Matheson called up to shinty hurling tour of Ireland
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KINLOCHSHIEL winger Duncan Matheson hopes gaining international experience will develop him as a shinty player.
He has been selected for the Scotland under-17 squad for their tour of Ireland which takes place next week.
The 18-year-old from Kyle, who has broken into the first team at Balmacara, will be making his international debut taking on Dublin and Kildare.
Despite being pleased with the progression he has already made in his shinty career, he hopes playing for Scotland will add a new dimension to his game.
“I was surprised to get the call-up as there are a lot of good players who have got into the squad,” he said,
“I expect it to be a fun tour but I think it will be hard going playing against these teams.
“But I think being on the tour will help bring my game on and playing with the other under-18s in the team.”
The tour will involve matches of mixed shinty and hurling rules which Matheson admitted he still has to learn.
“It is quite hard to prepare for that on your own.
“But we will be doing training sessions and it will allow me to prepare for the rules of the game.”
Matheson has been rated highly by Kinlochshiel manager Johnston Gill and has made several appearances for the first team after working his way through the youth set-up.
“I first joined Kinlochshiel when I played for the under-14 team and have played most games with the first team this season.
“It is a lot harder than playing in the firsts than with the seconds as the speed of the game is a lot faster.
“You have to be on the ball more often.”
After the tour, Matheson will return to the Kinlochshiel squad for the rest of the Premiership season.
He says he has ambitions of achieving success with the club.
“I want to win as many things as possible. I can do that with Kinlochshiel. It has been an up and down season this year but hopefully we can get back on it next year.”
