Mallow native David Walsh on being a handballer: You have to be mentally strong to succeed 

Mallow handballer David Walsh is determined to build on the last campaign as he eyes up more success.

The 26-year-old, who is the number one seed in the country, is heading into his third season at senior level.

Walsh lost the oneills.com All-Ireland Senior Singles decider back in May, but is taking the positives from the campaign as a whole.

“It was a successful season now the dust has settled,” he says.

“I won two ranking tournaments, got to the World semi-finals and lost the All-Ireland final. On reflection, it was the best year to date. It can be built on and improved on and that is the challenge now.

“It’s all about looking ahead now. There are plenty of tournaments coming up in the months ahead. The Golden Gloves tournament is first up next week in Belfast. I won it last year so it’s important to start well again.

“The off-season has been quite good. I have kept up the training, more so the fitness side of things and just trying to be in the best shape possible."

Walsh, who was a promising GAA player with Mallow before committing fully to handball, admits for the first time the challenges of being a handball player.

“The thing with handball is that you're on your own, it’s not a team sport,” he said.

“That’s the most challenging part of it. You have to be mentally strong if you want to succeed. It’s not like you're going down to the pitch with 20 other lads. You finish work and you literally have to bring yourself down to the court.

“It’s pure repetition. You could be down at the court by yourself for an hour, you could be hitting the same shot for 20 minutes. It can be boring, but you have to look at the bigger picture.

“It’s going to help you in the long run. You have that work banked up for when a match comes around, you have all those hours behind you. Look, it can be tough to motivate yourself to go down to the court by yourself.

“It’s much easier in a team sport when there are plenty of other players on the pitch with you. Handball is an individual sport, if you are having an off day, it can be challenging. You have to be disciplined.” 

While Walsh has plenty of competitions to look forward to over the next few months, it’s all geared towards the All-Ireland series.

“All these upcoming competitions are good stepping stones. The better you do in them, the better ranking you will have. They are important, but ultimately the main aim is the All-Ireland competition next year.

“I lost the final last season, so I am eager to go one better. That’s the one to win really, but I know I have to put in the work and perform in these upcoming competitions starting with the Golden Gloves.”