Mar. 16, 2026
March is the perfect month for Knoxville Orthopaedic Clinic (KOC) athletic trainer Ben Conaway. It’s National Athletic Training Month with St. Patrick’s Day right in the middle, allowing him to celebrate both his job and his favorite pastime: the Irish sport of hurling.
Conaway is the certified athletic trainer for South-Doyle High School, provided by KOC. He’s one of two dozen KOC athletic trainers stationed on campus at local high schools and colleges to help prevent, treat and rehabilitate injuries to student-athletes. Conaway is also the cofounder of the Knoxville Gaelic Athletic Club, which offers an opportunity for adults to enjoy a competitive team sport for the fitness and fun of it.
Not to be confused with the Canadian sport of curling, hurling has ancient Celtic origins and includes a wooden stick called a hurl or hurley and a leather ball that looks like a baseball but isn’t as heavy. Conaway said the sport is a combination of lacrosse, soccer and hockey, but assured participants do wear helmets.
“In college I met several Irish guys who were studying abroad here and they both played,” Conaway said. “When I went to visit them in Dublin, we played a match at the park, and it made such an impression on me with the camaraderie and the teams marching around the fields. It felt like I was in Harry Potter.”
Conaway said his friend gave him a hurl and they “pucked around,” which means they struck the sliotar (ball) with the hurl (stick) in various ways. He loved not only the sport itself, but also the sense of community, so he got to work establishing something similar in Knoxville.
Conaway was surprised to discover a group of U.S. Army reservists played hurling in Knoxville. He initially joined them before the group disbanded, and Conaway helped make the club official. This year, the Knoxville Gaelic Athletic Club is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and the club now includes the Irish sports of hurling and camogie, which is played by women.
“They are fun sports to play, and we take players of all levels, but for me it’s really about creative ways to get active and find community,” Conaway said. “It’s something I address with my athletes. We play sports together as kids and experience that physicality, being part of a team and friendly competition, and then we become adults and many of us never get to play together again. This is a fun way to create our own chosen family, have fun and enjoy fitness together.”
As far as the rules, Conaway noted a player can only lift the ball from the ground with the hurl and then carry it for a maximum of four steps. Players can pass with the hurl, a kick or an open hand, but the ball can’t be thrown. To score, the ball must either go into the net under a crossbar for three points, or over the bar through uprights for one point.
While Conaway said it’s all for fitness and fun, he was one of three players selected as Knoxville representatives for the Southeast Division team set to face off at the 2026 World Games in Waterford, Ireland, in July. Fellow players Sam Downs and Jeremy Leierzapf also have been selected to attend.
Conaway encourages his South-Doyle High School student-athletes as well as his KOC coworkers to join him in the fast-paced Irish field sport. Occasionally, as many as four other KOC athletic trainers also play. He may lean a little harder on his coworkers this month in celebration of National Athletic Training Month.
KOC has been a leader in orthopaedic care for more than 80 years. The practice includes more than 1,000 team members across 10 office locations, seven urgent care clinics and two surgery centers. The orthopaedic network offers experts in 13 subspecialties from joint replacement to trauma surgery to help patients lead healthier, more active lives.
Learn more about all of KOC’s experts and services online at KOCortho.com.
About Knoxville Orthopaedic Clinic
Knoxville Orthopaedic Clinic is the region’s largest provider of orthopaedic care and services with more than 520,000 patient visits annually at 12 East Tennessee locations. As a network of convenient and accessible clinics that provide exceptional orthopaedic care across the region, KOC comprises 10 office locations; two ambulatory surgery centers; and additional services including urgent care, MRI, orthotics and bracing, physical and occupational therapy and sports medicine outreach. KOC’s more than 150 orthopaedic experts, supported by over 1,000 team members, provide a superior quality of diagnostic proficiency; when needed, an unmatched level of surgical expertise; and a patient-centered approach to deliver unparalleled personalized treatment. The network recently earned a 2025 “Top Workplace” ranking from Knoxville News Sentinel based on employee surveys measuring company culture. For more information, visit kocortho.com.
