The secret's in the water

Ian O'Riordan on how trainer Jim Kilty's special drink helped Wexford to shock Kilkenny.

Despite the constant reminders that nothing has been won yet, there's probably been no denying the Wexford hurling supporters a celebration drink.

Beating Kilkenny in a Leinster hurling championship match is still about as good as it gets. Yet for the players it seems most of the drinking was done out on the pitch.

Wexford followed Sunday's memorable semi-final victory, classically executed with a last-minute goal, with a team meal in the upstairs lounge in the Hogan Stand. No doubt there were further celebrations afterwards. But the more serious drinking was done over the 70 minutes of playing time. In fact, around 60 litres of a carefully-designed formula was consumed.

This hydration policy was just one of the elements introduced to Wexford hurling this season by team trainer Jim Kilty. Formerly the trainer to the Tipperary hurlers, and still coach to several of Ireland's leading sprinters, Kilty was invited into the Wexford set up in November by manager John Conran, and it's clear his work has had a strong influence on the surprise win over Kilkenny.

Kilty is a speed specialist and more than anything, the speed of the Wexford hurlers is what stood out in Sunday's game. And also what caught Kilkenny off guard.

The full-forward line, in particular, moved around like bullets and one reason why Michael Jacob stole that last-gasp goal was because he was quick enough to unsettle the Kilkenny defence.

"I honestly feel that proper hydration is the key to success in so many sports," explains Kilty. "What I did was prepare 60 litres of this carbohydrate drink, which contains small amounts of sodium that is easily absorbed into the bloodstream."

Between one o'clock on Sunday afternoon and a few moments before the last goal all 60 litres of that drink were consumed by the players."

And proper hydration, adds Kilty, doesn't just keep the engines in the muscles running: "One of the other most important things was to keep them mentally right, and that the minds as much as the bodies were properly prepared.

"That meant getting a lot of fluid on board, and ensuring they were properly hydrated, which also helps keep them mentally focused."

Yesterday afternoon Kilty was out on the track at Santry Stadium working with his small group of elite athletes. Derval O'Rourke has already qualified for the Athens Olympics in the 100 metre hurdles and he has Ciara Sheehy and Paul Hession chasing the qualifying times over 200 metres.

He says athletics has been, and always will be, his first love, and yet his reputation as an expert trainer in hurling continues to grow.

For much of yesterday morning Kilty's mobile phone was hopping with text messages from several Tipperary hurlers, still grateful for the role he played in helping them win the All-Ireland title in 2001.

It was only when Ken Hogan took over there for the new season, and installed his own training team, that Wexford thought of taking on Kilty.

Instilling his techniques in Wexford minds was something of a slow process. Kilty's training is based on the SAQ system - or speed, agility and quickness - and it took a while for the players to adapt to the new pace.

But in the final build-up to playing Kilkenny there was, says Kilty, a genuine belief that the game was theirs for the taking.

"Just 12 days ago they played Galway in a challenge game at a small venue in Portlaoise, playing four 20-minute quarters, and they quite simply ran Galway off the field. In fact, two of the Galway mentors came up to me and said we were really going to put it up to Kilkenny. We were 100 per cent sure our full-forward line could run them ragged if we got the ball in front of them. We were very confident in that plan.

"So from the start of last week all the players started to believe they were going to win it, that this was their game. And Breaking Ball had been on to me a few times during the week to do something, but I had to keep putting them off with some excuse or the other. The element of surprise had to be total."

Kilty did adjust his techniques when coming to Wexford from the work he'd done with Tipperary: "To be honest during January and February their first touch wasn't particularly good. But we also had to increase the pace of the running. So there was a little more skill work being done with the running.

"I know the league form was a little inconsistent but I suppose some of the players did find it difficult to adjust. They were doing a lot of gym work on top of the hurling and the running and it was taking a lot out of them. And in their own minds I'm sure some of them were wondering if it was all worthwhile."

Then over the past four weeks the final adjustment was made. At training Kilty would take the team for a 25-minute session of warm-up and SAQ drills. Hurling trainer Mick Kinsella would do 40 minutes of skills. And Kilty with top that off with another pure speed session.

But he says they're still some ways off their peak: "Of course there is a lot more work to be done. But there will have to be a change of plan as well for the Leinster final.

"If it's Offaly we end up playing then that's going to be a lot more physical, and we'll have to look at that game in a totally different way. And I know it's going to be hard to get these players going much faster. But what we can do is get them going for the full 70 minutes. In the past you might have seen teams going at full speed for maybe 10 minutes and then dropping off again.

"Wexford did come close to getting the full 70 minutes of effort but there were still times when we drifted out of it. Getting the full 70 minutes of effort is something we can always work towards."