31 years young.
After Cork’s loss to Kilkenny in this year’s All-Ireland quarter final, the whole narrative surrounded that man Patrick Horgan. Another barely believable individual display, another ridiculous tally, another year without an All-Ireland medal.
He’s not comfortable with it that way. It doesn’t sit well with him. Because he doesn’t play for praise, doesn’t play for individual awards, he plays to win and to win with Cork.
This next week will be painful, but he’ll remove himself from the circus.
Watching other counties fight for Liam MacCarthy doesn’t interest him, in fact he doesn’t watch hurling games outside of his own ones. This is a man who lives for getting the best out of himself. Lives for his own hurling game but when the hurl is down and the boots are off, it’s a long way from his mind.
Cork lost in Croke Park but Patrick Horgan confirmed his status as one of the deadliest forwards ever to pick up a hurl 👏
Practicing his frees early in the morning, coaching youngsters in @GlenRovers_, piece on how his greatness is NO coincidence 👇https://t.co/JarLkA3y2U
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 14, 2019
It’s all in or nothing for the Glen Rovers man and in an interview with Colm Parkinson on Thursday’s GAA Hour Hurling Show, he provided an open insight into his levels of preparation and his hopes for the future.
The assertion that he feels younger than ever before will certainly go down well Leeside.
“It’s something I enjoy doing, any minute of the day I can practice, I will. I’m going to be 32 the next time I play championship for Cork if I do and I feel younger than I ever did, I feel fresh, fit, there’s no injuries…”
The youngsters in Glen Rovers help with the practice. It’s not the frees he’s perfecting though, it’s the over the shoulder strike we see so many times on championship days.
"I just keep doing it until it’s a normal strike…"
Patrick Horgan on the hours of practice down at @GlenRovers_ perfecting the move that can't be stopped.
Well, it's difficult to stop!
Full show: https://t.co/KJQdJAvEkg
w/ @paddypower pic.twitter.com/ni7WC2UQ2o
— The GAA Hour (@TheGAAHour) August 8, 2019
“There’d be a few in behind the goal, yeah, they’d would be banging them (sliotars) out.
“I actually don’t practice frees much. Only really when I go on a proper training session. When I’m warm, then I’ll get into that.
“Yeah, I just keep doing it (over the shoulder strike) until it’s a normal strike. I try to practice it so much so that if I’m on the front foot, it doesn’t feel as comfortable as I do on the back foot.”
“I do a lot of visualisation and visualising the positions I’ll be in. I don’t know does that work or whatever but I tick a box by doing it anyway.”
As for the catch from under Huw Lawlor’s ear that brought the whole country to their knees, Hoggie told all about that, but is more interested in the dropped ball a couple of seconds later.
“It was lucky, ah it wasn’t lucky because I could see it all the way but it just dropped down in front so it was hard to get the hand down on top of it…I wouldn’t even try it again to be honest…”
“It was a weird one. Straight after, another ball came in similar to it and I dropped it, that was probably a goal more than the one previous.
3-10 and still not bowled over with himself, that’s the level.
You can listen to The GAA Hour interview with Hoggie, and much more from Wooly, Diarmuid O’Keeffe and Cheddar here.
