Grip, first swings, and a whole night of the girls falling for the game
Her First Swing
- Camogie
- U8
- 45 min
- 8–24 girls (pods of 4, never a queue)
- 3 coaches
- Effort 2/5
- Quarter pitch or an indoor hall
- u8
- grip
- swing
- nursery
- fun-games
Kit: Sized hurleys (top of the handle at her wrist bone), helmets on for every striking game, first-touch sliotars one each plus spares (the size 4 is the camogie ball she grows into), 24 cones, 8 spot markers, 6 hoops
Colours
Setup: 20×20m square, a first-touch sliotar sitting on a spot marker for every girl, hurleys in a tidy pile outside for now. One mentor calls, two play along inside.
How it works: No hurleys yet — happy feet and heads up first. The girls move to the colours: GREEN jog, AMBER tiptoe, RED freeze like a statue, BLUE spin gently on the spot. On PING everyone runs to a ball that is not theirs, scoops it in two hands and holds it high over their head, then sets it back down softly. Count how many beat the next call. Last round, on PING they carry a ball to any corner and give it a name — the small ball is going to be a good friend all year.
What to say
- “Tell them: 'two soft hands on the ball, gentle as holding an egg.'”
- “Tell them: 'find a ball with nobody near it — look for the space.'”
- “Praise the freeze on RED, not the speed — calm on your call is the whole first year.”
Easier
Walk-pace colours, bigger square, each girl minds the same ball each time.
Harder
Add PURPLE — carry the ball high while walking heel-to-toe along the nearest cone line without dropping it.
Statues and Swings
Setup: The girls in two short lines facing a mentor, a full hurley-length of gap either side of each — walk the lines and check the gaps with an arm and a hurley before a single swing. Helmets on and checked. A ball on the ground in front of every girl.
How it works: Grip and the first swing, copied slowly. The handshake first: 'shake hands with the top of the handle with your strong hand, helper hand just below, top hand never lets go.' Then the copying game, thirty seconds each with a grip check between. STATUE — hold a perfect ready position, still as stone. PAINT — sweep the bas along the grass side to side like a paintbrush. THE SWING — a slow swing back and through at knee height, everyone checking their gap first. Finish with one big slow swing together that brushes the grass and just kisses the ball, then a statue to hold it.
Common mistakes
- Hands split wide like a brush handle — reset with the handshake game, never a lecture.
- Gripping so tight the wrists lock — the helper hand stays soft so the bas can turn.
What to say
- “Tell them: 'shake hands with the hurley, then squeeze — the top hand is the boss and never moves.'”
- “Tell them: 'brush the grass with a low swing, do not chop down at it.'”
- “Walk the line and check thumbs: strong hand on top, hands together, not split apart.”
Easier
Kneel for Paint so the bas reaches easily; a mentor guides the hands-together grip.
Harder
The swing on the move — two walking steps between swings without the ball rolling away; one round hands swapped, for the giggle.
Rainbow Targets
Setup: Pods of four at a spot-marker tee, a fan of three hoops of different colours 4–6m out, all pods striking the same way into open space. A mentor behind each cluster, never out in front.
How it works: First real strikes at a target with a story. The ball sits up on the marker like an egg. On READY, feet either side of a pretend puddle, ball beside the front foot; on STRIKE, one big smooth swing that brushes the grass and sends the ball toward a hoop. Land a ball in a hoop and the whole pod cheers its colour. Strike on the call, walk out to collect on the call — that rhythm is the safety and the game. Every couple of minutes the hoops move a step further out so there is always a new rainbow to chase.
What to say
- “Tell them: 'eyes on the ball the whole way — watch the bas wake it up.'”
- “Tell them: 'point your finish at the hoop and the ball follows your finish.'”
- “Only strike on the call, only collect on the call — say it cheerfully every round.”
Easier
Hoops in to 3m; push the ball along the ground with the bas instead of a full swing; kneel for the first taps.
Harder
Hoops out to 8m; the ball up on a flat cone tee for a cleaner contact; a pod point for landing two colours in a row.
Carry the Treasure
Setup: A wiggly lane of cone gates down the middle of the square, a ball each, girls in a bunch at one end, a 'treasure chest' hoop at the far end. One mentor is a friendly gatekeeper who only walks.
How it works: Carry the ball the length of the lane balanced on the bas — steady as treasure — through the gates and home to the chest, where it goes in for one team point. Drop it and simply pick it up and balance it again from the nearest gate, no bother. The gatekeeper only walks and only ever gently blocks a gate for a moment, so the girls learn to look up and pick a clear one. Down and back is one adventure; count adventures for the whole group, cheering, never against each other. Last go, everyone sets off at once so the lane fills with little camógs and a very slow gatekeeper.
What to say
- “Tell them: 'steady bas, walk like you are carrying your dinner — smooth, not fast.'”
- “Tell them: 'head up to spot a clear gate, eyes flick down to check the ball.'”
- “Keep the gatekeeper gentle and giggly — near-misses and cheers, never a girl upset.”
Easier
Carry the ball in the spare hand resting on the bas at walking pace; no gatekeeper for the newest.
Harder
A wobble-free run the whole way earns the girl a turn as a mini-gatekeeper; add a second slow gatekeeper.
Circle Up
Setup: Hurleys in a neat pile, helmets off, all the girls in a tight circle with the mentors. Ball bag open in the middle.
How it works: Land the plane slowly. Reach for the sky like the tallest hurley in Ireland, touch the toes like a sleeping sliotar, one big wobbly balance on each leg. Then the count-in: the girls feed a sliotar into the bag one at a time and the whole circle counts them home. Finish with the handshake test — every girl shows the mentor her grip — and the team cheer.
What to say
- “Tell them: 'show me shake-hands one last time' — every correct grip earns the big cheer.”
- “Keep voices low and slow now so they leave calm and the parents notice.”
- “Tell them: 'same time next week, and your hurley will be waiting.'”
Ask the players: Ask the circle: which game made you smile the most? Every answer is right. At the gate, tell each parent the one thing their daughter learned tonight — the shake-hands grip.
Next week builds on this: Same grip games to open, then the ball comes up off the ground and we start the toss for a strike from the hand.
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