New fitness coach to beef up Clare underage sides

Clare hurlers intend staying ahead of the pack by appointing a strength and conditioning coach for their underage sides.

A panel including Davy Fitzgerald have recently conducted interviews with a number of candidates for the position.

The successful one will be charged with supervising the dietary and fitness plans for all the county’s panels from U14 to U17.

In today’s Irish Examiner Championship 2014 supplement, Clare’s games promotion officer Sean Chaplin reveals they might not have got the go-ahead for the position if the county didn’t win last year’s All-Ireland title.

“We wouldn’t have been able to advertise for it. There will be liaisoning with [senior team head of fitness and nutrition] Joe O’Connor and Davy. Joe is integral to everything that we do. Although he wouldn’t be hands on with the minors and U21s, he would have meetings with them and lay out the platform for the players.

“The person in place will be supervising our development squads and ensuring they are prepared from a dietary and fitness perspective so that by the time they become minors and U21s they’ll be aware of what is required in areas such as nutrition, hydration and sleep. When they go to college or leave home they will know what food to buy and how to help their hurling careers as much as possible. Education is going to be a huge thing.

“Other counties are doing things their own way but not too many would be doing this on a full-time basis. We will have somebody in charge of creating a portfolio of every player from the minute they come into our squads at 14 until the time they hopefully become seniors. At every stage, managers will be able to see what the players have done.”

The initiative comes as Fitzgerald, whose term as manager has been extended until 2017, aims to build on their 2013 success.