Pres students reinvent the game of hurling - Kilkenny Live

Two Kilkenny students have developed a novel idea to hone the skills of hurling players in Kilkenny and across the country.

Presentation Secondary School students, Orla Walsh and Olivia Dunphy have created a sustainable hurling training aid which aims to promote hitting the centre of the hurl, or the 'sweet spot.'

The design consists of a hole carved open on the boss of the hurl with a net attached.

The pair's project, known as 'The PerfectPuc', hopes to help consumers develop a cleaner strike, and more importantly, 'inspire a love of hurling in young children all over the country.'

The origin of the idea stemmed from the school's TY Mini Company initiative, with the girls ability to think outside the box and develop an out of the ordinary invention, garnering much attention from their schoolmates.

"One of Olivia’s Dad’s friends was the person who cut the hole in the hurl for us but then we had to focus on sanding the hurl and attaching the net to the back and like the first few times we did it we probably spent two days at it and it was quite stressful to try and get it perfect but we think we've got the hang of it now and we’re still constantly trying to find new ways of attaching the net to tidy it up," remarked Orla.

The creation, the likes of which hurlers and camogie players up and down the Emerald Isle are unlikely to have ever seen before and came after multiple days of arduous dialogue and thought. 

"It was definitely difficult to think up an idea. We spent loads of classes and free time trying to think of different ideas. It was never in the back of our minds like that if we ever got the chance we'd make it so I think actually that's what’s been so exciting about the whole thing is that we never planned for it even," commented Olivia.

However, when a light-bulb moment struck the local students, they never looked back, with a shared passion for camogie growing into a project beyond their wildest dreams.

"We were told to come up with ideas that was new but also that solved a problem and things we were interested in and we both play and love camogie so we thought this was completely new and would benefit people," Orla added.

The girls hope that all aspiring hurlers looking to improve their game will benefit from the modern hurl, especially children with disabilities who may be able 'to get a sense of satisfaction' by soloing the sliotar with less difficulty.

"We think it will start good habits for children trying to hit the right spot on the hurl and give children that are so young that they haven’t learned to rise the ball yet a sense of satisfaction and increase hand-eye coordination as well," commented Orla.

"It's such a great idea for all ages especially for younger kids because it’s a new, exciting way to practice and if there’s something motivating you to practice you’re more likely to get better," added Olivia stating, the new hurling device could be a means of improving ‘team bonding’ for adult players.

The project caught the attention of the entire school community with the school lending huge support to the project. 

been really supportive trying the product out and giving us constructive criticism on it but the most helpful people was our teacher Ms McCarthy and our Principal Mr Hallahan, who helped us make connections with people who could help us and supported us and gave us new ideas. We got so many connections from them and that’s how we’ve been able to get where we are," according to Olivia. 

"It’s been a great year for us but we could focus on mini-company without the stress of exams, homework or anything like that," stated Orla.

"We think we’ve been more creative and we developed our project further than we ever would and we don't think we would have been able to do that without being in TY," she added.

The Presentation students recently took part in the Kilkenny County Final in the Student Enterprise Programme and won the 'Judges Choice' award at the event.

The experience of talking to the judges on the day did provide some nerves for the girls but having so frequently about the finer details of the 'PerfectPuc' project, including to students at local primary schools, the information simply 'rolled off the tongue' on County Final Day from Orla's perspective.

"They (the primary school students) were the most helpful I'd say, they could think of ideas that we never would and they gave us so much feedback on it so it was a really good experience going to the primary schools," said Olivia.

Orla and Olivia's friendship has been key to the project’s success to date, with Orla stating 'patience with one another' and differing 'personalities' a huge part of the project's success and a key ingredient in bringing the TY students closer together as friends.

"I never thought we would win an award like we have and get as far as we have so it’s really been a nice surprise for both of us," adding, "when we take a step back we can be proud of it."