Take 15 players to a side, add in a small leather ball the size of a hardball and 30 flat sticks which players use almost as an extension of their hand and what do you get? The answer is the fastest game on grass and it’s also the fastest growing sport in Milwaukee.

But apparently Milwaukee is the only place in America it’s been succeeding and even the esteemed Wall Street Journal, which missed the successes of the Milwaukee Hurling Club (MHC), wrote what amounts to a premature obituary.

Started about 10 years ago by a couple Milwaukee guys who managed to import a couple hurleys (the stick) and a sliother (the ball), hurling has grown here so fast that the Milwaukee Hurling Club has even started a youth league.

While clubs across the country, at least according to the Wall Street Journal, are failing due to lack of Irish expats coming to the US to fill the shoes of the aging Irish, the MHC now boasts over 8 adult teams of 20 members each as well as 4 youth teams.

So if so many other North American clubs are failing, how is the MHC succeding? It’s secret is inclusion.

Hurling is traditionally a sport of men. Women play the female version of hurling — a nearly identical game called camogie. But in the MHC they’ve thrown out the old way of doing things and they are able to boast that they are the only coed club in the country but in all likelihood they’re probably the only coed hurling club in the world. And when members join, they stay. For club members, Sundays are a game of hurling. Players occasionally take a year off for one reason or another but they quite often find themselves returning — drawn to both the action and the comradery available every Sunday at the pitch.

But the MHC has another secret that has helped them — they don’t rely on Irish expats to continue their league. While many other clubs exclude native born hurlers, the MHC has very few Irish expats among their members. Self reliance by highly motivated adrenaline junkies looking to run around on a field of grass with sticks trying to get a little ball in a goal has been their secret. MHC has also had a large social element which has resulted in several members finding their soul mates at the pitch and going on to get married and raise families of their own. Something you didn’t see much of at the pitch just 5 years ago is children and strollers but as the club grows, so does the fan base and those fans have families.

Hurling isn’t for the feint of heart and it does require a commitment. Pre-season, players must attend Sunday and Thursday practices. Coaches train members as well as assess them. As May approaches, players are secretly assigned a rating and the club organizes a blind draft where all who are interested in playing and, over the practice times have developed at least basic skills, are drafted to one of the 8 teams.

Competition isn’t just among those 8 teams though. The MHC fields a select traveling team for both hurling and for camogie. This past year the women’s comogie team brought back a national trophy. To look at their performance on the field, these gals are more scrappers than girly girls but they clean up nice for the clubs annual Hurlers Ball which is held post-season.

The MHC provides a shining example for what the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) would like to see more of in the states. They were so impressed that, for the first time ever, they awarded their annual Presidents award to an American. MHC President Dave Olsen, a swede by ethnicity, snapped up the coveted award just last year.

If you’re interested in checking out the fastest game on grass, you can find the Milwaukee Hurling Club every Sunday at either Brown Deer park or Kletsch park.