David Olson became a hurling convert about 12 years ago.

The ancient sport of hurling has built strong local roots for the past 12 years, thanks to The Milwaukee Hurling Club. Its membership of 250 includes more than 50 women and 70 youngsters. In fact, the youth group will be traveling to Ireland this spring to play against that country’s top players. Players from eight teams have honed their skills at athletic fields from the lakefront to Brown Deer.

While hundreds — even thousands — of Milwaukeeans probably have seen practices and games in passing, few may know what they are watching. On the surface, hurling may resemble other sports born in foreign lands. Here is a quick guide — a broad overview of Hurling for Dummies — that just may help one understand this fast-growing sport.

The basics

Using a stick called a hurley, the object is to advance the ball, called the sliotar, and score a goal worth three points when hit into a net the size of a soccer goal or one point when hit over the goal crossbar. Each team has 15 players, including a goalkeeper, six defensive players, two midfielders and six offensive players. Donning protective helmets with caged face masks, they play on a field 100 yards wide and 150 yards long. A game or match is composed of two halves, each 25 to 35 minutes long.

Rules for advancing the sliotar

The sliotar can be advanced with the hurley or by hand, though it cannot be advanced by throwing it. The hurley must be used to roll, job, lift or flick the sliotar into the hand. The sliotar can be caught while in the air or bouncing along the ground. The sliotar can be kept in the hand for at most four consecutive steps or the length of time to take four steps. The sliotar can be balanced on the hurley for an unlimited amount of time but can only go to a player’s hands twice before he gets rid of it. A player must not grab or hold another player’s hurley.

Essential playing skills

Players must have or develop excellent hand, eye and foot coordination to:

• Run and balance the sliotar on the hurley

• Strike the sliotar while it is on the ground or tossed in the air

• Pick the sliotar from the ground with the hurley, toss it in the air and strike it all in one motion

• Field the sliotar in the air

• Block or prevent a shot by using a hurley to prevent another player from striking the sliotar

Sudden impact

Glendale’s David Olson colorfully explains the first time he engaged in the ancient sport of hurling. "I tried it and it smashed me right in the melon," Olson says.

Olson, who had been an active athlete in baseball and football, was talked into trying hurling 12 years ago after he had befriended several players who also frequented a local Irish pub.

Since then, Olson continued playing and believing in his newfound sport, which he likens to soccer with sticks. He now shares administrative duties in the Milwaukee Hurling Club, the first and largest in the United States. His passion and skill were recognized in 2005 when the Gaelic Athletic Association named him the first American-born recipient of its president’s award.

What motivates Olson and others to play a game not part of the typical American experience? "It’s fast paced, everyone plays — even those who are not as accomplished — and it’s a pure amateur sport," Olson says. "You don’t have to be big, because the emphasis is on being quick and agile. You can run seven to nine miles a game. You can also lose weight. I’ve had guys who have lost 60 to 70 pounds.

"Our goal is to make hurling bigger than soccer for the younger players," Olson says. "We see this continuing to grow for all ages."

And those like Milwaukeean Karen Fink who had no athletic history before taking up hurling eight years ago. "A lot of it is eye, hand and foot coordination," Fink says. "Every time you practice, you get better. That’s what keeps me going."

For more information about hurling and the Milwaukee Hurling Club, go to www.hurling.net