Ballinderry are getting primed for another weekend on the road

By Michael McMullan

IT’S another week in Ballinderry and the senior camogs are getting primed for battle.

The Shamrocks take on Cavan champions Crosserlough in Saturday’s Ulster Junior A final.

They were comfortable semi-final winners over Mayobridge last weekend, following on from a dramatic win over Castledawson to land the Derry title.

“As a collective, we’re happy enough with our performance,” said captain Aimée Conlan of their win in Mayobridge.

“They got two points from play and they got two frees which they converted.

“For us, we were happy enough defensively. I am in the defence, so that was our aim. We had to limit the frees we give away to opposition because we knew they had an excellent free-taker.”

Conlan was also full of praise for their attacking department. The plan was to be rampant in the first 10 minutes, and that would set the tone for the game.

“Thankfully we got players on the ball who knew where the goal was,” she said.

“That put us on the front foot. Then, in the second half, our biggest aim was to not switch. We didn’t want to let a scoreline dictate the whole game.”

In recent weeks, Ballinderry have celebrated their club’s 100th birthday. It was a magical night but their eyes are now fully on camogie and getting the job done against Crosserlough.

“We want to really focus on ourselves, look after our bodies and give training our best efforts,” Conlan said.

“Then, hopefully, when we take to the pitch the weekend, it’ll all fall into place for us.

“We’re getting better at preparing ourselves mentally, physically, recovering well.”

When not working shifts as a nurse, Conlan spends a day a week studying. Times are busy but camogie is a welcome distraction.

Thankful

“We’re just thankful again that we are going this late in the year,” the skipper added.

“Training has been excellent, with good intensity and stick work. We still have things to focus on which is good. It makes training better for us as players, knowing that we can still improve in some aspects.”

The players trust the management team to zone in on the key Crosserlough strengths.

“We look after ourselves, how we’re going to play as individuals and as a team, looking after our teammates,” Conlan points out.

“They’ll do the rest; they’ll focus on all of that for us and we have great trust in them.

“We have players who can do jobs for us in multiple areas of the field. We’re lucky to have leaders all over the field.

“The management can pick out players within the first couple of minutes. Anything that we need to get sorted, I’m sure there’ll be a call made and we just follow what we’re told to do.”

Off the field, there is plenty of excitement this week. With a mixture of ages in the Ballinderry camp, they come together in the name of the camogie team. The extended season has only added to the bond within the team.

“Every player is different,” Conlan said of life inside the group. “Some girls are going to school this week, some of us are going to university and some of us go to work and that’s just how our team rolls.

“Myself, I’m a nurse there’s other nurses on the team so we still have our shifts to do

“There are teachers, so everybody has their different routine. It’s important that we all tune in. We’re all wanting the same thing and that’s to hopefully perform well this weekend.”