Aidan Walsh: ‘Physical demands’ of dual codes were too much

What will it be, kick or puck, hook or tackle, fist or stick? Just some of things Aidan Walsh had to decide between at the end of last season, after realising his days as a dual player with Cork were over.

It wasn’t through lack of effort, or want – or indeed enjoyment – but in the end Walsh decided to commit to hurling only for 2015. And it wasn’t that he couldn’t manage playing football and hurling: he simply realised he couldn’t excel at both.

Now, back training under the one boss, in Cork hurling manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy, Walsh already feels a sense a relief. He wouldn’t discourage other players from trying to juggle both codes, although ultimately it had become too demanding for him.

“I’d say the hardest thing was the physical demand, in the sense of time,” says Walsh.

“It wasn’t too bad up, to the Munster series. But when it got to the All-Ireland series time was against me, in that I played two football championship games against Sligo and Mayo, then had only two weeks to the Tipperary game [All-Ireland hurling semi-final].

“After the Mayo game I needed a few days’ recovery, and by then the hurling team were already downing their training, preparing for the game. So there was no real intensity there, hurling-wise, for me, because I didn’t have enough time between the two games.

“But I don’t think it’s a template to stop any other player from trying to do it. Because my situation, at the start of last year, was that if I didn’t try it I would have regretted it, when I retired.”

Walsh first declared his intention to play only one code for 2015, then took weeks deciding which one: the initial expectation was that he was leaning towards football, given his dominance for Cork around midfield, yet he went with hurling.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to have won a lot in football,” he says, explaining his decision.

“So I said to myself, if I put 100 per cent into hurling, I’d see what could happen. Probably, as last year went on, I started to enjoy my hurling a lot. The success in winning Munster was a great highlight of the year, although then the Tipperary game was a real downer. I just didn’t put in the performance that was required, but again I knew I could get more out of myself, if I had the proper time to prepare for it.

Never again

“And walking off the field against Tipperary that day, after being taken off, I said to myself I never want this to happen me again. And I looked at Jimmy Barry and just said ‘sorry’. Jimmy is massive in Cork, you always want to do good for him, do your best for him. And that didn’t happen that day.”

He doesn’t deny either that his decision to opt for hurling was partly influenced by the gentle coaxing of Kanturk county and club-mates Lorcán McLoughlin, and goalkeeper Anthony Nash – especially Nash, who has taken over the Cork captaincy for 2015.

Now back in CIT, completing his business degree, Walsh will also be focusing on hurling in the upcoming college competitions. Again, it’s not through lack of enjoyment that he’s put his football aside: indeed Walsh – speaking at the announcement of ESB’s club “EnergyFit” initiative – embraces the challenges of the modern game, despite Joe Brolly’s claim that intercounty players are becoming “indentured slaves”.

Lot of commitment

“Well, there’s nobody holding a gun to our head, nobody forcing us to play. It’s our own decision, and I know there are hundreds and hundreds of players down in Cork that would love to be in the same position that we’re all in, with the hurling or football.

“I know it’s a lot of commitment, and effort. But if you don’t put in five or six nights a week training, at full tilt, you’re going to fall behind, and you just won’t be there in August and September. And last year I enjoyed it hugely, because it’s all about playing and being involved.

“And it’s about making the most of it. You are only going to have it for so long. I’m back training this week, on the third pitch in CIT and, it’s going to be pure muck. But that’s the enjoyment of it.

“That’s what you work as hard as you can for, days in Croke Park in August and September when the sun is splitting the stones. And I think it is all about keeping yourself right, like doing yoga, keep yourself flexible, and all the small things that contribute to the bigger picture, then you have a great chance of playing longer into your career, well into your 30s.”