' characters who used to populate the game, some would argue that the risk of damage was a fair bit higher in past decades.
      One thing is, I believe, in little doubt - being reluctant to get in close is a sure way to increase your own chances - as an individual - of injury.
      Without learning the basics of the game, players won't learn how to protect themselves. Can indoor First Shinty properly prepare youngsters for the real thing?

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