Hi Peter. Yes I played for school teams. Corner forward nip in and score goals and rush back out to the corner flag again taking a corner back away from the game. we were always taught that you stay as close to your opponent as possible when the dropping ball is coming in as that is where it is safest. Your instincts tell you to run like fuck away from the melee of 5 or 6 guys flailing sticks at a very small ball. It is very big during the summer. The main final itself is as big as it can get. Usually between Cork and Kilkenny or one of these two and another. There is a sound that comes off two hurleys in a stadium making contact with each other that is so primal and loud it is awesome. However there is a move away from amateur status and the tradition these days with mass brawls and chaos that would be funny if it were not so sad...well not being in NE I cannot savour the atmosphere of the Patriots too closely.