Lee Chin says Wexford's new management and infusion of youth have helped to restore his appetite for hurling ahead of the Leinster Hurling Championship.
The Model Men flirted with relegation in Darragh Egan's last year before ensuring safety - with victory in a nine-goal thriller over already-qualified Kilkenny - in the final round of group games.
Now facing into his 12th season, captain Chin has seen the likes of fellow 2019 provincial champions Harry Kehoe, Paul Morris and Shaun Murphy retire in recent years, while Liam Óg McGovern and Matthew O'Hanlon took breaks before rejoining the panel.
"I think I’m at the stage of my career where a lot of the lads you played with throughout most of your career have stepped away. The dressing room feels a little bit emptier at times.
"Management was changing, some of my close friends were after stepping away from the panel. Some of them weren't back yet because they were away travelling or doing other things. You felt at times there was only a handful of you who had been there for the last decade together.
"But then you get in there and you rekindle the relationships you had with the people that are also still there. Once I was there and got stuck in, the young lads helped it a lot with the energy they brought and their ambition. The management are very ambitious as well so that all helps.
"Right now I'm enjoying it as much as ever. The training is going really well."
New boss Keith Rossiter, whose time in the Wexford jersey briefly overlapped with Chin (2013-14), brought in several new faces for the Allianz Hurling League and saw his faith in youth rewarded with a fourth-place finish and surprisingly comfortable retention of Division 1 status.
"Management are doing really well and have made the whole set-up really enjoyable," said Faythe Harriers forward Chin.
"Keith was good with me, he was patient. He didn't force me in immediately. We both took our time. There was a date everyone was to be back and I was back on that date.
"When you get the young lads in to your panel and they start performing, it's a real rejuvenation of energy that they bring.
"They bring a different perspective and attitude and when they can blend their boldness with hurling it’s very exciting. You’re always there to try and bring them on and then in strange ways they bring you on.
"We’re delighted with what we’ve got throughout the last number of months in terms of the youth that’s there."
The 2023 season was the first under the round-robin format where Wexford failed to emerge from Leinster.
Kilkenny and Galway have contested the last two finals with the Yellowbellies and Dublin - their opening round opponents this Sunday - left battling it out for third, which looks the likeliest scenario again.
"In my opinion, they are just two different brands of hurling," said Chin of unfavourable comparisons with the competitiveness of Munster.
"Sometimes the Munster Championship can be a little bit more attractive to the fan to watch than the Leinster Championship.
"But the Leinster Championship is just as competitive. The last number of league and All-Ireland finals have had a Leinster team and a Munster team. Though it's mainly Kilkenny, teams compete with Kilkenny in Leinster.
"Last year, nothing went our way from league to championship. We had ourselves in an awful position come the end of the championship, with a do-or-die game against Kilkenny.
"You want to get to the next level. You want to perform, you want to be winning."
Is hurling the same game it was when he started at senior level 11 years ago?
"A lot has changed. Style, tactics, skill, athleticism... The one thing that hasn’t changed a whole lot is that you’d still manage to get a few belts! The hardy nature of hurling hasn’t left the game.
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