The Sunday Times - Sport

February 27, 2005 Griffin's learning curve. Christy O'Connor

Tony Griffin's education in Canada has fuelled his belief that this summer could be special for Clare

Tony Griffin had only just landed in Halifax City in Nova Scotia last September when he found just what he was looking for. Citadel Hill was just half a mile from his house and it had that steep incline perfect for stamina training. It was certainly a lot higher than the infamous hill in Shannon and it had the added bonus at the summit of a panoramic view of the whole city, Halifax Harbour and the North Atlantic Ocean. For three days every week, Griffin would leave his house in College Street, jog to the hill and then punish his muscles before they threatened to desert him. It was a lot easier before the snow began falling hard in early December, but a Tai Chi group used to practise their art at the base of the hill 365 days a year, so Griffin saw no reason to break his routine. He had to crawl the last 30 yards to the top on his hands and knees but it was ideal for cardiovascular conditioning.

When Griffin began studying for a Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics in Dalhousie University last September, he couldn't have imagined how bad the snow would get. After one snow storm last month, he opened the window of his room on the second floor and just stepped outside. Sometimes the temperatures dropped as low as -40C, but the hardship didn't sanction an amnesty from his commando training regime. His nature couldn't accept that possible pardon because success in sport for Griffin is primarily based on the limits to which he can push himself and the degree to which potential is realised. He could have studied in Ireland or England, but Dalhousie's reputation as a hothouse for producing Olympians granted him a level of exposure to a range of professional sports that he couldn't have attained on this side of the Atlantic. He has secured access to observe Bill Standish, one of the top knee surgeons in Canada, and he is also studying sports medicine, biomechanics and sports psychology. But outside of his course, he offered himself as a vessel to be filled with knowledge from the cutting edge. He joined the track and field club in the college for the first six weeks to improve his explosive power. He does a specialised plyometrics session every Saturday morning and he spars three days a week with one of the best boxers in the college. Along with his stamina training on Citadel Hill, he completes a core and strength work programme in the gym for three days of the week and he hurls in a squash court for three more days. It is easy to forget that he is studying for a degree. "I often bring the hurley into lectures and I'm known as the Irish guy who goes around with the big stick," says Griffin. "Guys are constantly coming up to me saying, 'hey man, what are you doing with that stick?' "Going away was very hard but it has really strengthened my resolve. It has given me a chance to reflect on things and I've become a lot more confident in myself. And I've never had such a hunger for the game as I have now." A new year brings renewed hope but the climb back up to the summit isn't getting any easier for Clare. The instability of their form last season reflected the difficulties the team have had and their narrow League win over Laois last weekend highlighted the inconsistency that has dogged them. Talk of winning All-Irelands is no longer the popular subject of debate it once was in the county, but Griffin has no problem discussing the prospect. "I believe in the players that we have and I believe we can win the All-Ireland this year," he says. "People will call me mad for saying that after last weekend but why am I training six days a week? Unless I thought we were going to win the All-Ireland, I wouldn't be running around in snow. "Sometimes we don't believe in ourselves enough and we limit our targets. Why should we? We're afraid to say it but I want the young players to know what I believe. There's no point in all the other lads working hard as well if we didn't think we were going to do it." It is in Griffin's DNA to be positive and he will probably specialise in sports psychology when he finishes his three-year degree. His mentality doesn't allow outside assessments about Clare to contaminate his belief system. "There is a lot of negativity about Clare, inside and outside the county, but we have to stay positive. Maybe it's just the methods I've been exposed to and the professionalism I've seen but the one thing I've really learnt in Canada is that for us to have a fear of Cork or Kilkenny is crazy. "I think Clare have this complex at times because they don't have the tradition that Cork and Kilkenny have. But we have that right because we work just as hard as them. It's up to all the Clare players to realise that this is the year that we are going to do something big."

Griffin has always pushed the boat out. In his first year on the Clare panel in 2000, he was spotted in the West County Hotel gym on Christmas Day. Fascinated by the science of sport, his desire to maximise performance led him to do promotional work in the Pro-Performance Company - a body which educates Irish athletes in nutritional supplementation.
Along with Niall Gilligan, Griffin has become Clare's most important forward now and at 24, the need to take responsibility, and bring his game to the next level, has never been greater for him.

"I'm realistic to know that hurling isn't the world and yet it's the one thing that I think about the whole time," he says. "I don't know what drives me so much to do what I do and train so hard.
"Everyone says, 'enjoy the sights, go skiing'. But I just look on it as a weekend of training that I'll miss out on if I do that. I haven't taken a drink since Christmas. I'm missing out on the social life, but that's a great challenge as well."
After playing two League games in the space of a week, he returns to Canada tomorrow morning. He might be back for one more League game before he returns home for the summer at the end of April. In the meantime, every ball he hits and every stride he takes is devoted to becoming a better player.
He hopes that the snow will have begun to melt when he gets back so he can return to some semblance of normality. During the heavy freeze, when his gums would be aching with pain and he was risking mild hypothermia, he used to puck around in a car park in the medical building on the campus because the snow was always cleared from it.
He struck up a friendship with one of the snow-plough drivers and Griffin thought about asking him to clear one of the soccer pitches so he could recover some of his worldly goods. One evening before Christmas, he lashed six sliotars over the top of one of the soccer goals and he nearly got frostbite looking for them afterwards. He's been on the lookout for them ever since.
"I have gone out nights with my hurley and I've had people looking at me as if I was a complete lunatic," he says. "But there isn't a single day out there when I don't think about Clare and about hurling. I have great hope for this year. Sometimes when I'm running up that hill and I'm up to my waist in snow, you ask yourself 'Am I off my head?' And then I think of the Munster championship and I know that I'm not."
The harder the climb, the greater the satisfaction when you reach the top.

http://www.dal.ca/news/2005-03-15/griffin.html

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