Lee Chin was in tremendous form once again at the weekend.
Watching the Faythe Harriers club man in full-flight for Wexford during their 0-21 to 1-14 victory over Cork at Innovate Wexford Park on Sunday, it was clear to see the benefits of Chin’s intensive training regime.
It’s well-documented that Chin is able to put a lot of extra hours in at the gym because he doesn’t work. While some of his teammates for both club and county are having to juggle gruelling schedules of matches, training and work, Chin has devoted his life pretty much entirely to the GAA.
He isn’t a professional sportsman, but his gym-honed physique and daily routine would make you think otherwise. Against Cork, Chin scored 0-6 in another impressive display but it was the manner in which he got some of them scores that was striking: steaming past helpless Cork defenders in a blur of a power and pace.
What a score https://t.co/RahZWvvukR
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 4, 2018
All those hours on the training field and gym have visibly transformed Chin into a formidable physical specimen and it made for a fascinating point of discussion for the lads on The GAA Hour hurling show this week.
Speaking on the back of Chin’s performance at the weekend, host Colm Parkinson was full of effusive praise for the 25-year-old:
“It’s almost like he’s a scorer for Wexford. He gets on the end of balls, he’s troubling the scoreboard, he’s always an option for puck outs and he’s just pivotal to everything that Wexford do.”
While Carton agreed that Chin’s fitness levels and standard of hurling are both mightily impressive, he did point out one small fault in his game.
“The only fault I’d have with Lee is that he tries to do too much sometimes. You know, he’s so good and he’s so fit that he tries to take on a man an extra time when he should be popping the ball off a little bit quicker. But he’s a phenomenal athlete and so many hurlers would love to do what he’s doing, but he’s brave enough to just come out and say it – but he’s also high-profile so he’s getting these endorsements and I think fair play to him.”
Away from his obvious physical attributes, though, Guiney highlighted how much some of his hurling has come on recently.
“His striking has improved ten-fold over the last few years. When he first came in from the football panel, he was mishitting it a lot but his striking from long distance is just brilliant and even last year, he was popping them over from well out as well. His striking and his skill level has gone up through the roof.”
Of course, one of the biggest luxuries Chin has is recovery. Because he’s not getting up in the morning to go to work, he’s able to get a recovery session in at the gym or the pool.
“I think that’s the biggest aspect of what he’s doing and it’s going to pay dividends on his body if he’s playing longer.”
You can listen to the full episode of The GAA Hour hurling show below.
