Performance nutritionist plays big role with Cork U20 hurlers

BLACKROCK man Paul O’Sullivan played a big part in the success of the Cork U20 hurling team in his role as performance nutritionist.

The Cork U20 hurlers captured the All-Ireland title after they defeated Offaly earlier this month. Paul who is currently in his first year working with the U20 team and the other development sides said he is really enjoying his role. 

“I am looking over the underage teams as well so from the Cork U20 team down. I would have looked over the football side as well, but I would have been directly involved with the hurlers. It was nice to play my part in the Cork U20 success. It is going great and I am really enjoying it,” he said.

Paul who is the owner of Bespoke Coaching was working with a few of the talented Cork underage players before he began working with Cork GAA. 

“I would have been working with a couple of players individually through my own coaching business which deals with nutrition and lifestyle changes. Through word of mouth, I started working with the Cork U20 team and other teams. With the online role, I am working with people all over the country and overseas. I work with Cork GAA on top of that. I can combine both roles with no problem at all.” 

A big part of Paul’s role is his interaction with the players and helping to create good habits he said. 

“It is important to get players into a routine. I always stress to the Cork players that you are dealing with the whole picture. Everything needs to be looked at, not just the food aspect. This involves the lifestyle aspect, sleep, and dealing with any stress that is going on. I am present at every training session as it helps me to get to know the players on an individual basis. I did a lot of one-to-one work with the Cork U20 hurlers. It wasn’t just group sessions.

“What normally happens at training sessions is that the food and supplements are set up for the players."

"The work with the players will take place outside of that because, on a training day, there is so much going on. Every player is different. We would often see a player who wouldn’t be eating enough and they wouldn’t know how to get the food into them or how to plan their days. We help them to build habits. The managers trusted me to do what I had to do. The U20 players embraced all of our ideas,” he added.

“A high-performance unit needs high-performance input,” said the performance nutritionist. 

“The big thing I stressed when I came on board was that nutrition can’t be an afterthought."

"It has to be an equal player. Players are lasting longer and getting injured less frequently. They are also getting stronger in the gym. That is all down to a combination of everything. 

"There has been a big push for strength and conditioning coaches in the GAA, but now the counties are starting to see the importance of nutritional advice as well. You are only getting the benefits from strength and conditioning if nutrition is in check. You will be able to avoid injury if nutrition is in check. Nutrition is so important to the whole training programme.” 

Paul said he will continue working with the Cork U20 players over the summer to help prepare them for moving up to the senior grade. 

“There is a big gap between senior and the U20 grade so a big thing for me over the summer is working with the players that will hopefully step up to the senior ranks. I will help them to bridge that gap. They want to keep developing.” 

In his role as performance nutritionist, Paul plays a big role on match days as he outlined. 

“On match day the priority is to get enough carbohydrates into the players. You have to take into account that players get nervous on the day of matches and some players don’t like eating much on the day of a game. Coping with the heat and the hydration against Offaly in the All-Ireland final was a big factor. We drilled into the players what to do to keep hydrated.

“We made a couple of tweaks on the day. We used the hurley carriers to get fluids into the players. The main thing you are looking to avoid on any match day, but especially in the heat is cramping and fatigue. There were no cramps that day and the players finished strongly on the hottest day of the year,” he added.